On Tuesday, November 9th, the Ocean Studies Board (OSB) of the National Research Council's Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources held its 40th meeting. The OSB was established to advise the government on ocean research issues. At this meeting, agencies that provide support to the board gave overviews of their projected activities for the coming year and reviewed the recently passed or pending FY 2000 appropriation bills. Representatives from the White House and Congress were also present to discuss both the FY 2000 budget and bills that may affect those involved with ocean research. A roster of board members and an agenda of the meeting can be found on the board's website.
The following agencies or groups were represented at the board meeting:
The Office of Naval Research noted that funds for basic research in
their Ocean, Atmosphere,
and Space Division (OAS) increased from FY 1998 to FY 1999, while applied
research funding went down. The increase in basic research funding
was mainly due to collaboration with academic institutions, while the downward
trend in funding for applied research occurred through changes in activities
at the Naval Research Lab (NRL). A thorough overview of research
going on through the OAS division is available on the OAS
website.
Dr. Stan Wilson, the Deputy Chief Scientist from NOAA
discussed concerns with and highlights in the pending Commerce Appropriations
Bill, and showed how funds would be distributed assuming that no major
changes are made to the current bill during final negotiations between
Congress and the President. Highlights in the conferenced appropriations
bill include funding levels at or above that requested for the National
Ocean Service, the National Marine
Fisheries Service, the Office of
Ocean and Atmospheric Research, and the National Environment Satellite,
Data, and Information Service. Wilson also noted that the only parts
of Clinton's Land Legacy Program to receive funding were those regarding
National Marine Sanctuaries and the National Estuarine Research Reserve
System.
Jerry Elwood, Director of the Environmental
Sciences Division of the Biological
and Environmental Research Program (OBER) in the Office
of Science of the Department of Energy,
discussed several research projects going on within DOE that are related
to carbon cycling in the oceans. An overview of the Ocean
Sciences Program is available on the DOE website. According to
the DOE website, the two main objectives of the program are: 1) the
role of the oceans as a sink and source for atmospheric CO2, and 2) the
use of biotechnological tools to determine linkages between carbon and
nitrogen cycling in coastal environments. Whereas the base funding
for the OBER went down from FY 1999 levels, there was increased funding
for a carbon-cycling technology initiative and for the Office
of Fossil Energy to do research regarding carbon
dioxide disposal in the ocean.
The Minerals Management Service representative,
Walt Rosenbusch, focused on their Environmental
Studies Program (ESP), noting that it provides the scientific basis
needed to make environmentally sound program decisions regarding petroleum
exploration and production on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
Rosenbusch discussed the Technology
Assessment and Research Program that currently houses studies regarding
oil spills and operational safety. He also said that the ESP is involved
with Arctic nearshore impact monitoring, socioeconomic impact studies,
oil spill risk assessment, and studies about the biological and physical
impacts of dredging.
Bonnie McGregor, Associate Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
discussed three USGS research programs that are directly linked to the
ocean. The USGS Coastal and Marine
Geology Program addresses issues such as the environmental quality,
geologic hazards, and natural resources of coastal and marine areas, and
also produces a knowledge
bank of marine geologic and geophysical information. USGS
Coastal Ecosystem Study Areas are located around the Chesapeake
Bay and Watershed, the San Francisco
Bay area, and southern Florida.
The Biological Resources Division
of the USGS also conducts research about coastal and marine environments.
Norine Noonan, head of the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Office
of Research and Development, discussed EPA programs related to coastal
and marine environments. The hypoxia problem in the Gulf of Mexico
is being studied by the Office of
Water, with information available on EPA's Mississippi
River Basin webpage. Noonan also mentioned the
Coastal Indicator Program (a project in conjunction with NOAA),
research regarding harmful
algal blooms (HAB), and the Beach
Action Plan.
Bob Corell, Assistant Director for Geosciences of the National Science
Foundation (NSF) gave an overview of the programs that were receiving a
large portion of the FY 00 appropriations. He noted that that programs
receiving the largest amounts of funding were those related to global
climate change. He also mentioned the Ocean
Drilling Project (ODP) as one that would receive a considerable
amount of funding. A list
of programs related to ocean studies, most of which were listed by Corell,
can be found on the NSF website.
Ellen Athas, Generel Counsel for the White House Council on Environmental
Quality, discussed a recently published report titled America's Ocean
Future. The report is available in pdf format at http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/pdf/ocean_rpt.pdf.
Sarah Horrigan, from the White House Office
of Management and Budget discussed why the budget was so hard to nail
down this year. She also suggested certain characteristics of research
programs that the administration looks favorably upon. These include:
long-term, high-payoff programs that produce results that would not occur
without research funding; collaborative programs that involve more than
one agency or institution: programs that employ competition and the
peer-review process; and multi-agency coordination for R&D cross-cutting
priorities. Horrigan noted that in FY00 appropriations, defense research
has gone down and civilian research has gone up, making the amount spent
on the two about equal. However, she noted that about 25% of the
funding delegated to civilian research is due to congressional earmarks
instead of broad funding of federal research programs.
Margaret Spring, a Democratic Senior Counsel from the Senate
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, mentioned several
bills that may be acted on during the second session of the 106th Congress.
These included reauthorization of the Coastal Zone Management Act (which
is having problems due to the debate over non-point source pollution),
several fisheries acts, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Oceans Act,
and a bill addressing the use of OCS drilling funds to replenish coastal
areas. She also noted that scheduling has been, and will continue
to be, a problem because Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
is running for president.
Richard Russel, the House
Science Committee Deputy Chief of Staff, was also present to answer
questions. In terms of legislation, he mentioned H.R.
1552, the Marine Research and Related Environmental Research and Development
Programs Authorization Act of 1999, which has passed both the Resources
Committee and the Science
Committee. Both congressional staffers explained that the House
Resources, Science, and Commerce Committees have the same jurisdiction
as the Senate Commerce Committee, and therefore science legislation moves
slower through the House than the Senate.
Please send any comments or requests for information to the AGI Government Affairs Program.
Contributed by Alison Alcott, AGI/AAPG Geoscience Policy Intern
Posted October 7, 1999
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