BOSTON - Gloucester state lawmakers yesterday called on the House to quickly pass legislation directing the state to come up with a long-term plan for managing Massachusetts' coastal waters.
The bill, called the Massachusetts Ocean Act, would have the state identify what economic uses it wants to encourage and what it wants to discourage. The bill, which is supported by environmental groups and the Patrick administration, passed the Senate this summer but has stalled in the House.
Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, helped write the bill. He said it's time the state develops a long-term strategy and stops making decisions about ocean management on the fly.
"We need to come up with a framework for dealing with those issues," Tarr said.
Tarr said he thinks Gloucester's troubled fishing industry would emerge as a priority once the state decides how it wants its waters used.
"We're going to guarantee fishing is one of the most important industries in Massachusetts, and we're going to defend it against threats," Tarr said.
One of those "on-the-fly" issues was last year's siting of two LNG terminals in the city's waters.
Then Gov. Mitt Romney approved the terminals last year. Rep. Anthony Verga, D-Gloucester, and Tarr are among those who contend the projects were approved without a long-term plan for where future LNG facilities should be located. Verga said that not having a vision for how the waters off Gloucester are developed could seriously harm the city's fishing industry.
"If this continues, you might as well sell the boats and forget about fishing," Verga said.
Verga said he didn't know when the House would take up the measure. Lawmakers are scheduled to recess next week until January.
The House's inaction led Sen. Robert O'Leary, a Barnstable Democrat who co-sponsored the bill with Tarr, to take a playful jab at the House.
Referring to the "sacred cod" that hangs from the House chamber, O'Leary said, "Our codfish colleagues are more difficult to land." Sticking to the ocean theme, he added, "Our porpoise here today is to bring them aboard."
David Guarino, a spokesman for House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, said the House continues to review that bill.
If passed, the bill would establish a 16-member commission to devise a statewide ocean management policy. The panel would be composed of state agency officials, state lawmakers, municipal officials, and representatives of the fishing industry and environmental groups.
The bill, called the Massachusetts Ocean Act, would have the state identify what economic uses it wants to encourage and what it wants to discourage. The bill, which is supported by environmental groups and the Patrick administration, passed the Senate this summer but has stalled in the House.
Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, helped write the bill. He said it's time the state develops a long-term strategy and stops making decisions about ocean management on the fly.
"We need to come up with a framework for dealing with those issues," Tarr said.
Tarr said he thinks Gloucester's troubled fishing industry would emerge as a priority once the state decides how it wants its waters used.
"We're going to guarantee fishing is one of the most important industries in Massachusetts, and we're going to defend it against threats," Tarr said.
One of those "on-the-fly" issues was last year's siting of two LNG terminals in the city's waters.
Then Gov. Mitt Romney approved the terminals last year. Rep. Anthony Verga, D-Gloucester, and Tarr are among those who contend the projects were approved without a long-term plan for where future LNG facilities should be located. Verga said that not having a vision for how the waters off Gloucester are developed could seriously harm the city's fishing industry.
"If this continues, you might as well sell the boats and forget about fishing," Verga said.
Verga said he didn't know when the House would take up the measure. Lawmakers are scheduled to recess next week until January.
The House's inaction led Sen. Robert O'Leary, a Barnstable Democrat who co-sponsored the bill with Tarr, to take a playful jab at the House.
Referring to the "sacred cod" that hangs from the House chamber, O'Leary said, "Our codfish colleagues are more difficult to land." Sticking to the ocean theme, he added, "Our porpoise here today is to bring them aboard."
David Guarino, a spokesman for House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, said the House continues to review that bill.
If passed, the bill would establish a 16-member commission to devise a statewide ocean management policy. The panel would be composed of state agency officials, state lawmakers, municipal officials, and representatives of the fishing industry and environmental groups.
It also would consolidate oversight, coordination and planning authority for ocean development with the state secretary of environmental affairs. The secretary would act within the guidelines of the long-term plan created by the commission.
All permits issued by state agencies would have to conform with the ocean management plan's guidelines.
Environmental Secretary Ian Bowles said the state needs to develop a single voice on handling competing demands for ocean and waterfront use and preservation.
"This bill fairly balances all those competing interests and creates an opportunity for us to move forward in the most comprehensive way of any state in the nation," Bowles said.
Pressure to push the House to move on the ocean bill came as Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday signed a long-awaited bill clarifying the law for building on filled tidelands - land created when earth or other materials are used to fill in waterways. The most common example is Boston's Back Bay, but parts of Gloucester and Salem are also built on filled tidelands. Tarr said the tidelands bill, along with the ocean management bill, were important steps toward improving state development laws.
The ocean legislation arose from a report issued by a 2003 task force created by Romney. The task force recommended new legislation to give state agencies clear direction and stronger authority for managing development and fishing activities within Massachusetts waters.
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