Federal Agencies
Workgroups are collaborative communities, often within an organization that complete efforts
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The federal governments of both the USA and Canada are divided into departments, agencies and administrations.
In the USA, these workgroups have budgets developed within the agencies, but reviewed by the OMB, and proposed to various legislative branch committees. Through staff labor, the exercise of legal authority, and funding opportunities, these agencies influence ecosystem management in Puget Sound. The White House Council on Environmental Quality has defined the Puget Sound Federal Task Force as the forum where federal actions are coordinated to support Puget Sound recovery, and integrated with Tribal, State and Local government work.
Similarities and Differences between USA and Canada
It would be great to have a comparison of how the federal government functions around stewardship in the Salish Sea are similar or different across the border.
Federal Agencies
The following federal workgroups have been identified on the platform.
USA
In the USA, the Executive Branch is divided into a series of cabinet level departments (some of which are called agencies) and these are further subdivided into sub-units, sometimes called branches or services or otherwise. Each is granted legal authorities and congressional appropriations by congress. The Office of Management and Budget oversees budget development on behalf of the president. There is a division of power between the federal government and sovereign States, that each have their own constitution, executive, legislature and judiciary. Powers not given to the federal government are retained by states.
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- National Forest Foundation
- National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Marine Fisheries Service
- NOAA Restoration Center
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Pacific Northwest Research Station
- Puget Sound Federal Task Force
- US Army Corps of Engineers
- US Department of Agriculture
- US Department of Justice
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service
- US Geological Survey
- US Navy
Canada
By contrast, Canadian provinces have only the powers specfically granted by the Constitution and Parliment.
Notes
- Three major capital flows define federal funding for ecosystem management:
- Clean Water Act particularly the EPA national estuary program
- The Endangered Species Act which engendered the Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund which largely created Salmon Recovery.
- The Farm Bill which distributes funds through USDA and particularly NRCS assistance programs.
- Federal actions, including regulation or funding, trigger a set of requirements under federal law including:
- National Environmental Protection Act which defines procedures that agencies must use to consider effects on the human environment when making decisions.
- National Historical Protection Act which requires federal agencies to protect cultural resources.
- Endangered Species Act which requires agencies to consider effects of threatened or endangered species and their habitats.
- And a long list of other requirements and Executive Orders that drive federal policy to greater or lesser degrees.
Federal Legal Topics
USA
- Best Available Science
- Clean Water Act
- Coastal Zone Management Act
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
- Endangered Species Act
- Executive Order 11988
- Farm Bill
- Federal Nexus
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- National Historic Preservation Act
- National Historical Preservation Act
- Natural Resource Damage Assessment
- Oil Pollution Act
- Rivers and Harbors Act
- The Boldt Decision
- Viable Salmon Population Parameters
