Task force tackles water woes

Water became a clear priority July 19 after President Obama signed an executive order that will establish a National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts and Great Lakes, according to the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality.

The order, which also includes the creation of a National Ocean Council, is intended to strengthen management tactics used by the government to address conservation, economic activity and sustainable use of the ocean, U.S. coasts and the Great Lakes.

The order was drafted after Obama requested June 12 that an Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force be created. The establishment of the national policy and the NOC are the final recommendations of that task force.