Top officials from the Obama administration will be in Rhode Island on Thursday and Friday to collect ideas from residents and experts for new federal policies designed to provide for better stewardship and planning for the nation’s oceans and coastlines. President Obama last summer created a special interagency task force headed by Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, to gather ideas around the country and submit a report to him this winter. The task force has already held packed hearings in Anchorage and San Francisco. It has also scheduled a meeting for Sept. 29 in Honolulu.
The Providence hearing begins at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Rhode Island Convention Center. A panel of local experts will offer brief testimony and the task force will listen to comments from the public.
Officially, the Providence hearing concludes at 7 p.m. But Sutley’s spokesperson, Christine Glunz, said the task force will allow time for testimony from anyone who wishes to speak. The task force also will accept written testimony and some members will visit the University of Rhode Island and other locations on Friday to gather additional information.
Read the Interim Report Of The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force.