The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900 Boston, MA 02114 Charles D. Baker GOVERNOR Tel: (617) 626-1000 Karyn E. Polito Fax: (617) 626-1081 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR http://www.mass.gov/eea Kathleen A. Theoharides SECRETARY April 16, 2021 CERTIFICATE OF THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL NOTIFICATION FORM PROJECT NAME : The Great Marsh Shellfish Co. PROJECT MUNICIPALITY : Rowley PROJECT WATERSHED : Parker EEA NUMBER : 16339 PROJECT PROPONENT : Brendan Doyle DATE NOTICED IN MONITOR : March 10, 2020 Pursuant to the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA; M.G. L. c. 30, ss. 61- 62I) and Section 11.06 of the MEPA regulations (301 CMR 11.00), I hereby determine that this project does not require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Project Description As described in the Environmental Notification Form (ENF), the project involves two phases including the establishment of an approximately 1.6-acre aquaculture operation within mud flats and the water sheet of the Rowley River (Phase 1) and repairs and/or improvements to a residential camp structure and associated deck, walkway and pilings (Phase 2). The aquaculture operation will include placement of floating docks, clam nets, bottom culture, flip up bags, floating cages, and upweller nursery systems within an approximately 1.6 acre area. Aquaculture activities will include planting, transplanting, growing and storing of seaweed, and shellfish including but not limited to, oysters, scallops, mussels, quahog, surf, blood, razor, and soft-shell clams with the primary focus on oysters and softshell clams. The aquaculture activities will impact approximately 25.1 square feet (sf) of Land Under Ocean EEA# 16339 ENF Certificate April 16, 2021 (LUO) and 39.5 sf of Land Containing Shellfish associated with the installation of helical moorings for the associated floats. The project site may accommodate up to 1.61 acres (70, 240 sf) of clam nets on the intertidal flats. The gear used for oyster grow-out will be located off-bottom to minimize impacts on water circulation and sediment disturbance. Electricity to supply power to the pump running the in-water shellfish nursery equipment will be generated using solar panels. Aquaculture gear will be placed in the Rowley River annually from March to December and will be removed by December 31 each year. The majority of the gear will be stored off-site at a land-based storage facility. Some of the floating cages will be strung together and moved to a designated overwintering area and sunk to the bottom where nonmarket ready oysters will be stored to protect them from ice damage for the winter. Because the permitting path for authorizing work related to the camp building and associated deck, walkway and pilings under the Chapter 91 Waterways Regulations (310 CMR 9.00) is not clear, plans for Phase 2 have not been developed. The Proponent intends to move forward at this time with Phase 1 which includes the aquaculture project only, with operations occurring from the waterside of the site. The Proponent will need to submit a Notice of Project Change (NPC) for Phase 2 of the project which includes repairs and/or improvements to the Chapter 91 jurisdictional structures on the site. Project Site The 3.8-acre project site consists of salt marsh and tidal mud flats with an existing 750 sf camp building located on and around Hog Island on the Rowley River which discharge to Plum Island Sound. In addition to the camp building, the site currently includes a deck and boardwalk leading to the shoreline, consisting of wooden boards raised above the salt marsh platform. The proposed aquaculture project area will include portions of three commercial clam flats (approximately 0.875total acres) deemed unproductive by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) survey and a leased area (approximately 0.75acres) of water sheet all within the town of Rowley. These flats are locally referred to as Browns Flat, Hog Island Creek, and Strawberry Inlet. The site will be accessed by boat from the Rowley town landing, Perley’s Marina and other established landings. The overwintering area is a separate Harbor Master designated site located in Plum Island Sound within the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and outside of the proposed aquaculture project area. The entire overwintering area is below the low tide mark and submerged by over 6 feet of water at low tide. The project site is located within Priority and Estimated Habitat as mapped by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s (DFW) Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP). It is also located within the Great Marsh Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The site does not contain eelgrass or other submerged aquatic vegetation. Comments from the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) note that the project site is considered habitat for winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) larval settlement and juvenile development. Plum Island Sound is also an outlet to the Atlantic Ocean for many important rivers in the north shore of Massachusetts, including the Parker, Ipswich, and Rowley Rivers. These Rivers along 2 EEA# 16339 ENF Certificate April 16, 2021 with Plum Island Sound provide habitat for the passage, spawning, and early development of several diadromous fish species including blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), white perch (Morone americana), and American eel (Anguilla rostrata). Although the site was determined to be unproductive, shellfish have been mapped in the project vicinity by DMF, including soft shell clam (Mya arenaria), razor clam (Ensis directus) and blue mussel (Mytilus edulis). The aquaculture site is within the N.4 shellfish growing area which is currently conditionally approved for shellfish harvest. Environmental Impacts and Mitigation The aquaculture operation is expected to directly impact 25.1 sf of LUO, and 39.5 sf of Land Containing Shellfish. This impact is associated with the limited portions of the aquaculture gear that will be placed on the bottom of the seafloor, and is temporary due to the removal of gear during the winter months. The clam nets may occupy up to an additional 1.61 acres of the intertidal flats1 and up to 440 sf of additional temporary impacts to LUO are associated with overwintering activities. Additional work associated with repairs/improvements to the camp building and associated structures would result in 100 sf of permanent impacts to Salt Marsh and 1,200 sf of temporary impacts to Salt Marsh associated with construction access. The project will alter Priority and Estimated Habitat of state-listed species and is located within an ACEC. Measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts include: removal of gear in the winter, use of gear that will minimize impacts to benthic habitat, siting the project to avoid impacts to navigation and indigenous shellfish resources, and launching vessels from established public landings. The project will also incorporate non-harmful measures to deter birds to avoid creating nuisance condition and associated concentration of feces. Jurisdiction and Permitting The aquaculture component of the project is undergoing MEPA review and requires an ENF pursuant to 301 CMR 11.03(11)(b) because it requires an Agency Action and is located within a designated ACEC. The project may also meet/exceed the ENF threshold at 301 CMR 11.03(3)(b)(1)(f). The proposed aquaculture operations require certification of the Proponent’s private shellfish aquaculture license by DMF pursuant to MGL c. 130 § 57. Phase 2 of the project may also meet/exceed the ENF threshold at 301 CMR 11.03(3)(b)(1)(c) because it requires a c. 91 License from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and will result in the alteration of 1,000 or more sf of salt marsh or outstanding resource waters. The Rowley Conservation Commission issued an Order of Conditions (DEP File No. 63- 0702) for the first phase of the project (aquaculture activities) that was not appealed. The proposed aquaculture floats, gear and equipment for Phase 1 will be authorized under an annual 10A permit, subject to local review and approval by the Rowley Harbormaster. An additional OOC, or in the case of an appeal, a Superseding Order of Conditions from MassDEP, will be required for Phase 2, including work associated with maintenance and/or improvements to the 1 Interidal flats are assumed to consist of Coastal Beach and Land Containing Shellfish. 3 EEA# 16339 ENF Certificate April 16, 2021 camp, pilings, deck, and walkway that may result in impacts to Salt Marsh. Both phases of the project may require authorization from U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers (ACOE). The project is not seeking Financial Assistance from the Commonwealth. Therefore, MEPA jurisdiction is limited to those aspects of the project that are within the subject matter of any required or potentially required state permits and that may cause Damage to the Environment as defined in the MEPA regulations. Review of the ENF The ENF provided a description of existing and proposed conditions, preliminary project figures, and identified measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate project impacts. The Proponent provided supplemental information to the MEPA Office and distribution list on March 26, 2021 that clarified the phasing of the project and provided estimates of resource area impacts associated the repair and/or improvements to the camp and associated structures. For purposes of clarity, all supplemental materials provided by the Proponent are referred to herein as the ENF unless otherwise referenced. The ENF included a discussion of site selection which was based on the Town of Rowley having shellfish aquaculture bylaw and a right to farm bylaw in combination with the Proponent’s ownership of the subject parcel to the low tide mark.