Presentation - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration NOAA

• National Marine Fisheries Service
• National Ocean Service Office of National
  Marine Sanctuaries

Lisa Wooninck and William Foster
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Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Areas of the marine environment with special
conservation, recreational, ecological,
historical, cultural, archaeological, or esthetic
qualities National Marine Sanctuaries Act (15
CFR Part 922)

• NMSA permit pathways
• General permits for research, education, or
  management
• Authorization of another agencys permit
• Special use permit for limited number of
  activities
• Certification grandfathers another agencys
  permit for a newly designated sanctuary

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NOAA Fisheries Responsible for the stewardship
of the nation's ocean resources and their
habitat.

• NOAA Fisheries Protects Ocean Species and
  Habitats
• By Following Licensing Processes
• Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
• U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers Permit (USACE)
• U.S. Department of Energy Funding (USDOE)
• NOAA Fisheries Engages Via Various Acts
• Endangered Species Act (ESA) Critical Habitat
  
• Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)
• Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
  Management Act (MSA)
• Commercial Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) and
  
• Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)

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Endangered Species Act listed speciesANADROMOUS
FISH salmonids (e.g. Chinook, etc)MARINE
SPECIES fish, sea turtles, abaloneMarine
Mammal Protection Act speciesPINNIPEDS seals,
sealionsCETACEANS dolphins, whales FISSIPEDS
sea otters some marine mammals are also ESA
listedMagnuson Stevens Act and Essential Fish
HabitatFish species with fishery management
plansgroundfish, coastal pelagics, salmon,
highly migratory

• NOAA Fisheries
• Species Potentially Affected by Marine
  Hydrokinetic or
• /Offshore Wind Projects

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Potential Effects of Marine Hydrokinetic/Offshore
Wind ProjectsESA/EFH fish, sea turtles,
abalone, ESA/MMPA marine mammals

• NOAA Fisheries Species

• Species entanglement or collision with device,
  mooring systems, or transmission lines.
• Species behavior and navigation impacted by
  equipment,transmission lines and EMF, and noise
  generation.
• Species and Habitats disturbed or destroyed.
  Pelagic and benthic offshore, nearshore, and
  intertidal habitats.
• Potential changes to sediment and water
  circulation, resulting in changes to the species
  that utilize that habitat.

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Potential Environmental Effects
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Sources of Uncertainty

• Ecological
• Lack of site specific data, distribution,
  density.
• Lack of data on stressor level thresholds.
• Exposure/Response.
• Significance.
• Industry
• Variety of devices.
• Lack of data on stressor levels.
• Single device vs arrays.