Environmental Business Council holds 3rd Annual Ocean Management Conference – “Managing Ocean Resources with Innovative Technologies” where the Massachusetts Oceans Act of 2008 was a key topic of discussion

CEO William Staby attended this conference held at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Duxbury, MA and had the following comments: "We applaud the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for passing the Massachusetts Ocean Act of 2008, the nation's first state-level initiative to create a comprehensive ocean management plan." "I think Leon Panetta, co-chairman of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative (JOCI) had it exactly right when he said today there are hundreds of competing uses for coastal areas, from transportation to energy to fishing to recreation. For the first time, this legislation provides for a comprehensive approach to managing these uses to protect coastal waters for generations to come. It is truly landmark legislation for the nation." At the conference, Deerin Babb-Brott, the Commonwealth's newly appointed Asst. Secretary for Oceans and Coastal Zone Management, outlined the opportunities and challenges the Oceans Act creates and noted that he has a strict deadline, exactly one year to draft a comprehensive ocean management plan. Staby also said, "one positive outcome of this legislation we hope to see is the coordination of many ocean-related policies and activities that had previously been managed separately." "The marine renewable energy sector would benefit greatly if other states and the federal government would follow Massachusetts' lead." For further information see: Joint Ocean Commission Initiative and Commonwealth's nOceans and Coastal Zone Management