Zoning plan of Massachusets

1. Marine spatial planning
in Massachusetts:
Development of a comprehensive
Ocean Management Plan
Presentation for NOAA: August 11, 2009
Bruce Carlisle & John Weber
MA Office of Coastal Zone Management

2. Outline
• Oceans Act of 2008
• MSP – translating the Oceans Act through
spatial data
• Marine use screening/compatibility
• Marine ecosystem protection
• Draft plan:
– Management areas
– Siting and management of allowed uses
– Administration
– Science framework
• Next steps

3. Oceans Act of 2008
• Confirms EEA Secretary as trustee of the
Commonwealth’s oceans
• Directs Secretary to establish an ocean
management plan by December 31, 2009
• Creates two consultative bodies:
–Ocean Advisory Commission
–Ocean Science Advisory Council
• Contains a set of directives: “oceans 15”

4. The plan shall:
Governance
…set forth goals, siting priorities and standards for ensuring
effective stewardship of its ocean waters held in trust for the
benefit of the public
…identify appropriate locations and performance standards
for activities, uses and facilities allowed under the Ocean
Sanctuaries Act
Human use
(ecosystem
services)
…reflect the importance of the waters to its citizens who
derive livelihoods and recreational benefits from fishing
…foster sustainable uses that capitalize on economic
opportunity without significant detriment to the ecology or
natural beauty of the ocean
Ecosystem
components
…identify and protect special, sensitive or unique estuarine
and marine life and habitats
…value biodiversity and ecosystem health
Six of the “oceans 15”

5. Ocean planning area
Ocean sanctuaries
Federal areas of note
Jurisdictional
boundaries

6. Primary uses, activities and facilities (UAFs)
allowed under Ocean Sanctuaries Act
• Harvesting and propagation of fish and shellfish
• Renewable energy facilities of appropriate scale
• Laying of cables
• Municipal wastewater treatment discharges and facilities
• Sand and gravel extraction for shore protection or beach
restoration
• Channel and shore protection projects
• Educational and scientific activities
• Projects authorized under Chapter 91 and deemed to be
of “public necessity and convenience”

7. 15 requirements of the Act
GOALS
• Balance and protect the natural,
social, cultural, historic, and
economic interests of the
marine ecosystem
• Recognize and protect
biodiversity, ecosystem health,
and the interdependence of
ecosystems
• Support wise use of marine
resources, including renewable
energy, sustainable uses, and
infrastructure
• Incorporate new knowledge as
the basis for management that
adapts over time to address
changing social, technological,
and environmental conditions
OUTCOMES
• Integrated ocean
management plan
• Special, sensitive, unique
resources identified and
protected
• Areas for renewables
and other uses identified
with performance
standards
• Blueprint for Plan 2.0:
science, stakeholder,
policy/management
adaptive frameworks
STRATEGIES
STRATEGIES

8. Translating the Oceans Act into an
ocean plan through spatial data
Oceans
Act
Goals and
strategies
Plan objectives
Decision-making
guidance
Compatibility
assessment
Use siting preferences
Functional compatibility
analysis
Policy decisions
Screening
criteria
Represent
compatibility
assessment
with available
spatially-explicit
data
Draft
Plan
Plan
development
Develop plan
based on
synthesis of
spatial and
management
elements

9. Oceans Act
requirement
Goal Strategy Data
Reflect the
importance of the
waters of the
Commonwealth to
its citizens who
derive livelihoods
and recreational
benefits from
fishing
Effective
stewardship:
Facilitate careful
and responsible
management for
wise and
sustainable use of
the marine
ecosystem
Minimize conflicts
with fishing by
siting new
development areas
outside areas of:
• Significant
commercial
fishing effort and
value
• Concentrated
recreational
fishing activity
• Commercial
fishing:
DMF catch
reports, SAFIS
data, NMFS vessel
trip reports
• Recreational
fishing:
DMF survey
MMTA survey
Connecting statutory mandate through goals,
strategies to spatial information

