This week the EPA released for public comment its Draft Climate Change Adaptation Implementation Plans, one for each of its ten Regions and seven National Programs. The notice of availability for public comment explained that in order for the EPA to carry out its functions it must address adaptation to climate change.
” Until now, EPA has been able to assume that climate is relatively stable and future climate would mirror past climate. However, with climate changing at an increasingly rapid rate and outside the range to which society has adapted in the past, climate change is posing new challenges to EPA’s ability to fulfill its mission. The Agency’s draft Implementation Plans provide a road map for the Agency to address future changes in climate and to incorporate considerations of climate change into its mission-driven activities.”
For those interested in commenting the following information should be noted:
“The public review drafts of EPA’s draft Implementation Plans have been posted to a public docket and they are available on the Agency Web site at this URL address: http://epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/fed-programs/EPA-impl-plans.html. The Docket for public comment can be found on the Federal Government Regulations Web site (http://www.regulations.gov/# !home). It is Docket Number EPA-HQ-OA-2013-0568.
DATES:
The public should respond to the EPA with comment via the public docket no later than January 3, 2014. Only comments received by the deadline will be considered by the Agency in finalizing its plan.
ADDRESSES:
If you have questions about responding to this notice, please contact Gerald Filbin by phone (202-566-2182), or by mail (1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460).”