Gov. Schwarzenegger Joins Oregon & Washington Governors to Launch Ocean Action Plan

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER: I first want to thank Governor Kulongoski and also Governor Gregoire for being with me here today and making this very important announcement of our Ocean Action Plan.

As you know, California is the world leader in protecting the environment and also preserving our natural resources and I made it very clear when I ran for governor in 2003 that I would do everything in my power to protect the environment and also protect the economy. But, of course, as a state alone we only have so much power, so this is why it was very important for us to form partnerships with other states and also with provinces in Canada and Australia and also with other countries in Europe.

And I think it is very important, as we move forward with protecting our environment that we do the same thing and make similar commitments to protecting our ocean, because like the air, ocean currents don't recognize jurisdictional lines, fish and other marine life don't change directions at our state borders.

And that is why two years ago I joined the governors of Washington and Oregon in a historic partnership in order to protect the health of our Pacific Ocean. And I just want to say that it was absolutely a delight working with both of those governors, because they feel as passionate about this subject as I do and it has been really terrific. Our administrations have worked side by side now to identify the problems and develop a comprehensive action plan to solve those problems and today we are very proud to release that plan.

It commits our three states to collaborate with each other and with federal officials on a variety of specific actions, including fighting the effect of climate change on the ocean's ecosystem and in our coastal communities, opposing offshore oil drilling, improving our oil spill prevention and response strategies and assessing the impact of renewable ocean energy development such as wave and tidal energy.

We are united ecologically and now we are also united politically. We have Democrats and Republicans here working together and with one powerful voice. A healthy Pacific is vital to each of our states. Our fishermen depend on it for their livelihood, the coastal cities and towns depend on it for recreation and for tourism and we all enjoy its calming beauty.

Now, today's Ocean Plan builds on a series of actions that California and our administration has already taken:

I signed, for assistance, legislation establishing the Ocean Protection Council, which has invested more than $30 million in innovative ocean protection measures and we plan to invest an additional $90 million over the next few years.
We also implemented the Marine Life Protection Act, which establishes underwater reserves that will be like national parks, only in the ocean.
Just last week our Air Resources Board approved the world's toughest emission limits on ships coming into California ports.
And today our Ocean Protection Council is releasing its draft strategy to reduce and eliminate the ocean litter and cleaning our beaches.

Here in California we have many beautiful sites such as Hollywood, Yosemite, Disneyland and many others. But perhaps the greatest attraction is the Pacific, whether it's deep sea fishing off the coast of Monterey, or if it is scuba diving in Santa Barbara, or whale watching in San Diego, or even pumping iron at Venice Beach. And, with the help of our partners to our north, we will preserve those experiences for future generations to enjoy.

So again, I want to say thank you very much, all of you, for being here today and we want to thank both of the governors, Governor Kulongoski and Governor Gregoire, for their great, great work and being such great partners.

And now I have the great pleasure to introduce the Oregon governor, Ted Kulongoski. Please.

GOVERNOR KULONGOSKI: Thank you, Governor Schwarzenegger. It's great to be part of this exciting and necessary initiative.

Oregon has a legacy of innovation and leadership when it comes to our ocean. Since the early 1970s Oregon has managed our ocean resources with an eye to future generations, focusing on protecting ecological, social and economic values that the coast and oceans provide us as a state and a region. I am pleased that Washington and California have united with Oregon to address our shared challenges. We all want clean coastal waters and beaches, healthy ocean ecosystems and an increased scientific understanding of our ocean and its many resources driving coastal communities. This plan will help each of us foster sustainable coastal communities.

But to achieve this we must first identify the current economic conditions of coastal communities. We need a better understanding of the coastal economics of our shoreline so we can support the kind of future development that protects our coast's biggest asset, a healthy ocean. As part of our collective efforts we will work with coastal communities across the country and on our West Coast. From that we can learn how to better be productive and create accessible waterfronts with water-dependent businesses and activities, not waterfronts overrun by condos and t-shirt shops.

One way to both create economic opportunities while also increasing our production of clean, renewable energy is to explore the potential of wave energy. Harnessing the energy of waves and tides along the West Coast is an exciting endeavor. Oregon, along with the entire West Coast, has the potential to be the national leader in generating power from waves, a renewable, clean and reliable resource. It is extremely important, though, that the three states combine efforts to evaluate both the benefits and impacts of ocean energy development. We need to learn how wave energy effects the marine environment, as well as the fishermen who are currently using the same areas where the wave industry would like to anchor buoys.