10. Commercial fishing activity Recreational activity

11. Oceans Act
requirement
Goal Strategy Data
Support the
infrastructure
necessary to
sustain the
economy and
quality of life for
the citizens of the
commonwealth
Effective
stewardship:
Facilitate careful
and responsible
management for
wise and
sustainable use of
the marine
ecosystem
Consider significant
navigation areas
and connections
Management
measures for
utilities based on
compatibility and
other factors
• Coast guard nav.
areas
• AIS large vessel
tracks
• VMS fishing
vessel tacks
• Cables and
pipelines
• Active and
inactive disposal
sites
Connecting statutory mandate through goals,
strategies to spatial information

12. Navigational uses
Infrastructure

13. Screening and compatibility:
Wind energy sites
• Use siting preference criteria:
– Wind speed:
• >7.5 meters/second
• Increments above matter
– Water depth:
• 20 meters for mono-pile technologies (existing
application)
• 60 meters for jacket truss technologies (in development
/ pilot application)
• Influences extreme storm wave height
– Sub‐bottom geology

14. Screening and compatibility:
Wind energy sites
• Exclusionary: significant potential for adverse
effects or functional incompatibility
– Buffer from development and near-coast activities:
• Areas within 1 mile of shoreline (MLW) of inhabited land
– High concentrations of marine avifauna:
• Core nesting, staging, and critical foraging areas for Roseate Tern
• Special Concern (Arctic, Least, and Common) Tern critical habitat areas
• Long‐Tail Duck important habitat
• Colonial water birds important nesting habitat areas
– High concentrations of whales:
• North Atlantic Right Whale core habitat area

15. Screening and compatibility:
Wind energy sites
• Exclusionary: significant potential for adverse
effects or functional incompatibility
– Water-dependent marine uses:
• Coast Guard-designated navigation areas (shipping channels and traffic
lanes, precautionary areas, anchorage areas, pilot boarding areas)
• Ferry routes
• Areas of high/significant commercial fishing effort and value
• Direct transit navigation routes for shipping and fishing
– Regulated airspace:
• FAA/MAC designated buffers

16. Screening and compatibility:
Wind energy sites
• Constraint: some potential for adverse effects or
incompatibility
– High concentrations of marine avifauna:
• Leach’s Storm Petrel important nesting habitat areas
– High concentrations of whale populations:
• Humpback and Fin Whale important habitat areas
– Historic / archaeological resources:
• Known historic / archaeological sites

17. Screening and compatibility:
Wind energy sites
• Constraint: some potential for adverse effects or
incompatibility
– Water-dependent marine uses:
• Areas of medium commercial fishing effort and value
• Areas of concentrated recreational fishing activity
• Direct transit navigation routes for recreation
• Concentrations of recreational uses

18. Compatibility
assessment
for siting of
commercial
renewable wind
energy facilities

19. • Need for systematic methodology to evaluate and
discriminate ecological importance of planning
area
• Development of Ecological Valuation Index
– Compile and analyze spatial data
Marine mammals: 4 species
Avifauna: 5 species
Crustaceans and Mollusks: 13 species
Fish: 22 species
– Apply standard set of criteria and scoring:
 Major contribution to fitness of population
 Spatial rarity
 Global and regional importance
Ecological Valuation Index

20. Ecological Valuation Index: Three output options
Ecological Valuation Index:
Quartile distribution
all scores for species
occurring in grid cell
Ecological Valuation Index:
Quartile distribution
all scores for species
occurring in grid cell
by group
Ecological Valuation Index:
Decile distribution
all scores for species
occurring in grid cell
by group

21. • Benefits of EVI
– Differentiates areas in terms of their ecological value,
using data on marine organisms
– Help identify areas esp. suitable for protection
– 1st step toward managing based on ecosystem
perspective
• Limitations of EVI
– Data availability and spatial resolution
– Difficulties in applications for abiotic endpoints
– Coarse tool: evolving understanding of ocean
ecosystem interactions
Ecological Valuation Index

22. • Prohibited: Fixed standard
– Prohibited by law (CC OS)
– Prohibited by plan (commercial-scale wind)
• Renewable Energy Area
– Specifically designated for commercial wind energy facilities
• Multi-use
– Uses, activities, facilities allowed by Ocean Sanctuaries Act
– Managed based on siting and performance standards
associated
– Development directed away from important resources (SSUs)
and concentrations of existing water-dependent uses
Management framework

