Eastham WRAB-WWMPC
Minutes of meeting of 3/13/07
Attending were Chair Weiss, Co-chair Whitmore, members Sandler, Nugent, Lightfoot and Bayne, and Health Agent Crowley.
Minutes of 2/13/07 and discussion notes of 1/9/07 were approved. Minutes of 12/12/06 were not voted as copies hadn’t been made at Town Hall.
Whitmore and Weiss reported that the 3/12 presentation to the BOS re the development of public water went well.
Crowley announced that the April meeting of the Cape Cod Waste Water Collaborative will occur in Eastham on 4/11 at 8:30 a.m. at Town Hall, and encouraged members to attend.
Several steps in outreach to other towns have occurred in the last month:
Orleans: Whitmore reported that he, Weiss, Crowley and Vanderhoef had met on 2/14 with Orleans water supervisor Lou Briganti and with Water Commission Chair Rich. The meeting was useful and positive; when Eastham is ready, Orleans will welcome a discussion about sale of Orleans water to Eastham. Chlorination is not required by state law, but might be needed to counteract problems encountered in transmission of water. Orleans has tied its water lines to Brewster for emergency purposes. Orleans’ 1 million in operating expenses is paid for by users’ fees.
Truro: Crowley reported that she had met with the Truro water board to discuss Eastham’s well study, as Truro hopes to initiate such a study there.
Weiss reported that he had been the recipient of an accusatory letter from several members of the Eastham Residents’ Association for a Safe Environment. The group questioned his impartiality about the district G wind turbine plan, which places turbines in this well protection district. The board had agreed in Feb. 2007 that such turbines would be safe for water supply if developed according to state law regarding well protection set backs both during construction and after completion. They felt his chairmanship of the Mass. Technical Council, which would supply assistance in establishing these turbines, would bias him.
Bayne reported that bill S536 in the Mass. legislature would ban all but a trace of phosphorus (P) from dish washer detergents sold for residential use in Mass. As this is a significant source of P in our ponds and groundwater, she asked the board to support the bill.
She also reported that she is visiting boards to ask for support of the initiative petition article which requests funding for the 2007 pond studies.
Whitmore and Weiss had met with the BOS on this subject in Feb.
Crowley reported that Tim Bridges of Mass. EPA has offered to do optic brightener tracing in Great and Herring Ponds. Brighteners indicate the presence of septic run-off, as they are used in clothing detergent. Bayne will call him.
Issues of public awareness about the public water supply proposals were discussed. Whitmore reported the Eastham Forum board will consider a town wide mailing announcing a Forum sponsored presentation on the public water articles, and that the next issue of the Forum newsletter will discuss these issues. Nugent suggested there should be a public forum at the Nauset Fellowship building sponsored by the library.
Whitmore and Weiss will create a list of potential venues for such presentations, and with Sandler, will discuss this with Vanderhoef. It was hoped the town would do a town-wide mailing on the most expensive issue the town has yet faced.
Issues yet to be decided were also discussed:
Hook up mandatory?
At what cost to homeowner?
Does Vanderhoef’s “worst case” projection of cost include an inflation figure?
And then, how does the much debated wind turbine project in District G affect public acceptance of water articles?
Next meeting 4/10 at 2:00 at police station.
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