E&E News: Biden approves massive Pacific Ocean marine sanctuary
By Heather Richards
The Biden administration approved the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary on Friday, protecting a huge swath of the Pacific Ocean but excluding a contested area where offshore wind developments will connect to the onshore grid.
The 4,543-square-mile sanctuary along the central California coast is the first proposed by Native Americans and the third-largest marine sanctuary in the country.
“There is a deep sense of pride, joy and accomplishment that comes with this designation,” said Paul Michel, West Coast regional policy coordinator for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
“This will propel us forward in bringing meaningful, comprehensive ecosystem-based and community-based management to the nationally significant natural, historical and cultural resources of this amazing coast and ocean,” he said.
Stretching from south of California’s Morro Bay to Gaviota, the sanctuary protects 116 miles of coastline. The offshore waters include kelp forests, habitat for endangered species and hundreds of shipwrecks, including the Gold Rush-era steamship Yankee Blade.
The protected waters extend nearly 60 miles from shore and include formerly exposed land that supported Indigenous villages populated thousands of years ago.
The final sanctuary boundaries, announced in a record of decision notice in Friday’s Federal Register, do not include waters where a trio of planned offshore wind developments plan to connect to shore with high-powered transmission cables.
NOAA said earlier this year that it would consider boundary changes in the future to include those waters, after wind farms have advanced, reflecting a deal made by Native American leaders and energy developers.
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement the sanctuary designation reflects the Biden administration’s American the Beautiful initiative to conserve 30 percent of the country’s lands and waters by 2030 through voluntary and locally driven means. She also called the designation a “milestone in our commitment to Indigenous communities.”
Northern Chumash Tribal Council Chair Violet Sage Walker, whose late father first proposed the sanctuary in 2015, said the designation is crucial for her community.
“It will not only raise awareness of the Chumash People around the world, but also honor the legacy of my late father and affirm our commitment to the stewardship of our land,” she said in a statement. “I hope we will be remembered for our dedication to actively protecting and nurturing Mother Earth and Grandmother Ocean.”
The Chumash sanctuary’s management will include oversight by Native American leaders, including the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, a federally recognized tribe.
John Armor, director of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, said “Indigenous Peoples have been protecting and conserving the ocean off Central California for millennia, and will continue to do so.”
He said the sanctuary designation “enables NOAA to work collaboratively and meaningfully with Indigenous Peoples to care for and protect this part of the ocean into the future.”
Including the Chumash sanctuary, there are now five contiguous marine sanctuaries along the California coast, creating a nearly unbroken swath of protected ocean from northern California to Santa Barbara.
Those waters are part of the California current ecosystem, an ocean process that includes churning of cool deep waters that are rich in nutrients to the surface, supporting diverse marine life, NOAA said Friday.
“This sanctuary conserves the area’s rich biodiversity and creates new opportunities for research, and responsible recreation and tourism, ensuring this incredible ecosystem is protected for future generations to experience and enjoy,” Armor said in a statement.
Compromise over transition corridor
The sanctuary’s boundaries exclude waters where future electrical transmission cables and floating offshore substations are planned, reflecting a deal between the wind developers and the sanctuary’s proponents.
The Biden administration sold offshore wind leases off the coast of Morro Bay in 2022 to Invenergy’s Even Keel Wind, Equinor’s Atlas Wind and Golden State Wind — a joint venture between Ocean Winds and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
NOAA’s draft environmental review of the proposed sanctuary last year had excluded the transmission corridor to allow for offshore wind, but neither the energy developers nor the North Chumash leaders were satisfied.
Wind developers had said the NOAA carve-out wasn’t big enough — it would allow connection at a former power plant at Morro Bay but not a larger interconnection at the site of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
Planned for retirement, the Diablo Canyon transmission infrastructure can better support the large amounts of power anticipated from offshore wind projects. The developers were also concerned the permitting process for siting transmission lines inside a protected sanctuary lacked certainty.
Earlier this year, the Northern Chumash, who have urged NOAA to follow original proposed boundaries, along with the developers proposed a compromise to NOAA, suggesting the agency approve a smaller sanctuary at first to allow for wind projects to connect to shore and expand the boundaries after those projects have advanced.
NOAA said Friday that it will consider expanding the boundaries in the future — the final record of decision excludes enough water to allow developers to connect at both Morro Bay and Diablo Canyon.
“The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries expects to find a balance between maintaining or expanding cable systems within the sanctuary area and conserving important sanctuary resources, including living, historical, and cultural resources,” the agency said.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife, said the sanctuary represents a “hard-fought victory for the Chumash people.” Padilla was a leading advocate for the sanctuary and championed the compromise boundary with developers and the Northern Chumash.
“Thanks to this designation and sanctuary management plan, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians will play an active role in preserving their traditions and managing these important cultural and ecosystem resources,” he said.
Joel Johnson, president and CEO of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, said the Chumash sanctuary designation represents a “transformational moment” for the California coast.
“The first Indigenous-focused sanctuary is an historic achievement for our country, benefiting the natural wonders of these waters — blue whales, leatherback sea turtles, black abalone and southern sea otters — as well as the people and communities that are at the heart of its story,” he said in a statement.
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