2019-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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The EOC has also been monitoring water quality testing work by the DNR and the PALS program (Ponds and Lakes Stewards). The PALS program was managed for many years by the Mashpee Environmental Coalition (MEC). It is now managed by the DNR, which also has responsibility for water quality testing in our estuaries as part of the CWMP. In particular the EOC has been concerned about water quality and algal blooms in the last three years in Santuit Pond. The Solar Bees, purchased and installed to improve water quality in Santuit Pond, were working quite well until run-off from a 100-year storm in 2017 seems to have triggered serious, persistent algal blooms. The Solar Bees are serviced periodically, and another SolarBee was added in 2019. We discuss the many different measures being taken in 2019 to address the water quality issues on the Pond, and provide input where necessary. The EOC and its members has provided a forum where Mashpee High School students can explore volunteer opportunities in the shellfish program, Herring Count program, Land Stewards program and the PALS program. Several EOC members were judges at the 2019 high school science fair. The EOC has been concerned about the adverse impacts of stormwater run-off — another leading source of nutrient pollution in our ponds and estuaries, including Santuit Pond, Popponesset Bay and Waquoit Bay. The EOC supports all efforts to reduce stormwater run-off and to mitigate its effects through "green infrastructure". In addition to water quality concerns and the CWMP, the EOC has been very concerned about plastics pollution. More and more, there is world-wide recognition of the serious problems caused by plastic pollution of our land and seas. In particular, these adverse impacts affect wildlife, including birds, land and sea turtles, and marine mammals. Plastics are hard to recycle, and most plastics are not recycled. They are also a nuisance, clogging drains and littering our conservation lands and roadsides. In 2016, the EOC wrote and submitted a Plastic Bag Ban Bylaw that was approved at October Town Meeting. Enforcement began a year later, and the ban is fully implemented now. Through 2018 and 2019, the EOC decided to write bylaws banning single use plastic straws and polystyrene food ware — two other hard -to -recycle plastic products that have been implicated as serious pollutants. After extensive research and outreach, those ban bylaws were re -submitted for the May 2020 Town meeting. We revised the polystyrene ban to expanded polystyrene foam only. The EOC also began exploring a ban on helium balloons, which will be submitted soon. We have also hosted Sustainable Practices at our meetings, and support their initiative to place a citizens - petition municipal plastic water bottle ban on the May 2020 Town Meeting. The EOC has also been concerned with the adverse impacts of climate change on our fragile, coastal community. In particular we have been addressing climate resilience: the ability of our town and region to bounce back or transform after climate events like more common, more severe storms, coastal erosion and sea level rise. In particular, the EOC pressed the town to apply for the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program (MVP). The MVP is a program of the municipalities "as they build resilience to climate change". It includes funding for a resilience planning process, and then offers funding for implementing action plants to qualifying municipalities. In 2019, the town applied for the MVP, and the EOC wrote a letter of support. Now that the initial workshop has been completed, the EOC will help facilitate and support future actions taken regarding the MVP. Mashpee has made an outstanding effort preserving open space and protecting conservation lands. Every acre of undeveloped conservation land is one less acre resulting in nitrogen loading that the town has to clean up potentially with expensive sewer infrastructure — and one more acre the town can use for recreation and wildlife habitat. The EOC has promoted preservation and enhancement of our open spaces and conservation resources. Here is a list of our open space oversight activities and initiatives: 1 Support for the Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding for open space initiatives and projects. We have provided the CPA with ideas for future projects. We also support using some CPA funds to help defray the expense of sewer and wastewater management infrastructure. 129