Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



Page 104 



designate an area southwest of the existing 

 MBDS, a two-nautical-mile diameter circle, 

 centered at 42*25.1 N x 70*35.0W (EPA 1992). 

 Inclusion of all or part of the MBDS within the 

 Sanctuary would conflict with the general NOAA 

 poUcy against ocean disposal activities in marine 

 sanctuaries. Encompassing the MBDS within the 

 Sanctuary is not necessary to protect Sanctuary 

 resources and quaUties, because pursuant to their 

 own programs, EPA and COE ocean disposal 

 activities must avoid harm to Sanctuary resources. 

 Moreover, Sanctuary regulations prohibit the 

 disposal of materials outside the Sanctuary 

 boundary which enter and injure resources or 

 quaUties. 



4. Boundary Alternative #4 



Boundary alternative #4 (Figure 21) was 

 submitted for consideration by several reviewers, 

 including the New England Fishery Management 

 Council, in response to the DEIS/MP document. 

 This alternative encompasses approximately 330 

 square nautical miles (436 square miles). This 

 rectangular boundiiry configiiration is similar to that 

 of boundary alternative #1. As with boundary 

 alternative #1, alternative #4 would essentially 

 encompass the Stellwagen Bank feature itself; 

 however, the western border extends well into 

 Stellwagen Basin, so as to encompass entirely the 

 interim MBDS, as well as the MBDS currently 

 proposed for permanent designation. 



Boundju7 alternative #4 is further described 

 by the following latitude/longitude coordinates: 

 42°34 24.00'N x 70°2506.00'W (northeast comer); 

 42°1112.00'N X 70°0618.00'W (southeast comer); 

 42°0656.00'N x 70°22 50.00'W (southwest comer); 

 and 42^28 54.00 'N x 70°40 00.00 "W (northwest 

 comer). This boundary option is also described as 

 being marked by the following LORAN-C lines: 

 13750, 13870, 44140, and 44295. 



Boundary altemative #4, like all other 

 boundtu^ options, encompasses the entirety of 

 Stellwagen Bank, thereby offering the opportunity 

 for Sanctuary protection of the Bank feature. 

 However, important habitat areas for invertebrate, 

 fish and cetacean species are not included in this 

 altemative. For instance, boundary alternative #4 



would not encompass all of the important cetacean 

 use areas north of the Bank, which are also heavily- 

 frequented by whalewatch vessels. Thus, the 

 opportunity for system protection and management 

 would be somewhat diminished imder boundary 

 alternative #4. 



This smaller configuration also limits the 

 opportunity for coordination in ocean system 

 management with the Commonwealth through its 

 Ocean Sanctuaries Program, as it does not coincide 

 with any coastal marine areas designated by the 

 Commonwealth as Ocean Sanctuaries. However, 

 the opportunity would be retained for coordination 

 in research and educational activities with the 

 Massachusetts Bays Program/NEP. 



Boundary alternative #4, like boundary 

 altemative #3, would encompass the 'Interim" 

 MBDS, and would also include the area currently 

 proposed by EPA for permanent designation. As 

 discussed in the description of boundary alternative 

 #3, disposal of dredged materials is generally 

 considered an incompatible use of sanctuaries. 



5. Boundary Alternative #5 



Note to Reviewer : Purusant to P.L. 102-587 

 (§2202(b)), boundary altemative #5, the preferred 

 altemative as described below, is established as the 

 bounary for the Stellwagen Bank National Marine 

 Sanctuary. 



Boundary altemative #5 (Figure 22) is the 

 preferred altemative, encompassing approximately 

 638 square nautical miles (842 square miles) of 

 Federal waters surrounding Stellwagen Bank and 

 additional habitat areas. 



The configuration of this boundary altemative 

 is the same as that of boundary altemative #3 

 (Figure 20), except for the westem border, which 

 extends in a str2iight line from the Sanctuary S 

 southwestern corner, at 42°07<W.89'N x 

 70"^ 15.44 "W, to a west-northwestera point, at 

 42°32 53.52 'N x 70^35 52.38 'W. From that point, all 

 boundary coordinates are otherwise the same as 

 those of the northwestern, northern, eastern, and 



