Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



Page 57 



offshore Nantucket Island north to offshore 

 Washington County, Maine. Military exercises in 

 the Boston Operating Area include such activities as 

 submarine operations, gunnery practice, anti- 

 submarine warfare tactics, sea triak, radar tracking, 

 warship maneuvers, and general operations. The 

 designated warning areas closest to Stellwagen Bank 

 are Air Force Warning Areas W-103 and W-104A, 

 located northwest and east of the Bank, respectively. 

 (Figure 9). These areas are used as training areas 

 for high-speed aircraft operating out of several New 

 England bases. 



Military operations or exercises are not routinely 

 conducted on Stellwagen Bank. From August 17 

 through 31, 1985, however, the U.S, Navy conducted 

 vessel operations known as "Ocean Safari '85" in 

 Massachusetts Bay and in the approaches to Boston 

 Harbor. In connection with this activity, local 

 notices to mariners were issued by the U.S. Coast 

 Guard that certain waters over Stellwagen Bank and 

 the Massachusetts Bay Precautionary Area were 

 closed to fixed gear fishing activities between 

 August 22 and 31, 1985. Navy exercises involved 

 streaming strings of equipment aft of vessels that 

 could cause damage to, or loss of fishing gear. 

 Within the Boston Operating Area, safety zones 

 were established around each vessel, and fishermen, 

 recreational boaters, and other mariners were 

 advised to maintain distances of at least 1,000 yards 

 from Navy vessels. These restrictions were enforced 

 by U.S. Coast Guard imits. This military operation 

 was prefaced by an environmental assessment, a 

 request for consistency determination from the 

 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and consultation 

 with the National Marine Fisheries Service. 



Sanctuary regulation of human activities does not 

 prohibit any Department of Defense activity 

 necessary for national defense in an emergency. In 

 the event of future planned military activities, 

 coordination and consultation between the Assistant 

 Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs 

 and Logistics; the office with overall responsibility 

 for DOD's Offshore Military Activities Program) 

 and the Sanctuary Manager and NOAA will be 

 required. 



6. Offshore Oil and Gas Activity 



The Secretary of the Interior has the statutory 

 authority and responsibility to plan for and to 

 conduct the offering of leases of OCS acreage, as 

 directed in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 

 as amended (OCSLA) (43 U.S.C. § 1331 et seg.). 

 Within the Department of the Interior (DOI), the 

 Minerals Management Service (MMS) has primary 

 responsibility for management of OCS minerals 

 operations. 



Pursuant to Section 18 of the OCSLA, the 

 Secretary of the Interior, through the MMS, 

 prepares, periodically revises, and maintains an oil 

 and gas leasing program to carry out OCSLA 

 policies. (43 U.S.C. § 1344). This leasing program 

 consists of a schedule of proposed offshore lease 

 sales indicating as precisely as possible the size, 

 timing, and location of leasing activity determined to 

 best meet national energy requirements for the five- 

 year period following approval or re-approval of the 

 schedule. Previous to 1978, OCS leasing programs 

 were issued via discretionary act of the Secretary of 

 DOI. In June 1980, the first five-year OCS oil and 

 gas leasing program was approved, covering the 

 period September 1980 through June 1985. To 

 date, a total of three five-year programs have been 

 approved, the last of which covers the period 

 between mid-1987 and mid-1992. 



For purposes of OCS oil and gas leasing 

 activities, the Atlantic OCS Region (extending from 

 offshore Maine to the Florida Keys) is subdivided 

 into four planning areas. Stellwagen Bank occurs 

 within the northwest portion of the North Atlantic 

 Pl annin g Area of the Atlantic OCS Region (Figure 

 10). Within this Planning Area, three areas of 

 hydrocarbon potential have been identified: 1) the 

 Gulf of Maine; 2) the Georges Bank Basin, and 3) 

 the deep-water area seaward of the continental 

 slope. Limited geological and geophysical data exist 

 related to the Gulf of Maine area; and the 

 petroleum potential of this area is not well known. 

 (U.S. DOI, MMS, 1989). The first of two COST 

 (Continental Offshore Stratigraphic Test) wells was 

 drilled in the Georges Bank Basin in April 1976. 

 Eight additional wells were drilled in the Georges 

 Bank Basin in 1981-1982. Drilling sites ranged from 

 110 to 150 miles southeast of Nantucket Island. 

 The results of these drillings were negative, and the 

 wells were subsequently plugged. No OCS oil and 



