Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



Page 114 



solid wastes into ocean waters. Regulatory 

 alternatives for discharge of trash or other debris 

 into the Sanctuary are: 



1. No Sanctuary Regulation: Under this 

 regulatory alternative, existing authorities would 

 continue to regulate the discharge of trash and 

 other debris into Sanctuary waters. The following 

 materials may presently be discharged: floating 

 dunnage; linin g and packing materials; paper; rags; 

 glass; metal; bottles; crockery (ground, comminuted, 

 or whole); and food waste (ground, comminuted, or 

 whole). Plastics are prohibited from discharge 

 anywhere in the ocean, and are therefore prohibited 

 from overboard discharge. 



2. Discharge of all forms of soUd waste would 

 be prohibited in the Sjmctuary: This is the 

 preferred alternative. With the exception of those 

 items exempted by Sanctuary regulations, any 

 discharge of soUd waste would be prohibited in the 

 Sanctuary. This alternative would ensure the 

 prevention of environmental harm to Sanctuary 

 resources. Additionally, the general scope of this 

 prohibition would facilitate enforcement of the 

 existing prohibition on discharge of plastics into the 

 marine environment, by providing for a ban on the 

 discharge of any soUd materials. Because of the 

 problems for marine wildhfe resulting from the 

 presence of such materials in the ocean (such as 

 entanglement and ingestion), it is enviroimientally 

 advantageous to apply this general prohibition to all 

 solid waste materials. 



d) Wastewater Discharges 



Regulatory alternatives related to management 

 of wastewater discharges from ocean outfalls into 

 the Sanctuary are: 



1. No Sanctuary Regulation: Under this 

 alternative, point source discharges would not be 

 subject to Sanctuary regulation. Existing 

 management and regulation of ocean outfall 

 discharge activities would continue under NPDES 

 permits, and other Federal and State authorities, as 

 appHcable. 



2. Wastewater discharges subject to Sanctuary 

 Certification: This regulatory alternative would 



allow the discharge of wastewater through ocean 

 outfalls into the Sanctuju^, provided that permits 

 issued for such discharges are reviewed and certified 

 by NOAA as being consistent with the purposes of 

 Sanctuary designation, i.e., they would cause no 

 injury to Samctuary resources or quahties. Under 

 this alternative, NOAA could approve discharge 

 permits which clearly demonstrate no potential for 

 harm to Sanctuary resources. 



3. Wastewater discharges into the Sanctuary 

 would be prohibited: This is the preferred 

 regulatory alternative. Under this alternative, all 

 outfall discharges of wastewater into the Sanctuary 

 would be prohibited. Neither the NPDES sections 

 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), nor its regulations 

 make any specific reference to special standards or 

 criteria for discharges into National Marine 

 Sanctuaries. Existing authorities require no analysis 

 of the cumulative effects of such discharges into 

 coastal waters. It is therefore clear that existing 

 authorities are inadequate to fuUy protect the 

 resources of a National Marine Sanctuary. 



Two factors contribute significantly to the 

 conclusion that discharges of wastewater are 

 generally not consistent with the designation of 

 Stellwagen Bank as a National Marine Sanctuary. 

 The first is that it is highly unlikely that any 

 wastewater discharge could meet the resource 

 protection standards appropriate for a National 

 Marine Sanctuary. Generally, an increase in volume 

 of wastewater discharged into waters of 

 Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays could lead to 

 general degradation of water quality, particularly in 

 terms of reductions in dissolved oxygen 

 concentrations (notably during summer months 

 when stratification of the water column is most 

 Ukely); and elevation of nutrient concentrations in 

 coastal waters. However, it is uncertain at what 

 threshold such system-wide impacts would be 

 observable. Most industrial discharges enter coastal 

 waters through wastewater treatment plants; and 

 there is the possibihty that increased concentrations 

 of contaminants could be introduced in these 

 effluents. Combined with non-point sources of 

 contamination, there is a potential for further water 

 quaUty degradation. Within the area directly 

 adjacent to a wastewater discharge outfall (the so- 

 called 'ione of initial dilution',' or ZID), changes to 



