Selectmen’s Task Force on local pollution and Phase II Stormwater Management Community Oversight Group 11-9-15
Committee Members:Acting ChairElaine Cook Graybill,James Mulvey, Jennifer Cheyne, Christine Kane, Stewart Bell, and Les Perry. Mort Toomey was excused due to illness.
Staff:
Guest:
Buzzards Bay Project, Coalition for Buzzards Bay
Documents
Meeting Called to Order
Acting Chair Mrs. Graybill called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm.
1) Comment Period for Non-agenda Items:
2) Approval Minutes of September 14, 2015
VotedJim Mulvey moved and seconded by Les Perry to accept the minutes from September 14, 2015 as presented. Bring a copy of the corrected minutes to the next meeting. Vote 6-0.
3) FY15 Annual Report
The committee read with interest the Chairman’s submission of the Committee’s report to the town.
4) Election of Committee Secretary
Elaine Cook Graybillresigned as Committee Secretary. Jim Mulvey nominated Christine Kane as secretary.
VotedJim Mulvey moved and seconded by Jennifer Cheyne to nominate Christine Kane as the secretary of the two committees, Selectmen’s Task Force On Local Pollution and
Phase II Stormwater Management Community Oversight Group. Vote 6-0.
The committee thanked Mrs. Graybill for her services and welcomed Ms. Kane as the secretary.
5) Review the “fly ash” situation at the landfill in Bourne.
Elaine Cook Graybillgave a little background on the fly ash issue.
Jim Mulvey stated this is really the business of the Board of Health. Mr. Mulvey also spoke about the Harvest Power Plant. The DPW has control of the land and Dan Barrett and Phil Goddard from ISWM.
Elaine Cook Graybillquestioned Steward Bell what the term fly ash means.
Stewart Bell stated fly ash is the end product after they have done the scrubbing of the chimneys, after they do the extractions with magnets of metals. The left over stuff is fly ash. There are piles of fly ash at the landfill. The only concern is the double lining underneath, will it hold all that in, because we have a single aquifer here. Science is saying it is OK, but after 20-30 years then what happens. It would be good to know more about fly ash; pollution aspects of contaminating water, there isn’t a lot known about fly ash, and there are tons of it being dumped in the landfill.
Jim Mulvey questioned if the fly ash is wet when it comes in. Mr. Mulvey will contact Dan Barrett or Phil Goddard because they know more about fly ash.
Stewart Bellstated some of the chemical makeup of fly ash is: mercury, cadmium, chromium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, barium, zinc, manganese lead, and titanium. Supposable it is tested before it leaves SEMASS to be below certain levels.
Jennifer Cheyne stated it seems to be more opinionated than actual science. Mr. Bell stated most of the science says it is fine.
Jim Mulvey will to ask Dan Barrrett to email the Christine Kane data on fly ash.
Elaine Cook Graybillstated it should be on the agenda for the next meeting.
6) Planning a strategy to stay current with all federal and state grants during the year 2016
Stewart Bell read sections from a clipping in the Cape Cod Times from November 7, 2015
Jim Mulvey stated the Buzzards Bay Action Committee is run by Dr. Costa. The contact would be Brendan Mullany. Mr. Mulvey suggested this committee should look at some of the minutes from the Buzzards Bay Action Committee.
Stewart Bell stated the Buzzards Bay Action Committee meets in Fairhaven, it covers Fairhaven, Westport, Wareham, Falmouth, Bourne, the towns that ring Buzzards Bay.
Elaine Cook Graybillstated we should develop a strategy to stay current with the grants during 2016. Elaine Cook Graybillstated Mort Toomey has been visiting Town Hall and getting information.
Jim Mulvey stated someone on the committee should get in touch with Brendon to get an update on the last year and what the Buzzards Bay Action Committee has been doing. Stewart Bell stated we should get on the site for Coastal Zone Management; look at the sites of the organizations that announce grants. Elaine Cook Graybillquestioned if we should create a new officer on this committee to keep track of grants and check monthly to see what grants are available. Stewart will volunteer and start working on getting information on potential sources of funding. Jennifer will pass on information she finds on grant funding Stewart suggests she look into. Christine Crane also volunteered to look into grant funding that Stewart suggests.
After a discussion involving the inability of this committee to keep current on grants a few members have volunteered to come back at the next meeting with a method of keeping current.
Elaine Cook Graybillwill put Members staying current with grants on the next agenda.
Jim Mulvey will call Dr. Costa on grants and Dan Barrett on fly ash.
Jennifer Cheyne questioned if Dr. Costa was going to put us on the email list for the available grants?
7) The present status of the development of the “stormwater bylaw regulations” and enforcement protocol
Elaine Cook Graybillstated Mort Toomey would probably call to see if it is coming before the Planning Board soon.
Jim Mulvey stated further review necessary by Dr. Costa has not been accomplished at this time. Mr. Mulveystated we are waiting for final analysis from Dr. Costas group on whether there is sufficient coverage by being an inclusion in another bylaw.
Jennifer Cheyne stated she thought the reason they were trying to do it under the sub division was so it only had to go in front of the planning board and wouldn’t be a bylaw and didn’t have to go in front of the town. Jim stated then it would become a regulation.
Elaine Cook Graybillstated she will get in touch with Coreen Moore and the Chair of the Planning Board and question is it in review and is it ready to go to the Planning Board.
8) Agenda items for the next meeting
Elaine Cook Graybillstated for the next meeting the agenda items will be:
Review the Fly Ash situation at the landfill and if we want to have a speaker come in and talk about the Fly Ash.
Hearing from the members that are staying current with the grants and developing a strategy for staying current with the grants.
Report back on the Stormwater Bylaw status. Should it be Stormwater Management Bylaw or Regulation.
Elaine Cook Graybillread Draft Revisions for the Bourne Subdivision Regulations for Implementation of Phase Two Stormwater Regulations.
9) Date of the next meeting
The next Selectmen’s Task Force on local pollution and Phase II Stormwater Management Community Oversight Group meeting will be on Monday December 14th.
Jennifer Cheyne read her notes from when Coreen Moore had attended the meeting:
Coreen is hoping it will be adopted, the regulation, by the Planning Board by this fall, which would be now. The handout she gave us vs. the sexton plan, which was too complicated; and created a regulatory authority. She felt this will satisfy requirements for the NPDES vs. a bylaw and feels it will be easier to adopt and enforce. We felt it didn’t satisfy everything. Coreen was going to ask the Planning board and the engineers to do pier review of it; then she said she would send the 2015 NPDES report to us, which I don’t think we ever received. She also said she would forward any grant info she receives to this committee. The reason she was having the Planning Board and the engineers do the pier review is that the DPW Director use to have an engineering background and then work on these regulations with her, but to save money the engineer background wasn’t required for hire since cutback around 2004.
10) Adjourn
VotedStewart Bell moved and seconded by Les Perry to adjourn at 8:22P.M.
Respectfully Submitted,
Carole Ellis, Scribe
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