We also need to develop a consistent state and federal regulatory approach. Wave energy is a new use of our ocean and we need to make sure that the state and federal government are ready to handle the permit process. I signed a unique agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that will provide us with the leverage we need to assert our interest in wave energy efforts. It is critically important to me that the wave energy products are in Oregon's long-term interest.

Wave energy is also very deserving of serious consideration because it will help Oregon fight climate change. My colleague, Governor Schwarzenegger, has already highlighted this critical issue and I want to assure you that Oregon is committed to playing its part. During the 2009 legislative session I will pursue a comprehensive legislative package that aggressively mitigates the impacts of global warming and puts Oregon on track to achieve our goal of reducing greenhouse gas levels to 10 percent less than 1990 levels by the year 2020.

This package will make key investments in a cap and trade system, energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy, sustainable transportation and a clean technologies workforce. A plan to keep our oceans healthy is limited in what it can accomplish absent a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. Global warming is having a negative impact on our marine life. We must take action now.

Finally, in order for us to be successful we need the help of the citizens of the West Coast. That is why with the Ocean Action Plan we promote increasing ocean awareness and expanding ocean education is a critical part of our effort. These four priorities, sustainable coastal economics, wave energy, climate change and ocean education, represent just a handful of the commitments I have made with Governor Gregoire and Schwarzenegger in our West Coast Ocean Action Plan. This collaboration with California and Washington is going to provide us with the resources we need to truly address the challenges and the opportunities our shared ocean faces.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my vision with you. I'd like to now turn to Governor Gregoire in Washington, who I know shares the same passion for the Pacific Coast as me. Governor Gregoire?

GOVERNOR GREGOIRE: Well, thank you. Thank you, Governor Schwarzenegger, thank you, Governor Kulongoski, for stepping up to this wonderful partnership with respect to our oceans. You know, one of the treasures in Washington State is our marine waters and our Puget Sound. I'm here on the banks of Puget Sound today. Our waters provide us food. Our waters provide us, in Washington State per capita, the largest import/export market in the country. But also importantly, our waters provide us our heritage, our culture, how we raise our families and I know, Governors Kulongoski and Schwarzenegger share this passion and that all of our peoples share the passion to protect these waters.

Now more than ever we are threatened by pollution. Not only are we threatened by the pollution that we can see on the surface but inside and deep in those waters, such that in some parts of our wonderful Puget Sound we have literally oxygen-deprived areas that we call 'dead zones', where during the summertime we will see marine life and fisheries come up on the shore, dead.

Our ocean currents really don't, as Governor Schwarzenegger said, know any boundaries; we have the same, we share the same problems. Today we say, like we have on global climate change, we share the responsibility to find the same solutions.

And I couldn't be more pleased at the announcement of our Action Plan. Today is an opportunity for us, like what we've been doing here in Washington Sate, where over the last three years we've invested almost $240 million to clean up our amazing estuary called Puget Sound. It's not just about money, it's our communities coming together, every one of our citizens sharing the responsibility, knowing what's at stake and sharing the opportunity for us all to preserve and protect our marine waters.

Today I want to give a big thanks to our federal family; they're here with me today on the banks of Puget Sound. NOA, our Environmental Protection Agency, our Department of Interior, all have come together to join these three coastal states to say let us work together to find the kinds of solutions that are based on science, that involve all of our people and protect and preserve and do what we do best, which is leave this amazing legacy to our children and our children's children. This action plan today is unique; it is an opportunity for all of us to come together.

I thank you, Governor Schwarzenegger; I thank you, Governor, Kulongoski, for your shared passion and your amazing partnership. Together we are going to get this job done. Thank you very much.

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER: Thank you very much, Governor Gregoire and Governor Kulongoski. Thank you so much. And I'm looking forward to working with both of you in the future to clean our ocean, so thank you very much for the great partnership. Thank you. I'm so happy this worked out. Man, technology.

QUESTION/ANSWER:

QUESTION: Governor, could you comment please on your intentions to sign this executive order on Thursday?

GOVERNOR: I have no further details about the negotiations. All I can tell you is that they are going well and we are working as much as possible in order to get that budget done. And yes, on Thursday I will be signing an executive order. And in the meantime, let's protect our oceans. Thank you very much.