08/21/2025 CONSERVATION COMMISSION Minutes

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Town of Mashpee Conservation Commission 16 Great Neck Road North Mashpee, MA 02649 flat grade from the road to the system, avoiding additional grading near the property shoulder and minimizing disturbance to the site's perimeter vegetation. 8 Taffrail Way- Request for a Revised Plan Ms. Thornbrugh opened discussion by thanking McEntee and stating that she would like to review the revised plan before determining whether the project qualified for an RDA or required a Notice of Intent(NOI). She emphasized that making a decision without seeing the updated setbacks and layout would be premature. 8 Taffrail Way—Regulation 25 and Sea Level Concerns Mr. Colombo began by confirming that the project fell under the newly adopted Regulation 25, which addresses sea level rise and coastal resiliency considerations for septic installations. He asked Mr. McEntee if he had reviewed the new regulation and Mr. McEntee admitted he had not read it fully. Mr. Colombo then gave an extended explanation of the new requirements. He stated that under Regulation 25, engineers would now be expected to provide flood exceedance probabilities for each site for both 2030 and 2050, using data recommended by the Cape Cod Commission. These data should include the average flood depth projections for those years,based on sea level rise modeling from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and other credible sources. He stressed that the purpose of these new requirements was to account for future environmental conditions rather than only current data. Mr. Colombo noted that the Mashpee coastline was already seeing effects that would worsen in just a few years. He cautioned that failure to plan for such conditions could lead to widespread subterranean infrastructure failures, including septic system collapses and contamination events. He concluded that while he sympathized with homeowners' pressure to sell properties, the Conservation Commission's duty was to protect the environment—not to expedite real estate transactions. He urged Mr. McEntee to use available data tools such as the Morris Data Viewer and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management mapping system to incorporate 2030 and 2050 projections in any revised submission. 8 Taffrail Way—NOI Requirement and Policy Clarity Ms. Pitt noted that since a continuance was expected, the Commission should clarify its expectations for the applicant. She suggested that the applicant should be informed whether to return under the same RDA filing or file a new Notice of Intent, to prevent confusion and delay at the next hearing. She observed that while septic-related home sale delays were difficult for property owners, Massachusetts had long maintained strict environmental standards, and failing systems could not simply be fast-tracked for convenience. Ms. Godfrey agreed that the item should be continued to allow review of the revised plan. She added that while broader questions about when to require an NOI versus an RDA needed to be discussed at the upcoming quarterly meeting, she believed this particular project could continue under the RDA process for now. Mr. McEntee responded at length, expressing some frustration but also seeking clarification on the Commission's expectations. He acknowledged that he had received the new Regulation 25 document by email but had not had time to study it closely, as he was balancing project deadlines and a scheduled vacation. He asked Mr. Colombo to specify exactly what kind of future-flooding information was required and how it should influence his design decisions. 8 Taffrail Way—Discussion of Future Flooding Standards Mr. McEntee explained that he was not disputing sea level rise but was unsure how to design for a speculative future scenario when current local and state regulations still required compliance based on existing groundwater data. His design, he said,relied on tidal and groundwater monitoring data gathered directly from the site and met all current Board of Health and Title 5 standards. He emphasized that as an engineer, his duty was to meet present-day regulatory requirements. Mr. McEntee concluded by stating that he would revise the plan for the Board of Health 7