2005-DCPC DISTRICT OF CRITICAL PLANNING AND CONCERN

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data will. provide communities with the scientific. basis for how to protect and restore their estuaries. The technical report is prepared and issued by SMAST, .the School for Marine ' Science and Technology at U-Mass Dartmouth. From that report, the D.E.P. then prepares a draft "Total Maximum Daily Load" (TMDL) .report approximately 30-60 days after the final Technical Report is completed. In the future, state (DEP) and federal mandates will require communities to address water quality impairments created by nitrogen and phosphorus loading, and to provide protection and restoration of the health of its estuaries. - The Town of Mashpee lies almost entirely within two shallow coastal embayment systems, Popponesset Bay and Waquoit Bay, that ultimately drain to Nantucket Sound. (Reference: Map. # Mashpee Watershed Map) A small portion ofthe town located in the southeastern section drains directly into Nantucket Sound. Mashpee' s surface water resources are located in every section of the town, with coastal water resources situated.along the southern border of the town. The town' s namesake Mashpee River, located in. the Popponesset. Bay Watershed, flows north to south through the mid-section of the town from its source at the southwest shore of Mashpee/Wakeby Pond in the northern section of Mashpee. The river eventually finds its way into Nantucket Sound via Popponesset Bay. (See Volume 2, Appendix 8 which contains narrative descriptions of our ecosystems. ) In September, 2004, M.E.P. issued its technical report for Popponesset Bay entitled "Linked Watershed-Embayment Model to Determine Critical Nitrogen.Loading Thresholds for Popponesset Bay, Mashpee and Barnstable, Massachusetts". SeePage2 and Page 19 0£ this report (Volume 2, Appendix 11) for a map of the study region, and the watershed and subwatershed delineations for the Popponesset Bay Estuary System. This estuary system does not follow political boundaries. The northern- most portion of it is located in the town of Sandwich, and an eastern portion in the town of Barnstable. Although the town of Mashpee is the main stakeholder for this estuary system, we recognize that Sandwich and. Barnstable' should be included in the decision-making process for this shared resource, and will pursue MOU's and MOA's- with our neighbor towns. - The M.E.P. report for Popponesset Bay was followed by the release in January, 2005, of the D.E.P. ' s report: "Draft Popponesset Bay, Total Maximum Daily Loads for Total Nitrogen", (Volume 2, Appendix 12) -The -following is quoted from the M.E.P. report: "The estuaries region of the Popponesset Bay System is composed of a large lower basin, Popponesset Bay, and multiple tributary sub-embayments (Ockway Bay, Pinquickset Cove, Shoestring Bay, Mashpee River, Popponesset Creek) . These sub- . embayments constitute important components of the Town' s .natural and cultural resources. In addition, the large number of sub-embayments greatly increases the - System's shoreline and decreases the travel time of groundwater from the watershed recharge areas to bay regions of. discharge. The nature of enclosed embayments in populous regions brings two opposing elements to bear; as protected marine shoreline they are popular regions for boating, recreation, and land development; . as enclosed bodies of water they may not be readily flushed of the pollutants that they receive due to the proximity and density of development near and along their shores. (Volume 2, Appendix 11, Page 1, M.E.P. Report) - "Land uses closest to the. embayment are likely to have greater impact than those in the upper portions of the watershed which are subject to nitrogen 4