Lawmakers Aim to Strengthen Oil Barge Rules
According to a March 11 report from the Cape Cod Times, a new bill designed to strengthen rules for tugboats escorting double-hulled oil barges through Buzzards Bay is the subject of a legislative hearing at the Statehouse. The bill was recently introduced by Rep. John Quinn, D-Dartmouth. (Source: Cape Cod Times)
Ferry Being Used for Research
According to reports, a ferry that travels several times daily between Woods Hole and Martha's Vineyard is now doubling as a research vessel that measures water quality and photographs plankton on its trips. Scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution fitted the 235-ft. Katama with sensors that measure water temperature, salinity, oxygen, chlorophyll and water clarity, the Cape Cod Times reported. The sensors also photograph the plankton 30 times per second. The Nantucket Sound Ferry Scientific Environmental Monitoring System began in May. Scott Gallager, a biologist at Woods Hole, said the results will be studied over many years to better understand how water quality and ocean life change in Nantucket Sound, which hosts a diverse mix marine line.
Judge Nullifies State Oil Spill Law
A federal judge has nullified Massachusetts’ landmark Oil Spill Prevention Act, striking down regulations on oil shipping in Buzzards Bay that included mandatory tug escorts and navigational routes as well as minimum staffing. U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro ruled the state violated federal law because those areas fall under Coast Guard jurisdiction. He said the state regulations ''are pre-empted, invalid and unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.'' The Massachusetts Legislature passed the Oil Spill Act in 2004, amid warnings from the oil industry that it was stepping on federal jurisdiction. Lawmakers moved quickly to respond to a 98,000-gallon oil spill in Buzzards Bay on April 27, 2003, when a Bouchard Transportation Co.
