Patrick signs bill to manage ocean resources

Law requires plan to unify oversight of coastal projects

Governor Deval Patrick yesterday signed the nation's first comprehensive ocean planning law to guide where pipelines should be laid, areas should be protected, and energy projects built.

A 17-member advisory commission will help state officials craft a management plan by the end of 2009, and all development within 3 miles of the state's coastline will have to abide by its rules. The law is designed to help reduce tensions among maritime users and guide energy development, and also could impose stricter safety measures to help prevent accidents such as the 2003 oil spill in Buzzards Bay.

"If we neglect or abuse our ocean resources we do so at our peril," Patrick said as he stood outside the New England Aquarium yesterday morning before signing the Oceans Act. "This law will help protect our vital natural resources and balance traditional with new ones, such as renewable energy, that are also important to our future."

Public attention in New England has been riveted in recent years on a 130-turbine wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound. But there is increasing demand for the state's offshore resources, with a variety of lower-profile proposals that collectively could have far more impact on the region, environmentalists and state officials say.

The plan will not affect the Nantucket wind farm, nor the new liquefied natural gas port off Gloucester, both of which are in federal waters.

There are many competing needs for state waters, which help drive a $117 billion coastal economy. Dozens of pipelines, gas lines, sewage pipes, and electrical cables already crisscross coastal waters. A handful of companies have announced plans to build wind farms, liquefied natural gas terminals, and projects designed to capture energy from the tides. Businesses and communities also regularly propose aquaculture projects and sand mining along prime fishing areas to shore up beaches.

Authority for regulating such projects is now spread among numerous state agencies that do not share the same vision for the coastline - frustrating both environmentalists and business leaders.

"We need to figure out the right activities in the right place and what places we should leave alone," said Susan Farady, regional director of the Ocean Conservancy and a member of MassOceanAction.org, a consortium of environmental groups dedicated to protecting Massachusetts waters.

The new law does not give any special consideration to a wind farm proposed for a state sanctuary in Buzzards Bay. That project became a lightning rod for controversy last year after House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi failed in a bid to weaken the ocean sanctuary act to allow the project to be developed by his friend Jay Cashman.

Under the new law, renewable energy projects, such as wind farms, cannot be built in the state's vast ocean sanctuaries - virtually the entire coastline - until the management plan is completed. The law also prohibits renewable energy projects from ever being built in the Cape Cod Ocean Sanctuary, which includes the Cape Cod National Seashore.

It will not regulate commercial fishing; the state Division of Marine Fisheries will continue oversight of that industry.

"We have a lot of work to do," said Ian A. Bowles, the state's Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, who will develop the plan with input from the public and the 17-member advisory commission. "When we make best use of our state waters, we will all be better off."

Concern over competing ocean uses is growing nationwide, and some states, including California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Florida, and North Carolina, have created ocean authorities or announced plans to better manage state waters.

Massachusetts has gone the furthest in creating a law - and an ambitious timeline to develop a plan.

"With this bill, Massachusetts has become a leader in ocean policy in this country," said Leon E. Panetta, former White House chief of staff and the chairman of the Pew Oceans Commission, a national group that has called for federal ocean management reform.

In Massachusetts, politicians have been talking about the need for a state ocean management plan for more than 15 years. But efforts repeatedly fell apart as administrations changed or interest waned. This year, everything fell into place, with strong legislative support.

Fishermen and other groups that use state waters said they are largely happy with the new law, but want to make sure the final plan respects their needs.

"We feel good that these projects are going to be more scrutinized," said Bernie Feeney, president of the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association. But "we have mixed feelings."

Beth Daley can be reached at bdaley@globe.com