23. Management areas
in draft ocean plan

24. Renewable energy areas
in draft ocean plan

25. Wind energy development areas
• Rigorous screening, compatibility assessment,
cumulative effects/conflicts
• Wind energy sites:
– State waters area SW of Elizabeth Islands
– State waters area SW of Noman’s Land
– 2% of planning area
– Adjacent Federal waters
• Additional feasibility and evaluation
• Coordination with MMS and federal agencies

26. Siting and review of other UAFs
• Outside of Renewable Energy Area and
Prohibited Area, remainder of uses, activities, and
facilities (UAFs) allowed by Ocean Sanctuaries Act
are directed away from high value resources and
concentrations of existing water-dependent uses
• Review for new UAFs:
– Primarily through MEPA, supported by agency
authorizations
– Avoid or demonstrate no less damaging practicable
alternative

27. Project location within areas of special,
sensitive or unique resources
Siting
standard
Performance
standard
 North Atlantic Right Whale core
habitat area
 Humpback and Fin Whale important
habitat areas
 Roseate Tern core habitat areas
 Special concern (Arctic, Least, and
Common) tern core habitat areas
 Long-tailed Duck important habitat
areas
 Leach’s Storm Petrel important
nesting habitat areas
 Colonial water birds important nesting
habitat areas
 Areas of hard/complex seafloor
 Eelgrass
 Intertidal flats
 Important fish resource areas
Avoid, or
demonstrate that
there is no less
damaging
practicable
alternative, or
demonstrate that
data does not
accurately
characterize
resource or use
Meet all
applicable
permitting
standards;
minimum baseline
standard is avoid,
minimize, and
mitigate impacts
to the maximum
extent feasible

28. Project location within areas of existing
water-dependent uses
Siting
standard
Performance
standard
 Areas of high commercial fishing by
effort and value
 Areas of concentrated recreational
fishing
 Areas of concentrated commerce and
commercial fishing traffic
 Areas of concentrated recreational
boating activity
Avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts
to the maximum extent feasible; use
mapped areas to guide alternatives
analysis and additional project-specific
characterization of existing uses and
potential impacts. Secretary may
require higher siting standard, above,
on project-specific review of potential
significance of impacts to mapped
commercial or recreational activity.

29. Resources and uses
for siting/management:
commercial tidal
energy facilities

30. Resources and uses
for siting/management:
sand/gravel
extraction

31. Resources and uses
for siting & management:
telecommunication &
electric cables

32. Resources and uses
for siting & management:
pipelines

33. • EEA Interagency Ocean Team
• Planning and coordination for policy development, scientific
research, and regulatory decision-making
• Ocean Resources and Waterways Trust Fund
• Secretary is trustee of the fund in coordination with DEP
Commissioner
• Develop standardized compensatory mitigation and/or lease
and occupation fees
• Protocols for routine plan updates
• New geospatial data/information on uses or resources
• Technical corrections for errata or language clarifications
• Minor changes to specified management area boundaries.
Administration

34. • Blueprint for evolving knowledge and understanding:
– Summaries major marine ecosystem components and drivers
– Illustrates important information needs
– Describes the key actions identified to further operational
objectives
• Ecosystem monitoring, characterization, mapping, and
classification
• Characterization and mapping of human uses/activities
• Ecosystem models and decision-support tools
• Applied scientific research
• Integrated data management and communication
network
Science framework

35. Next steps
• 6 month review prior to plan promulgation: June 30
• Formal public hearings in 1st part of September
• OAC and SAC meetings and stakeholder input
• Further work on several components
– Advisory committee examining Ocean Sanctuaries Act
provisions (i.e., “significantly alter” and “public necessity and
convenience”)
– Improve / further develop key spatial data sets
– Develop indicator framework
– Integrated data management and communication network
• Finalize and promulgate plan: December 31
• Adopt as part of MA coastal program plan

36. For more information:
www.mass.gov/eea/mop
www.mass.gov/czm/oceanmanagement
www.massoceanpartnership.org