Posted on July 2, 2019
EASTHAM — Shellfish, sediments, fish and toxic algae will all be surveyed and studied in Nauset Harbor this summer and fall as Orleans and Eastham reached a consensus to proceed with preliminary work on a dredging plan to keep Nauset Harbor open.
The towns’ two boards of selectmen met on Monday at the Eastham library. In addition to having the Woods Hole Group do the necessary field surveys the towns agreed to have the WHG work to establish a Special Review Procedure under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act.
That will lead to the formation of a Citizens Advisory Committee with members from both towns, and involve the Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Cod Commission and MEPA in coordinating the review. That would save time and smooth the process of approval.
Eastham had balked at going forward due to concerns over what would happen with the dredge spoils and whether the dredged channel behind the barrier beach would lead to the erosion of the beach and damage the salt marsh.
Orleans in recent weeks had reduced the width of the channel to 50 feet, from 100, and agreed to shift it away from the beach and toward the marsh.
The current inlet has been silting in, making access in and out of the marsh dicey except at high tide. Fishing boats have had to anchor out by the inlet rather than back in Town Cove due to the silting.
“The inlet may break through at a more advantageous spot but there’s no guarantee of that,” noted Orleans Selectman Mark Mathision. “I think our feeling is it’s time to answer the questions and the only way to answer the questions is to go through the permitting process.”
“The estuary is important to a lot of people,” said Eastham Town Administrator Jacqueline Beebe. “It provides critical habitat, is an economic driver of the commercial fishery, it’s a well used recreational area, it’s one of the park’s protected resources, it’s beautiful and well loved but treacherous to navigate.”
Eastham wants to make sure that it is safe for boats, that people have access to their moorings and town landings, that shellfish grants are protected and that the marsh is preserved.
Beebe said the towns should move forward with the field studies proposed by Leslie Fields of the WHG. Those would involve a shellfish survey, a pilot study to see if red tide cysts can survive dewatering the dredge spoils over the winter (if they can’t that’ll enable the spoils to be used for beach enhancement), studies of sediment chemistry and grain size, fish habit assessments, historic preservation and eel grass mapping.
“We have one chance to get it right and that time is now,” Beebe said.
Eastham had hired the Center of Coastal Studies as its consultant, and Fields met with Mark Borelli of the CCS prior to Monday’s meeting so they’d all be on the same page.
“We talked about the dewatering area, which was originally opposite Nauset Heights, and Mark expressed concerns about the importance of the overwash and the strength of the barrier beach there, where we may potentially get a breach,” Fields said. “We recognize all that, which is why we’re looking at dewatering north of the Nauset Beach parking lot.”
She said the shellfish, sediment, historic preservation, endangered species and fish surveys could all be done quickly in the summer. The dewatering test will take place over the winter.
Orleans Town Administrator John Kelly said the Seashore will not weigh in officially until a full proposal is on the table. But they still need to be involved.
Setting up the special review procedure will cost about $17,000 Fields said. The surveys would cost about $85,000
“Orleans has the funding to do most of that in year one if the boards agree to focus on a proposal that allows us to move forward and see how that (review process) plays out,” Kelly said.
The two towns will need to draft a memorandum of understanding on who is responsible for what and to formalize the commitment to go forward.
Fields said there would have to be three meetings between Orleans, the Park Service and Cape Cod Commission to discuss review procedures with the state under MEPA rules. The Citizens Advisory Committee will have to organize and meet four times. All that would happen while the field studies are ongoing.
Fisherman Bill Amaru, of the Orleans Dredging Committee, was concerned that a 50-foot-wide channel isn’t safe for navigation, and it would soon fill in; it should be 100 feet, he said.
Source: wellfleet.wickedlocal.com
