Ocean Zone News Blog

By Richard Gaines
Staff Writer

Well below the low-water line for news, the White House is moving to create a system for managing the space — surface and depth — of federal waters that amounts to ocean zoning and is known as “marine spatial planning.”

If adopted by Congress and imposed, the new approach would force radical alteration of the historic American understanding of the “open seas” — by purpose, they would no longer be open and instead zoned for pre- and proscribed uses.

Gov. Deval Patrick has a state task force at work drafting a parallel zoning program for the three mile ribbon of state water inside the 200 mile federal water frame.

A simple model cited by the White House task force to exemplify the nature of marine spacial planning is how the main shipping channel through the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary was shifted slightly to the south about four years ago to reduce collisions with whales.

The approach would impose a super bureaucracy over the many already operating with authority over aspects of federal waters — “a leviathan of a regulatory structure,” in the phrase of David Frulla and Shaun Gehan, Washington lawyers who write a column for National Fisherman.

E2 members – Be sure to tune in for the monthly National TeleSalon on February 3, for more on this issue.
Imagine running a multi-billion dollar corporation without a mission statement, a board of directors, or even a CEO. That’s the challenge facing our ocean management that we need to fix.

Our oceans are not just places of wonder and beauty – they are economic engines providing valuable jobs, food, energy resources, and recreation and tourism opportunities. The ocean economy provided 1½ times as many jobs as the agricultural sector and generated 2½ times the economic output of the farm sector in 2000. In 2004, U.S. ocean sector industries contributed more than $230 billion, including multipliers, to the nation’s GDP with the largest single ocean sector industry contributing to GDP – over half of the total ocean sector industries’ contribution – being tourism and recreation. The tourism and recreational sector was also responsible for more than 2 million jobs. A separate analysis by the National Marine Fisheries Service in 2006 found that expenditures by recreational fishermen contributed $82 billion in sales to the U.S. economy and supported over 500,000 jobs. In brief, there’s a lot of money and jobs riding on ocean health.

This release can be found in the USGS Newsroom at: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2397.
News Release

January 28, 2010
Mark Fornwall 808-984-3724 mark_fornwall@usgs.gov John Mosesso 703-648-4079 john_mosesso@usgs.gov Ron Sepic 703-648-4218 ron_sepic@usgs.gov

January 21, 2010

Seeming to follow a pattern that is emerging in this country, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell told his fellow citizen’s in his State of the State Address that the Federal Government is prohibiting Alaska from developing and growing and using its resources according to the needs of her people. Parnell cited history stating that Alaskans believed when they joined the Union that they would be free to develop resources.

Stating opposition to a plan that would set aside an area of land the size of California to protect polar bears, Parnell said the federal government and others have abused the Endangered Species Act to exert governmental power and take away state sovereignty.

With statehood, the strong assumption prevailed that, as a fledgling state, we would be allowed to develop our own resources without constant federal interference.

Today, however, the federal government’s actions often seem at war with Alaskan interests.

The federal government has misused the Endangered Species Act as a regulatory weapon to delay development of Alaska’s resources. Now, they have proposed setting aside an area larger than the state of California as critical habitat for polar bears. I strongly oppose such overreactive ESA listings and critical habitat designations. These are job killers and beyond the feds authority.

