Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



Page 139 



i. Operation of Commercial Vessels 



Operation of commercial vessels in the 

 Sanctuary wiU be subject to Sanctuary regulation. 

 There is no Sanctuary regulation of this activity 

 proposed at this time. Therefore, no environmental 

 or socioeconomic consequences will result from the 

 listing of this activity as subject to Sanctuary 

 regulation. 



Stellwagen Bank lies beneath an established 

 Vessel Traffic Separation Scheme (VTSS) serving 

 Boston, which is heavily used throughout the year. 

 The operation of commercial vessels is controlled by 

 existing Coast Guard regulations. Vessel cargo is 

 dominated by petroleum products; and thus the 

 greatest potential environmental threat is that of oil 

 spills. However, the Bank feature is well below the 

 point at which vessel groundings are a possibility; 

 and the safety record of the VTSS indicates the 

 potential for a collision is very minimal. Therefore, 

 NOAA does not currently propose or anticipate any 

 need for the proposal of any Sanctuary regulation of 

 vessel traffic. 



Based upon the resuhs of future investigations 

 into the level of vessel collisions with cetaceans, 

 NOAA may determine a need to regulate 

 commercial vessel speeds during seasons when 

 cetaceans are present in the Sanctuary, or to impose 

 other measures to ensure the safety of cetaceans. 

 The proposed listing of this activity as subject to 

 Sanctuary regulation provides a means of addressing 

 these possible determinations. 



j. Li ghtering 



Ship-to-ship transfer of petroleum products, or 

 "lightering" activities will be prohibited in the 

 Sanctuary. 



Although there is presently no firm 

 documentation that lightering activities occur in the 

 immediate vicinity of the Sanctuary, the activity does 

 occur in areas near the entrance to Boston Harbor. 

 Because some of these activities are not directly 

 monitored by the U.S. Coast Guard, there is always 

 some potential for accidental spillage of petroleum 

 products into the marine environment. Additionally, 

 the distance of such areas from shore, combined 



with the absence of Coast Guard presence, may also 

 result in delayed responses to spill events. 



The prohibition on lightering in the Sanctuary 

 will prevent any accidental spillage of petroleum 

 products, and thus provide better protection of 

 Sanctuary resources and qualities. Additionally, the 

 prohibition will provide the opportimity for 

 extended monitoring, via Sanctuary personnel, to 

 ensiu-e that no potential threats to the marine 

 environment occur as a result of lightering activities. 

 Therefore, the environmental consequences of this 

 prohibition will be beneficial to the Sanctuary's 

 hving and non-living resources, and to its overall 

 qualities. 



k. Operation of Commercial Charterboats 



Operation of commercial charterboats in the 

 Sanctuary will be subject to Sanctuary regulation. 

 There is no Sanctuary regulation of this activity 

 proposed at this time. Therefore, no environmental 

 or socioeconomic consequences will result from the 

 Usting of this activity as subject to Sanctuary 

 regulation. 



1. Operation of Recreational Vessels 



Operation of recreational vessels in the 

 Sanctuary will be subject to Sanctuary regulation. 

 No Sanctuary regulation of this activity is proposed 

 at this time. Therefore, no environmental or 

 socioeconomic consequences will result from the 

 listing of this activity as subject to Sanctuary 

 regulation. 



m. Installation or Placement of Submerged 

 Cables and Pipelines 



The installation or placement of submerged 

 cables and pipelines in the Sanctuary will be 

 prohibited. The principal potential environmental 

 impact from the presence of submerged electrical 

 transmission cables, or from pipelines carrying 

 petroleimi products, is the possibility of leaks, which 

 could cause environmental damage to Sanctuary 

 resources or quaUties. Although one or more 

 proposals for transmission cables have been 

 discussed, there are no cables or pipelines currently 

 planned or installed across Stellwagen Bank or 



