Sarah Abramson, Coastal Resources Director, Heal the Bay

The following comments are directed to both the United States Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 102, May 27, 2008) on the federal definition of “marine debris.” Heal the Bay is a non-profit environmental organization that has worked over 20 years in protecting California’s coastal waters, beaches and watersheds. For the past two years, we have been actively engaged at the local and state level in the reduction and elimination of ocean pollution. We feel that it is necessary to have a clear, consistent and broad enough definition of marine debris to effectively achieve the goals of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention and Reduction Act (Act). Heal the Bay suggests the following changes to the proposed definition of marine debris: (Please see attached letter for redline and explanation).