Published by http://www.maritime-executive.com
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/white-house-release-interim-framework-coastal-and-marine-spatial-planning/
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Joan M. Bondareff, Of Counsel, Blank Rome LLP, weighs in and explains the recent release of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)’s “Interim Framework for Effective Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning”.
In 1983, President Reagan declared that the United States had exclusive rights to the resources of the 200-mile zone off its coasts, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and the extended Outer Continental Shelf under customary international law. (He also rejected the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) because of its restrictive provisions on seabed mining; ever since, the U.S. has failed to ratify LOST, but this is a story for another day.) Since the Reagan Proclamation, the U.S. has been devising ways to govern this vast offshore region—the U.S. has the largest EEZ in the world—and has largely done so using a hodge-podge of individual resource laws, such as the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), the Magnuson Fishery and Conservation Management Act, and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
Twenty-five years after the Reagan Proclamation, with new and competing uses of the ocean for aquaculture, renewable energy, and large wind farms, the Obama Administration has proposed an ambitious plan to divide up the EEZ and Great Lakes along regional lines and, over the next five years, create a comprehensive system of Coastal and Marine Spatial Plans (CMSPs). When fully executed, we could have a zoning map of the oceans and coasts to provide predictability for siting of current and planned commercial uses.
On December 14, 2009, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released to the public an “Interim Framework for Effective Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning”. ( The Interim Framework is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/oceans ) The Interim Framework is available for public comment until February 12, 2010. Interested stakeholders, including those involved with ports and harbors, offshore shipping, cruise lines, offshore renewable and nonrenewable energy development, fisheries, and other users of the EEZ and Great Lakes, should take advantage of this process to submit their comments through the above portal. Following are some highlights of the Interim Framework and anticipated process for development of CMSPs.
Initially, the Interim Framework divides the EEZ and Great Lakes into nine regions consistent with the boundaries of identified Large Marine Ecosystems: (1) Alaska/Arctic Region (includes Alaska); (2) Caribbean Region (includes Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands); (3) Great Lakes Region (includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin); (4) Gulf of Mexico Region (includes Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas); (5) Mid-Atlantic Region (includes Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia); (6) Northeast Region (includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont); (7) Pacific Islands Region (includes Hawaii, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Guam); (8) South Atlantic Region (includes Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina); and (9) West Coast Region (includes California, Oregon, and Washington). (New York and Pennsylvania are counted twice because they are coastal and Great Lakes states.)
Each region is tasked with the development of a CMSP. The Plan is to be developed by a coordinating group of representatives from Federal, State and local, and tribal entities, as well as Alaskan and Hawaiian Native groups. The Plan is to be based on scientific data and the precautionary principle (derived from the Rio Declaration that requires caution to be taken when there is a risk of serious environmental damage and no scientific certainty). Stakeholder participation is encouraged throughout the process, mainly through the establishment of local advisory committees.
The goal of each CMSP is to identify areas within the region that are suitable for siting of various uses and to reduce conflicts among those uses. The Interim Framework does not create a hierarchy among all the competing uses of the EEZ, but mainly is aimed at providing a “public policy process for society to better determine how the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes are sustainably used and protected now and for future generations.” Among the uses recognized as having a legitimate role are: aquaculture, commerce and transportation, commercial and recreational fishing, environmental conservation, maritime heritage, oil and gas exploration and development, ports and harbors, renewable energy (e.g., wind, wave, tidal, current, and thermal), and military readiness activities.
Once the Plans are developed at the regional level, they will be submitted to an interagency committee on ocean policy—the National Ocean Council (NOC)—for certification and approval. The regional principals will execute an agreement to put the CMSP into effect. At that point, all activities within the region are to be conducted consistent with the certified Plan—shades of federal consistency under the CZMA.
CEQ is realistic in acknowledging that development of the Plans will take considerable time and resources and that agency budgets may need tweaking to carry out the Plans. The Interim Framework anticipates that the first Plan may not be submitted to the NOC for three years and that all Plans may not be completed and certified before 2015.
The Interim Framework assumes that agencies have adequate authority to develop the Plans, but new legislation may be needed to resolve use conflicts down the road. It is hard to see how Congress will not have a substantial role in the development and approval of Plans that are aimed at managing resources throughout the 200-mile EEZ, extended OCS, and Great Lakes. The uses to be managed implicate many Congressional Committees and many agencies—all with their own prerogatives and interests. Eventually, it will probably be up to Congress, working with the Administration, to grant the agencies the respective authorities and resources they may lack to execute these regional CMSPs.
From an optimistic viewpoint, a well-developed Plan, with appropriate input from affected stakeholders, could lead to greater predictability and certainty in the regulatory and permitting processes for offshore maritime activities. This, in turn, could provide greater certainty for capital investments in ports and harbor infrastructure, new maritime highways, new forms of offshore energy, and other forms of commercial uses of the EEZ yet to be identified. This is the best we can hope for in a Framework of Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning. But, it is up to interested stakeholders to make sure their activities in the oceans of the U.S. are protected in the development of the CMSPs

