Environmental Study Protocols for West Coast Ocean Renewable Energy      

Under joint funding from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Energy Ventures is leading a multi-disciplinary of team of experts in the development of Protocols for Baseline Studies and Monitoring for wave, tidal and offshore wind projects on the U.S. West Coast. To learn more, please visit the project website.  

Socioeconomic Resources & Ocean Renewables 

PEV has just finished drafting the Socioeconomics portion of the West Coast Planning & Assessment Framework, which includes information and data about socioeconomic resources and potential effects of ocean renewables to these resources. The material is open for comment through the middle of May; please visit the Feedback Forum to submit comments.

The Socioeconomics section of the Framework is intended to facilitate responsible siting of ocean renewables and to inform Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning efforts in California, Oregon and Washington.  Development of this content is sponsored by the West Coast Governor's Agreement on Ocean Health as part of their Ocean Renewable Energy Planning Guide, and by the Oregon Wave Energy Trust as part of the Planning & Assessment Framework for Oregon Wave Energy Projects.

National Ocean Council Seeks Input on Strategic Action Plans 

The National Ocean Council (NOC) is seeking input on the development of strategic action plans for the nine priority objectives set out by the Ocean Policy Task Force, including Coastal & Marine Spatial Planning. Comments may be submitted online and are due by April 29, 2011. 

The draft strategic action plans are expected to be released this summer and will also be available for public comment. Please see the NOC website for more details.   

Legal Authorities and CMSP

The National Ocean Council recently released a report, Legal Authorities Relating to the Implementation of Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning, which identifies and summarizes the various legal authorities relevant to the implementation of CMSP in the U.S. and discusses how they inform the planning process.   

Washington State Makes CMSP Recommendations 

The Washington State Ocean Caucus recently released a final report on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) to the State Legislature. The report makes 21 recommendations, as well as several immediate next steps, for moving forward with MSP in Washington. It was drafted by the State Ocean Caucus; representatives from tribal governments, coastal Marine Resources Committees, and two federal agencies also participated in the development of the report.