Member of the Ocean Advisory Commission
By: Matthew Boger
State Senator Anthony Petruccelli was elected to the State Senate in 2007 representing the coastal communities of Boston, Revere and Winthrop, along with sections of Cambridge. Prior to his election to the Senate, he served in the House of Representatives, and prior to that, he served as a neighborhood liaison to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. During his time in the House he served as Co-Chair of the Metropolitan Beaches Commission. The Metropolitan Beaches Commission was given the duty of studying the current conditions of the Commonwealth's Metropolitan Beaches as well as ways to improve the quality of them in terms on maintenance, cleanliness and safety. Senator Petruccelli is a graduate University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.
Q.) Please discuss the importance of creating the first-in-the-nation ocean management plan, and the influence it can have on policies developed by other states?
A.) The reasons why this Act is important are fairly obvious in that there have always been, and continue to be, a multitude of competing interests for what should and should not occur in the ocean. Many innovative proposals and important uses have been stopped from going forward because there has been no organized state process to appropriately vet these proposals. This Act creates a master plan for our deep water ocean, extending three miles off shore, to identify how we want to utilize and preserve our ocean waters. There has been a continuous tug of war regarding ocean uses, ranging from renewable energy, to protected marine areas, to fishing rights, and there has not been one plan that everyone can look at to determine what appropriate uses are.
I give a lot of credit to Senator Bob O'Leary for fighting for this legislation over the years. He and Senator Bruce Tarr have been strong advocates regarding ocean regulation, and I am honored to sit with them as Ocean Advisory Commission members. I know that the legislation went through many drafts and revisions, and I think the final result is a good one, giving us strong guidance on how to develop a state ocean plan.
We are not alone in the need to develop a plan for ocean use. States up and down the east and west coasts of the United States face the same issues of how to balance the many competing interests off our coastlines. We all face very similar issues regarding renewable energy and protecting important marine habitats. In fact, I know Rhode Island is looking into siting a wind farm off their coast as we speak. The value in the Massachusetts ocean plan is that it will provide guidance to the state, residents, developers, and environmentalists on where different uses in the ocean are appropriate and where we should focus on preservation.
Q.) Please discuss the importance of this plan to the City of Boston. What will be your focus as a member of the seventeen-member Ocean Advisory Commission?
A.) In my district, in the town of Winthrop, a major issue for my constituents, for a number of years, has been the issue of beach erosion. Sand mining is one of the things that I believe is necessary for the ocean plan to address to help communities up and down Massachusetts' coastline address the need to restore the beaches that have been ravaged by ocean storms. Specifically, Winthrop Beach, owned by the Division of Conservation and Recreation, needs to be rebuilt. A sand nourishment plan had been permitted by the state, but there were a number of protests against it, fearing that it was going to disrupt the ocean floor. I fully understand the environmental concerns and the importance of protecting the natural habitat of the ocean, but in my mind, I believe we can do both, and that is where the ocean plan comes into play. It is also a safety issue for the residents in my district, for many of the homes on the coastline are fully exposed to the awesome power of ocean storms. With a reduced beach, the waves are able to get closer and closer to property lines.
When I was in the House of Representatives, I served as the Chair of the Beaches Commission, and studied the beach erosion issues throughout the state. It must not be forgotten that one of the state's strongest industries is tourism, and the world class beaches and access to the water play a big role in that. Sand mining is a viable solution to the erosion problem we are facing.
I believe that there is enough space in the ocean region we are discussing to find appropriate locations for all the things that we need – sand mining, wind farms, aquatic protection areas – we just need to sit down and map it out. To assist us in accomplishing that, we have the Ocean Science Advisory Council, which will be providing the scientific data to determine what areas would be best suitable for different uses.
In the end, I think there will be a lot of compromises. The plan may be something that everyone is not going to be thrilled with, but can live with, and understand the reasons for why decisions were made. It is premature to discuss specific locations on a map, and I think there will be a lot more clarity when the draft ocean management plan is released in mid-2009.
Q.) Please discuss the importance of addressing the ocean's natural resources and balancing all the uses of the ocean with marine wildlife and natural habitat protection. The Act specifically states it will, "identify and protect special, sensitive or unique estuarine and marine life habitats".
A.) As Secretary Ian Bowles has stated, the past legislative session on Beacon Hill was the greenest session legislatively in our state's history, and the Oceans Act is a major cornerstone of that success. Addressing renewable power is an important component to continuing the greening of our state, but along with that comes the need to preserve and protect sensitive marine habitats. I know that the Ocean Advisory Commission members hold this goal as a high priority and I have full confidence that the protection of aquatic life and habitats will be at the forefront of all our minds as we develop this plan.
We have a lot of interest in preserving and protecting the ocean's natural state, from our fishing industry, to enjoyment of the natural wildlife, the ocean is a place that we must protect for generations to come. In my district, we have a strong connection to the ocean, and after the clean up of the Boston Harbor this connection is even more evident. People flock to the ocean and that has translated into direct economic benefits for Boston. From tourist dollars to increased housing prices for coastal properties, to the health of the ocean wildlife that benefits the fishing industry to whale watching industry, the ocean is one of the major economic engines for both the City of Boston and the state as a whole.
Q.) There have been a variety of energy projects proposed in Massachusetts' ocean waters, ranging from renewable energy facilities such as wind farms and tidal power to Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) terminals. How will the MA ocean plan address these proposals?
A.) I think one of the driving forces behind the Oceans Act was the development of Cape Wind. I don't know all the details surrounding its development, but I do know that there was a lot of concern about how it was proposed. At the time, the state did not have a centralized organization to address these projects, and the public was concerned about their lack of input. Although the Cape Wind project is in federal waters, and is outside the jurisdiction of the ocean plan, in many ways the Oceans Act is the solution to the concerns that people had with this project.
In regards to LNG facilities, I am quite familiar with those issues. LNG tankers travel through my district to get to the terminal in Everett. The facility has been located there for well over 30 years. The coastguard does a fantastic job of taking the LNG tankers into port safely, but who knows if that is a sustainable location for it. I am aware of the safety concerns associated with the facility, but the demand for liquefied natural gas has increased over the years, and there is a need for more locations. A good example is the LNG facility proposal in Fall River. I don't necessarily blame the people for protesting the plan. If we had our druthers, I probably wouldn't want it in my back yard either, but it has to go somewhere. The ocean plan will help determine where the most suitable locations in the ocean are to site such things.
New, clean, affordable and environmentally friendly energy sources are needed. That is the plain fact. The days of gas guzzling are waning and the solution is renewable energy. The ocean plan will help define how we embrace these new technologies and create a process on how to permit them.
Q.) The term "appropriate scale" has been used regarding the siting of renewable energy facilities such as wind farms. What is your definition of "appropriate scale" and how do you think the Commission will address this issue?
A.) I don't think you can determine a one-size-fit-all definition for appropriate scale. Massachusetts has a wide range of different ocean environments all up and down our coast, both above and below sea level. A major focus of the Commission is to collect data from all these regions and determine the best location for proposed projects and to cross-reference that information with the environmental habitat of that location.
One of the things that the EEA did was conduct listening sessions to collect input from the public on their thoughts regarding what the ocean plan should look like, and posed questions, such as, what is "appropriate scale." Hundreds of Massachusetts residents attended these forums and submitted their comments, and we will keep those comments in mind as we determine what "appropriate scale" should look like.
© 2008 Massachusetts Ocean Action Coalition
Conservation Law Foundation | Mass Audubon