Written by U.S. Army Corps, Norfolk District Public Affairs
Friday, 15 January 2010
Virginia Beach, Va. — January 15, 2010 — The Army Corps of Engineers Lynnhaven Oyster Restoration Project Team received the 2009 Coastal American Partnership Award Jan. 14 for their efforts to restore a 60-acre network of oyster reefs in the Lynnhaven River.

These are permanent sanctuaries – free from fishing – creating the second largest such network in the world. This network functions as a Marine Protected Area benefiting the ecosystem with increased oyster larval production throughout the river, improved juvenile fish habitat, and better water quality. The team will continue to collaborate between federal, state, local governments, academia and local non-profit organizations to expand the sanctuary to an additional 40 acres.

The ceremony, which was the highlight of the Lynnhaven River Now’s annual social, was held at the Steinhilber’s Restaurant in Virginia Beach.

The award is the only environmental award of its kind given by the White House, and Col. Andy Backus, commander of the Norfolk district, accepted the plaque on behalf of the Corps.

The ocean is wilderness at our doorstep. Standing on the beach looking seaward is an untamed environment. It may be difficult to directly observe and explore, but it is rich with life.

From a fish’s point of view, not every place in the ocean is created equal. The sea floor varies with ridges and plateaus, gravel banks, boulder piles, and broad muddy basins. Oceanography and geography combine to make some locations “hot spots” for marine life to feed or breed. Conditions change. Fish move around, fishermen follow the fish in a dynamic environment.

Wild fish stocks depend on the diversified balance of a wild, natural ecosystem to support abundant fish populations. Future generations’ access to plentiful seafood may hinge on planning choices we make today.

In the traffic lane
Society’s growing demands for energy, food and commerce are increasing pressure for industrial development in wild ocean habitats. Energy exploration, off-shore wind power, open ocean aquaculture, shipping, high-speed ferries, even commercial fishing are potentially disruptive of the ecological functions that sustain fisheries and marine life.

How will we strike the right balance? How do we preserve the attributes of ocean wilderness at the same time that we extend the reach of civilization into these pristine places?

Bryants Maritime Blog

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking comment on the list of nominations of existing marine protected areas (MPAs) for inclusion in the National System of Marine Protected Areas. Comments should be submitted by February 22. 75 Fed. Reg. 972 (January 7, 2010).

January 5, 2010 by David L. Wochner, Benjamin Norris

Yesterday Massachusetts released the final version of its Ocean Management Plan that provides for marine spatial planning in Massachusetts state waters. The plan allows for offshore wind turbines near Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard but protects certain environmentally sensitive areas from commercial development. Read more in the Cape Cod Times.

After hearings in Providence and around the nation, the Obama administration has moved closer to developing a new federal policy that aims at protecting oceans.

The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer
In September, more than 250 people from Maine to South Carolina packed a room in the Rhode Island Convention Center to offer their suggestions to Obama administration officials working on a new ocean policy for the nation.

Last week, following similar hearings held around the nation, President Obama’s Ocean Policy Task Force released an interim report calling for managing coastal waters through a zoning-like process called marine spatial planning.

The 32-page report, the “Interim Framework for Effective Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning,” can be found at www.whitehouse.gov. A 60-day period for public review and comment is now under way.

The marine spatial planning scheme being prepared by the President’s Council on Environmental Quality is designed to move the country away from sector-by-sector and statute-by-statute decision-making to a “more integrated, comprehensive, ecosystem-based, flexible and proactive approach to planning and managing uses and activities.”

The plan is not top-down management, the council says. It is a new approach to resource planning that is “regionally based and developed cooperatively among federal, state, tribal and local authorities and regional governance structures, through the establishment of nine regional planning bodies.”