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"studies" provide information that can guide this debate In the future. Specific details and 

 recommendAtions from the SAP on these additional snidies are included in the Individual subminals 

 included with this document. 



The Monitoring Plan is similarly an important component of the Conservation 

 Recommendations. Like the Additional Studies, though, the Monitoring Plan appears to lack a 

 scientific or management specificity. What arc the major scientific or engineering issues to be 

 resolved by the monitoring? Is the. design adequate to resolve these issues? Of particular concern, 

 as indicated by Dr. Taylor and othen, is the adeouacy of this monitoring to disdnguish human 

 effects from natural variability in a strongly variable ecosystem. Without adequate thought and 

 experimental design at the beginning of the monitoring effort, funds and effort can be wasted with 

 little or no gain to the objectives of the Consultation Process. MWRA already has a monitoring 

 plan, which not all the SAP has reviewed. How do the recommendations for monitoring proposed 

 by NOAA fit into the MWRA monitoring program? Coordination clearly is essential. Specific 

 comments on the monitoring plan elements are in the Individual submittals included with this 

 document. 



Finally, the Other Permit condidons have been found to be germane, particularly the 

 requirements for chronic toxicity testing and reduction of pollutant loadings. 



Detailed submittals by the members of the Barnstable County Commissioners' Science 

 Advisory Panel (SAP) are attached 



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