Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



Page 136 



disposal actions if they are determined to be 

 harmful to the Sanctuary's resources or qualities. 



The preferred regulatory alternative of 

 prohibiting ocean outfall discharges into the 

 Sanctuary is anticipated to be environmentally 

 beneficial to Sanctuary resources and qualities. The 

 MWRA outfall, to be located approximately 12 

 miles from the Sanctuary site, will not likely be 

 ^lffected directly by this prohibition. However, in 

 coordination with the Massachusetts Bays Program 

 (MBP), the Sanctuary will provide a larger 

 contextual framework for far-field monitoring and 

 consideration of possible effects to the Sanctuary 

 from the outfall. 



b. Ocean Incineration Activities 



Incineration in the Sanctuary of any materials, 

 such as waste and trash, from onboard any vessel, 

 will be prohibited in the Sanctuary. 



The environmental consequences of a 

 prohibition on incineration of waste and trash 

 materials from onboard any vessels will be both 

 directly and indirectly beneficial to Sanctuary 

 resources and quahties. In addition to preventing 

 incineration activities from occurring within the 

 Sanctuary, this prohibition will effectively preclude 

 the possible designation of ocean incineration sites 

 within the Sanctuary under Title I of the Marine 

 Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act 

 (MPRSA). Sanctuary prohibition of this activity will 

 also prevent the issuance of any "research" or 

 "interim" permit under Title I regulations for ocean 

 incineration within the Sanctuary. 



Although the environmental consequences of 

 ocean incineration activities on marine resources are 

 presently not fully known, the proposed prohibition 

 is, at a minimum, anticipated to be beneficial to the 

 Sanctuary's aesthetic qualities. 



c. Offshore Industrial Materials 

 Development Activities 



Exploring for, developing or producing clay, 

 stone, sand, gravel, metalliferous and 

 nonmetalliferous ores, and any other soHd material 

 or substances of commercial value ("industrial 



materials") in the Sanctuary is prohibited. 



The prohibition of sand and gravel m inin g 

 activities (classified as "industrial materials" by the 

 Minerals Management Service), is particularly 

 important to protection of the physical structure of 

 the Bank itself, whose features would be altered or 

 destroyed by development operations. Mining 

 technologies involve scraping the surface and 

 excavation of pits and tunnels into the surface. 

 Variations of these methods likely involve the use of 

 dredges, which unquestionably cause destruction of 

 existing benthic biota; resuspension of fine 

 sediments; and introduction of pollutants or 

 undesirable nutrients. These consequences may 

 result in interference with filtering, feeding, and 

 respiratory functions of marine organisms; loss of 

 food sources, spawning areas and other habitats; 

 diminished photosynthesis and oxygen levels, and 

 possibly degraded appearance of Sanctuary waters. 



In addition to adverse effects on the living 

 resources of the Bank system, changes made to the 

 Bank feature would also hkely result in changes in 

 the causal relationship between the Bank and the 

 production of internal waves and seasonal upwelling, 

 both necessary to the biological productivity of the 

 Bank system. Given the national significance of the 

 Sanctuary's resources and the Bank feature which is 

 essential to the continued health and vitahty of the 

 overall system, the prohibition of sand and gravel 

 mining is necessary. 



A prohibition on sand and gravel extraction 

 activities within the Sanctuary will prevent any 

 alteration of the physical structure of the Bank 

 feature, in addition to preventing physical and 

 possible chemical disturbances to the Bank and 

 surrounding water associated with extraction 

 activities. 



The environmental consequences of a 

 prohibition on the extraction of sand and gravel 

 resources from the Stellwagen Bank feature, or 

 from areas surrounding the Bank therefore, will be 

 beneficial to Sanctuary resources and quahties. 



Socioeconomic consequences of this regulation 

 may include the necessity for locating alternative 

 sources of sand and gravel deposits. However, from 



