345 



The Charter stresses the importance of the affected coastal States 

 participating in the activities of the Task Force but not as voting 

 members. I want to note that from the beginning the State 

 representatives have participated actively, effectively, and have made 

 substantial contributions. 



Although the present Charter restricts the BTF's responsibilities to 

 Lease Sale #42, the Department of the Interior says it wants the Task 

 Force to make environmental recommendations for pending Lease Sale #52, 

 and is giving strong consideration to including as well pending Lease 

 Sale #82. Lease Sale #52 includes part of Georges Bank, while Lease Sale 

 #82 includes the entire North Atlantic Planning Area, about 60 million 

 acres. 



Interactions with other Groups 



From the time of its first meeting in Hyannis in early 1980, the 

 Task Force declared all its meetings should be open, publicized 

 beforehand, and aimed at solving technical problems. All the meetings 

 are well attended, 60 people to several hundred participating, depending 

 on the agenda. These people represent just about every shade of interest 

 in Georges Bank. The Task Force sought to set the tone of its meetings 

 by stressing in its discussions the goal of protecting the living 

 resources of Georges Bank while allowing the prudent extraction of oil 



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