The Northeast Regional Ocean Council’s (NROC) Ocean Planning Committee today held a webinar to provide an update on the Committee’s recent projects and activities, federal progress implementing the nation’s new ocean policy and recent activities of the federal Ocean Policy Council, an update on the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Management Plan revision, and NROC’s role in providing data and supporting best practices for decision-making in the context of offshore wind in the Northeast. The Committee’s next webinar is likely to take place in May.
During the Ocean Policy Council update on federal activities, Ocean Policy Committee Executive Director Deerin Babb-Brott highlighted efforts to implement the Memorandum on Ocean Mapping of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and the Shoreline and Nearshore of Alaska, including deliverables for “Efficient Permitting of Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Activities” and a “National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the U.S. EEZ.”
Babb-Brott noted that recommendations are being developed for adoption by June, with implementation beginning this summer. He also noted follow-up efforts from last fall’s White House Summit on Partnerships in Ocean Science & Technology, which he said will culminate with a federal report containing recommendations for moving forward.
The offshore wind session included a federal update, discussion of Port Access Route Studies, and an overview of offshore wind transmission and grid integration in New England).
During the webinar, the Committee announced that the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Chris Boelke would replace EPA’s Mel Coté as Federal Co-Chair of the Committee.
NROC is a regional ocean partnership formed in 2005 by the Governors of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut to provide a voluntary forum for states and federal partners to coordinate and collaborate on the development of goals and priorities and address regional coastal and ocean management challenges with creative solutions that support balanced uses and conservation of the Northeast’s ocean and coastal resources.
The Committee was established to inform and recommend to NROC how best to approach regional issues and coordinate activities related to ocean planning in New England.
