By Judy Benson

Groton – Think of marine spatial planning as something like planning and zoning for Long Island Sound.

Spurred by recent projects and proposals for ocean-based energy projects, representatives of New York, Connecticut and federal agencies, marine trades and nonprofit environmental groups will meet today to begin discussions about managing uses of Long Island Sound with marine spatial planning. The daylong forum will take place at the Avery Point campus of the University of Connecticut.

“This is an emerging topic,” Brian Thompson, director of Long Island Sound programs for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said Tuesday.

Thus far two states, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have begun efforts to manage their ocean resources through marine spatial planning, and the Obama Administration’s Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force called for better coordinated policies to ensure that marine resources are used sustainably. For Long Island Sound, the effort to explore whether spatial planning should be implemented was initiated by the Connecticut and New York Sea Grants, part of a federally funded network of marine research and education programs.

Exactly how such planning would work for a multi-state estuary like Long Island Sound is one of the many issues that would have to be figured out, should both states commit to marine spacial planning, Thompson said. Today’s meeting will be the initial discussion of the concept, how it would be achieved and next steps toward making it a reality. Basically, it would be a tool used to determine how to manage the Sound based on its ecosystem, to direct different users to the most suitable areas and protect sensitive areas.

Thompson said projects such as underwater gas pipelines and transmission cables, the Broadwater proposal for an offshore liquefield natural gas terminal and another for underwater turbines illustrate the commercial demand for space in Long Island Sound that competes with more traditional users such as shellfishermen and fishermen, recreational boaters and shipping. Managing these sometimes conflicting uses is currently not done systematically, Thompson said.

“Now, it’s piecemeal,” he said. “The permitting is done on a project by project basis, but there is no mechanism for designating certain areas that are suited to certain activities