UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 



J.F. KENNEDY FEDERAL BUILDING. 30STON. MASSACHUSETTS 02203-2211 



1. 



2. 



April 9, 1991 



Ms. Sharrard Foster 



Stellwagen Bank Project Manager 



Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management 



National Ocean Service/NCAA 



1825 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 714 



Washington, D.C. 20235 



Dear Ms. Foster: 



In accordance with our responsibilities under the National 

 Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 309 of the Clean Air 

 Act, we have reviewed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration's (NCAA) Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

 (DEIS) for the proposed designation of Stellwagen Bank as a 

 National Marine Sanctuary. 



Stellwagen Bank is located 6 miles northwest of Provincetown and 

 approximately 30 nautical miles east of Boston, Massachusetts. It 

 is a glacially deposited, primarily sandy submerged feature 

 measuring 18.5 miles in length, roughly 6.25 miles across at its 

 widest point, and from 65 to more than 300 feet in depth. 

 Stellwagen Bank is a biologically rich area, supporting a large 

 variety of commercially important fisheries and providing important 

 feeding and nursery grounds for an abundance of endangered cetacean 

 species. NOAA's preferred boundary alternative for the sanctuary 

 would cover a 453-square-nautical-mile area surrounding the Bank. 



NOAA states that the designation of Stellwagen Bank as a marine 

 sanctuary would "....provide a long-term integrated program of 

 resource protection, research, and interpretation/education to 

 assure comprehensive management and protection of the Stellwagen 

 Bank system" (p. i) . Several alternatives to the proposed action 

 are considered in the DEIS, including various boundary 

 alternatives, non-regulatory management alternatives, and No- 

 Action (or status quo) . 



Because the DEIS serves as a draft Management Plan for the 

 sanctuary, six regulations are also proposed in the DEIS that would 

 prohibit or otherwise restrict numerous activities within and 

 around the sanctuary. Regulated activities would include 

 discharges, including dredged material, wastewater effluent, fish 

 wastes, trash and other debris; aquaculture operations; industrial 

 materials extraction (sand & gravel mining) ; oil and gas 

 extraction; historical/cultural resources exploitation; placement 

 of fixed or tethered platforms; submerged pipeline and cable 

 installation; commercial shipping; commercial charterboating 

 (whalewatching and sportfishing vessels) ; and taking of marine 

 mammals, marine reptiles, and seabirds. 



EPA supports the designation of Stellwagen Bank as a marine 

 sanctuary and believes that this designation would benefit the 

 protection of marine resources therein. Marine sanctuaries help 

 put into context both the larger physical, chemical, and biological 

 relationships that exist within a marine area identified as having 

 special significance and the human uses of the resources within 

 that area. By identifying such relationships, marine sanctuaries 

 provide opportunities to establish public constituencies for the 

 marine resource that can play a valuable role in its overall 

 protection. Moreover, the additional research and public education 

 opportunities provided by marine sanctuary designations further 

 increase the opportunities for protection. 



With regard to the potential boundaries for the sanctuary site, 

 EPA supports the approval of NOAA's preferred boundary alternative. 

 As the DEIS indicates, this alternative would encompass some of the 

 most important feeding and nursery habitat for endangered cetaceans 

 that migrate into this area. With regard to other alternatives and 

 the proposed sanctuary regulations examined in the DEIS, we 

 recommend that the Final EIS include further discussion on a number 

 of issues, as follows. 



Alternatives 



Status Quo Alternative fNo Action) : Several issues are examined 

 when considering an area for marine sanctuary designation, 

 including whether that area is unique (and thus of special value) 

 and whether existing regulations adequately protect those qualities 

 that give the area its uniqueness. 



ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

 Region I 



1. NOAA does not currently propose to 

 regulate mariculture activities; 

 offshore hydrocarbon development 

 activities; commercial shipping; or 

 commercial charterboating activities. 

 NOAA proposes to list these activities 

 as "subject to Sanctuary regulation", 

 which enables NOAA to propose regulation 

 of these activities in the future, 

 should such action be warranted. 



2. No response necessary. 



3. No response necessary. 



Page G25 



