By Richard Gaines
Staff Writer
July 01, 2009 05:50 am Gov. Deval Patrick's administration yesterday released a draft zoning plan for the management of the inshore state ocean waters — one that bars development off the outside of Cape Cod while allowing regulated use of the waters around Cape Ann. The plan also designates two areas off the south coast — one off Cuttyhunk, the other southwest of Martha's Vineyard — as the only locations for possible commercial-sized wind turbines. For the rest of the state waters — three-tenths of a mile seaward of the mean high water line, and excluding most developed harbor and port areas out to the three-mile border of the federal exclusive economic zone — development would be regulated and controlled by the use of performance standards. That would cover all state waters around Cape Ann. The draft plan was introduced yesterday in a teleconference by Ian Bowles, the state's secretary of energy and environmental affairs. It must undergo public and legislative reviews. But the plan — as defined in the state Oceans Act, the first to call for use and zoning plans for state ocean waters — does not need legislative approval. The plan was authorized by a legislative act signed by the governor in May 2008. Bowles said the plan went through 18 public meetings and was modified by input from an advisory committee that included Mayor Carolyn Kirk and a legislative advisory panel that included state Sen. Bruce Tarr. Input was also taken from a Science Advisory Committee. Kirk characterized the plan as "conservative," in that the administration of Gov. Deval Patrick declined to fine-tune the potential uses of the state waters by the use of sub-zones. She also said that, by leading the federal government into the zoning process, the state hopes to influence federal decisions in the offing. President Obama announced plans to create a federal water zoning approach last month. For the majority of the state waters, Bowles said the plan creates performance standards for different uses, and sets aside areas of special ecological designations. Any proposed uses would be measured against the special designations, such as whale and fish habitat. "The multi-use areas ... direct development away from high-value resources and concentrations of existing water-dependent uses," the draft executive summary of the plan states. "The management areas and standards established by the ocean plan will guide resource users and managers and the public in the protection and wise use of our marine waters," said Deerin Babb-Brott, the state's assistant secretary for oceans. "And going forward, the commonwealth will refine the ocean plan as we continue to develop and incorporate new knowledge, ensuring that it is an adaptive, living document." The no-development area is around the outer side of Cape Cod adjacent to the Cape Cod National Seashore. The plan vetoes a proposed location in Buzzards Bay of the commercial South Coast wind project because "it conflicts with fishing and boating," said Bowles. But it offers the developer an alternative site southwest of Cuttyhunk. "Massachusetts waters are rich with natural resources and busy with human activity," the executive summary states. By the terms of the enabling legislation, the ocean becomes a public trust resource. That commonwealth concept, however, is at odds with action taken last week by the New England Fishery Management Council, which voted to convert the bounty of the sea from a commonly held resource into negotiable catch shares, to be distributed to federal fishing permit holders primarily fishing in harvesting collectives known as sectors. Richard Gaines can be reached at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com
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