Name: Tentative Permit for LOC-NESS Wilkinson Basin Study

Display Field: Shape_Length

Type: Feature Layer

Geometry Type: esriGeometryPolygon

Description: In January 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invited public comment on its tentative determination to issue a research permit pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). This follows after the EPA received two complete permit applications from a researcher at WHOI in May 2024 for two sequential research activities, referred to as the LOC-NESS Phase 1 Martha’s Vineyard Study and LOC-NESS Phase 2 Wilkinson Basin Study, each involving the transportation and controlled release of 50% sodium hydroxide (an alkaline solution) mixed with a water tracer dye into surface waters seaward of the state waters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The applicant designed the studies (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of the research team’s approach to monitor changes in ocean alkalinity and subsequent carbon dioxide uptake by the ocean resulting from the alkaline solution additions and (2) to collect scientific information to better understand any potential adverse impacts to human health, the marine environment and other uses of the ocean. <br/> <br/> <b>Current status:</b> <br/> <br/> <ul> <li>The applicant withdrew their application for an MPRSA research permit for the LOC-NESS Martha’s Vineyard Study, formerly referred to as “LOC-NESS Phase 1.”</li> <li>The EPA is currently requesting comment, until 11:59pm EST February 14, 2025, on additional information and proposed updates to permit conditions for the LOC-NESS Wilkinson Basin Study.<a href='https://www.epa.gov/ocean-dumping/loc-ness-project-overview-and-permitting-status#comment' target='_blank'>Information on how to comment</a>.</li> <li>This map layer shows some of the spatial information contained in the permit application for the LOC-NESS Wilkinson Basin Study.</li> <br/> <br/> <b>“Dispersal Area”</b>: This circle shows the anticipated dispersal area for the proposed ocean alkalinity enhancement research study. The dispersal will last approximately 4 hours, and a perimeter will be established to ensure that the experiment can be conducted safely. The dispersal activity is limited to the upper 30 feet of the water column. No interaction with the sea bed is planned or anticipated. At the end of the dispersal, the resulting patch of water will have a slightly elevated alkalinity of about 11% above typical values for the area. The pH will be slightly elevated by a few tenths of a unit above background values, while remaining lower than the pH 8.5 water quality criteria for aquatic life. <br/> <br/> <b>“Potential 7-day monitoring area”</b>: This circle shows where the resulting patch of water, with slightly elevated pH and alkalinity, might travel after the dispersal is complete. There are no anticipated restrictions on vessel activity in this area during the monitoring phase. The circle indicates where other mariners might encounter the monitoring research vessel. All monitoring activities are restricted to the upper part of the water column, and no bottom activity is planned or anticipated. The patch itself will be much smaller than the 7-day monitoring area, and it is predicted to move and dissipate with currents and tides away from the dispersal area, but will remain within this circle, during the 7-day monitoring period. The size of the circle is based on a series of ocean model simulations conducted by the research team. The model predicts that the patch will completely dissipate to less than 0.1% of its initial value, and well within natural variability, within this 7-day time frame. <br/> <br/> Visit EPA's <a href='https://www.epa.gov/ocean-dumping/loc-ness-project-overview-and-permitting-status' target='_blank'>LOC-NESS Project Overview and Permitting Status page</a> and <a href='https://locness.whoi.edu/' target='_blank'>WHOI's LOC-NESS website</a> for more information.

Definition Expression: N/A

Copyright Text: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Default Visibility: false

MaxRecordCount: 1000

Supported Query Formats: JSON, AMF, geoJSON

Min Scale: 0

Max Scale: 0

Supports Advanced Queries: true

Supports Statistics: true

Has Labels: true

Can Modify Layer: false

Can Scale Symbols: false

Use Standardized Queries: true

Extent:

XMin: -7787004.212099999
YMin: 5194578.503899999
XMax: -7691050.0878
YMax: 5290886.605700001
Spatial Reference: 102100  (3857)

Drawing Info:

Renderer:
Simple Renderer:
Symbol:
Style: esriSFSSolid
Color: [0, 0, 0, 0]
Outline:
Style: esriSLSDash
Color: [132, 0, 168, 255]
Width: 0
Label:
Description:
Transparency: 0
Labeling Info:
Label Placement: esriServerPolygonPlacementAlwaysHorizontal
Label Expression: [Label]
Use Coded Values: true
Symbol:
Color: [78, 78, 78, 255]
Background Color: N/A
Outline Color: N/A
Vertical Alignment: baseline
Horizontal Alignment: left
Right to Left: false
Angle: 0
XOffset: 0
YOffset: 0
Size: 8
Font Family: Arial
Font Style: normal
Font Weight: bold
Font Decoration: none

Min. Scale: 4000000.0
Max. Scale: 0.0

Advanced Query Capabilities:

Supports Statistics: true
Supports OrderBy: true
Supports Distinct: true
Supports Pagination: true
Supports TrueCurve: true

HasZ: false

HasM: false

Has Attachments: false

HTML Popup Type: esriServerHTMLPopupTypeAsHTMLText

Type ID Field: null

Fields:

• OBJECTID ( type: esriFieldTypeOID , alias: OBJECTID )
• Shape ( type: esriFieldTypeGeometry , alias: Shape )
• Shape_Length ( type: esriFieldTypeDouble , alias: Shape_Length )
• Shape_Area ( type: esriFieldTypeDouble , alias: Shape_Area )
• Label ( type: esriFieldTypeString , alias: Label , length: 255 )

Supported Operations:   Query   Generate Renderer   Return Updates