Page 82: the FEIS should include a brief summary of the findings 

 of the Army Corps of Engineers' DAMOS project, since these are 

 relevant to the future management of the sanctuary. The FEIS 

 should describe what the environmental issues are presently with 

 regard to the MBDS and how the Corps and EPA are attempting to 

 resolve these issues. 



Page 89: We recommend the following modification to the discussion 

 of the Ocean Sanctuaries Act: " The Massachusetts Ocean Sanctuaries 

 Act prohibits any new discharge of wastewater into ocean 

 sanctuaries (which encompass all of the Massachusetts coast except 

 for the area between .Marshfield and Lynn.) A recent amendment adds 

 a variance procedure to the Act to allow increases in discharge 



volumes from existing wastewater treatment plants if a strict set 

 of criteria are met." 



Page 96: The FEIS should include a discussion in its section on 

 the management plan on the existing NCAA and EPA programs in the 

 Gulf of Maine region, such as the NMFS resource assessment program, 

 and other research and monitoring activities. 



Page 96: Some attempt should be made to use the same numbers, 

 whether a range or an average, for reporting whalewatching 

 revenues. The previous reference, on page 64, is for a different 

 year and a different amount. 



Page 98: Under regional management, the New England Fishery 

 Management Council should be referenced here. 



Page 102: The proposed prohibition on the laying of cables is 

 presumably not predicated on eliminating the "potential pipeline 

 leaks." This should be clarified. 



Page 103: The FEIS should make reference to the fact that the Oil 

 Pollution Act of 1990 requires that vessels prepare contingency 

 plans. 



Page 103: We suggest that a timetable be established for the 

 completion of a site-specific contingency plan for the Sanctuary. 



Page 105: Under surveillance and enforcement: the Division of 

 Environmental Law Enforcement, within the Massachusetts Department 

 of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Environmental Law Enforcement, has 

 enforcement responsibilities, not the Division of Marine Fisheries. 



Page 126: The FEIS should also stste here thst the Division of 

 Marine Fisheries participates in the management of fishery 

 resources in federal waters, through the New England Fishery 

 Management Council. 



Page 139: This section infers that all disposal activities are 

 overseen by an on-board Corps observer. This should be verified 

 with the Corps for the FEIS. It is our understanding that this is 

 not always the case. 



Page 144: The DEIS mentions the importance of coordination with 

 the Massachusetts Bays Program on the management of wastewater 

 discharges into Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays. Perhaps even more 

 important would be close coordination with the Massachusetts 

 Department of Environmental Management's Ocean Sanctuary Office, 



given that new or increased discharges are prohibited in the state- 

 designated ocean sanctuaries except through a variance procedure. 



Page 146: Under the discussion of the preferred alternative for 

 alteration of, or construction on, the seabed, the FEIS should 

 clarify whether bottom trawling includes scalloping and shellfish 

 dredging. 



Page 159: Under g. Fishing Activities: the FEIS should clarify what 

 is meant by the statement: "Indirectly, environmental consequences 

 of the status quo alternative may be the gradual deterioration of 

 the environment in which fishing occurs." 



Page 173: Boundary /2 does not coincide with the Cape Cod Bay 

 Ocean Sanctuary, nor is Boundary #3 contiguous with the South Essex 

 Ocean Sanctuary. These statements should be corrected in the FEIS. 



Page 183: In Article II of the Designation Document, the text 

 should be changed to state that "portions of the Sanctuary's 

 southern borders are contiguous with the Cape Cod Ocean Sanctuary." 



Page G46 



