On April 4th, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body (MidA RPB) celebrated its second anniversary of coordinated action towards a Regional Ocean Action Plan (OAP) for the Mid-Atlantic. Composed of representatives from the five MARCO states and Pennsylvania, nine federal agencies, the Federally-recognized Shinnecock Indian Nation, and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the MidA RPB is the primary collaborative mechanism for advancing a Regional Ocean Action Plan for the Mid-Atlantic region.
The MidA RPB was formally established on April 4th 2013 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Planning Workshop, hosted by MARCO in Arlington, Virginia. The workshop was held in collaboration with federal partners to help launch regional ocean planning. A summary and videos of the workshop’s proceedings, along with other key resources are available on the MARCO website. The MidA RPB was formed during the workshop with the intent to leverage existing efforts underway by states and regional entities, and engage stakeholders and technical experts at every key step.
Now in its third year, the RPB is making important strides towards delivering an Ocean Action Plan by 2016, along with other key products such as a Regional Ocean Assessment (ROA).
The most recent in-person meeting of the RPB was held on January 21 and 22 in New York City. The meeting was open to the public and included a number of opportunities for public comment. The meeting summary, including presentations, and transcripts are now available on the MidA RPB website.
During the meeting, the MidA RPB discussed: refinements to various RPB workflows as informed by public comments submitted in writing in recent months and received during a series of public listening sessions convened in November; progress to date on the ROA; ideas related to interjurisdictional coordination; and stakeholder engagement efforts. A major outcome of the meeting was the RPB’s approval of the approach to developing the regional Ocean Action Plan.
As a result of the meeting, the MidA RPB is now moving forward with three workflows to develop different aspects of the OAP. These workflows include Interjurisdictional Coordination, Data Synthesis, and the ROA; stakeholder engagement will be an integral part of each workflow.
The RPB will also develop a work plan that describes the process and content that each workflow will follow. The work plan will serve as a planning tool to guide RPB activities through OAP development by the end of 2016.
As a reminder, stakeholders are encouraged to provide comments to the MidA RPB at any time via email: MidAtlanticRPB@boem.gov.
Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body (RPB) Celebrates 2nd Anniversary
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