The Ocean Planning Process

This information is adapted directly from the EEA’s overview of the planning process.

The Purpose:

Simply put, the purpose of ocean management planning is to develop a written guide for the use, protection and development of our ocean waters. The plan:

  • Addresses uses/development that are incompatible with each other; uses/development that are incompatible with natural resources; and the overall balance of use, protection and development.
  • Is implemented through state permits and other approvals which have to be consistent with the plan.
  • Is based on environmental, economic and social information –maps and data– that the EEA will use to: rationally organize uses of ocean space and the interactions between uses; balance demands for development with the need to protect the environment; and achieve social and economic objectives in an open and planned way which defines where specific ocean uses are allowed to occur within limited areas of Massachusetts’ ocean waters.

The Planning Process

The Oceans Act required the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs to develop a comprehensive ocean management plan, following a scientific and stakeholder process leading to a draft plan by June 30, 2009, and the final promulgation of the plan by December 31, 2009.

Secretary Bowles appointed Deerin Babb-Brott to lead development of the ocean management plan and oversee the ongoing work of the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) as Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Coastal Zone Management. Babb-Brott has decades of experience in coastal management and environmental impact review. For the three years prior to this appointment, he served as Assistant Secretary and Director of the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office (MEPA), where he managed the environmental review and public comment process associated with major development projects in the Commonwealth. Before joining MEPA, he worked for 13 years in CZM, serving most recently as the Assistant Director for Planning and Coastal Development. In addition to the advisory bodies required by the Oceans Act of 2008, a core group of agency representatives were convened during the development of the ocean plan. This core planning group included CZM, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Fish and Game, and the Division of Marine Fisheries.

Plan development proceeded in three phases: information gathering, draft plan development, and formal public review of the draft plan/plan finalization. During each phase, EEA conducted an extensive public participation program with support from MOP. This included 18 public listening sessions held across the state to gather initial information, five public workshops to introduce the planning approach and solicit feedback before draft plan release, regular OAC and SAC meetings, five formal public hearings following the release of the draft plan, and hundreds of meetings with stakeholders such as pilots, fishermen, non-governmental organizations, and academia.

  • Phase 1: Information Gathering – Data gathering was an ongoing part of plan development, but a particular focus in the early months. At a series of statewide workshops and EEA presentations, the OAC, SAC, and public participants reviewed information gathered and data quality.
  • Phase 2: Draft Plan Development – In this phase, spatial analysis occurred and options for the management approach were refined, while public participation and expert input continued. In addition, the OAC and SAC reviewed plan components. This phase culminated with the release of the draft Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan on June 30, 2009.
  • Phase 3: Formal Public Review of Draft Plan – Copies of the draft plan were made available and notice of its availability for public review was provided in the Environmental Monitor. As specified in the Oceans Act, five formal public hearings were held. After the specified 60-day public comment period following the public hearings, EEA compiled and reviewed the more than 300 comments received following the release of the draft plan. The Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan was then revised and finalized for promulgation by December 31, 2009.

The Oceans Act also mandates that, at least once every five years, the ocean plan be assessed and amended as necessary to ensure that the Oceans Act goals are met. To ensure that this mandate is met, and to assist in the evolution of ocean management in Massachusetts, the Final MA Ocean Plan identifies priority science and data acquisition tasks. As described in the ocean management plan’s Science Framework, efforts are already underway to conduct these priority research projects.

Plan Principles

The Oceans Act of 2008 outlined a number of objectives for the Final MA Ocean Plan. These 15 Plan Principles were the subject of much work through the fall of 2008 and were refined to incorporate input from the EEA’s Ocean Advisory Commission (OAC), Science Advisory Council (SAC), Workgroups as well as public comment and direct stakeholder advice. These principles were critical to the planning process because they were used to help analyze the conceptual plan framework —and the plan itself— to ensure that the plan is both responsive to the Oceans Act and meets the needs of the citizens of the Commonwealth.