The Coalition for Buzzards Bay

Coalition Supports Draft Ocean Mangement Plan - Encourages State to Incorporate Missing Information

On May 28, 2008, Governor Deval Patrick signed the Oceans Act of 2008. This ground-breaking legislation required that the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles develop a draft comprehensive ocean management plan that balances natural resource preservation with traditional and new uses, including renewable energy. The Oceans Act established a deadline of June 30, 2009 for the release of the draft and December 31, 2009 for release of the final plan. The public comment period for the draft plan opened in mid-September and on October 5, The Coalition for Buzzards Bay submitted extensive comments to the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management.

“This plan was drafted under an extremely aggressive timeline. We support the plan because it affords Buzzards Bay greater protections, but we remain concerned as it is based on limited information. We strongly encourage the Secretary to continue to develop the plan and identify and obtain additional data to ensure that management of the state’s coastal waters is as effective as possible,” said Coalition Advocacy Specialist Kerri Murphy.

The Oceans Act requires a full review of the plan after five years, during which a revision will take place to refine proposed management decisions. However, the Coalition would like to see a commitment to including missing and new information at regular intervals prior to the five-year revision.

“There’s a lot of information that still needs to be incorporated and interim timelines must be established for the collection of that information in order to better inform management decisions.” said Advocacy Vice President Korrin N. Petersen, Esq.

The Coalition also provided comments on the draft plan’s proposed wind energy areas. Overall, the plan designates two percent of state waters for commercial wind energy facilities and allows for community-scale wind projects totaling up to 10 turbines in Buzzards Bay. An area at the far southern end of the Elizabeth Islands has been identified as a suitable location for larger scale wind energy facilities. However, the Coalition identified that this determination is based solely on existing information, and thus, suggests the Secretary continue to gather new ecological information at these locations.

“The Draft Plan provides an important first step to the appropriate siting of ocean-based renewable energy facilities in Massachusetts, and we support the state's proposed limit for community-scale wind projects. However, we will continue to carefully review any proposed renewable energy facility within or adjacent to Buzzards Bay to ensure that adverse environmental impacts are avoided,” said Petersen.

Additionally, the Coalition found that the draft plan appropriately identifies eelgrass as a “special, sensitive or unique resource,” but fails to sufficiently protect eelgrass because it defines eelgrass habitat areas based on existing coverage rather than historical coverage.

Eelgrass, which is a rooted underwater plant that grows in meadows on the bay floor in areas of excellent water clarity and sunlight penetration, serves as vital habitat for a broad range of marine life, including bay scallops. It’s been estimated by the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program that Buzzards Bay historically supported as much as 24,000 acres of eelgrass meadows. Eelgrass habitat is in decline and the Draft Plan cites that Buzzards Bay loses three acres of eelgrass each year – a 26 percent loss over 1995 levels and by more than half since 1988. The Coalition’s State of the Bay Report [insert link to report] found that no other Bay health indicator saw a greater decline over 2003 levels than eelgrass.

“The final plan must protect the areas where eelgrass historically occurred, not just the areas where it exists now. Both the Commonwealth and the Coalition have made substantial investment aimed at restoring eelgrass habitat to historic levels and the plan should avoid uses in those areas.” said Petersen.

Other issues addressed in the Coalition’s comments included:

Several areas of the draft plan’s Science Framework chapter cite the impacts of nitrogen pollution on our oceans. The Coalition asks how the plan intends to address nitrogen pollution to meet water quality standards in Buzzards Bay.

The need for a process to assess the impacts of construction activities within the planning area, as well as areas adjacent to the planning area, including nearshore harbors and coves. The “planning area” in the draft plan is defined by state waters, or all waters extending three miles from shore.

Future iterations of the plan must also consider changes in fuel types and transport methods through Buzzards Bay, stating that the types and amounts of fuel being transported through the Bay are diversifying. The Coalition says, “The final plan must commit to tracking changes in vessel and cargo types in Buzzards Bay and determine whether adequate protective regulations exist.”

Additionally, the Coalition stressed that communities impacted by an ocean development project, such as the construction of wind turbines, receive the economic benefit from the Ocean Resources and Waterways Trust Fund established by the Oceans Act.

The public comment period runs through 5 p.m. Nov. 23. All comments will be considered by state environmental officials as they prepare a final draft of the plan. To view the complete list of comments submitted by the Coalition, click here.