What’s happening on Nantucket
Beaches Belong to Everyone
SELECT BOARD IGNORES CONCOM’S CONCERNS RE MOU
ON MARCH 23, 2022, THE NANTUCKET SELECT BOARD (SB) VOTED TO ADOPT A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) WITH SBPF AIMED AT EXPANDING THE GEOTUBES IN SCONSET. THE NANTUCKET CONSERVATION COMMISSION (CONCOM) HAD WRITTEN TWO LETTERS (ONE TO THE SB AND ONE TO SPBF), URGING THE SB TO REJECT THE MOU AND OFFERING A DIFFERENT PATH TO SOLVING THE PROBLEM IN SCONSET. ALTHOUGH THOSE LETTERS ARE NOW PART OF THE PUBLIC RECORD, AT THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE TOWN’S LAWYER, THE SB REFUSED TO POST THEM ON THE TOWN’S WEBSITE.
HERE ARE THE LETTERS.
The Existing Geotubes
The Nantucket Conservation Commission (Con Com) has been wrestling with a major problem in Sconset. In 2008 owners of private property installed erosion-control devices (geotubes) on a publicly-owned beach.
On May 17, 2021, the ConCom voted unanimously that the geotubes project has failed because, for years, the Sconset group (SBPF) has not applied the required amounts of sand (“mitigation sand”)
On June 30, 2021, the ConCom voted 6 to 1 to order that the geotubes be removed. Here is an article by Jason Graziadei from N Magazine.
The Proposed Expansion
The Con Com denied SBPF’s proposal to extend the existing geotubes in Sconset (to 4 times the current length) under both state laws and the Nantucket bylaws. SBPF appealed the decisions under both laws.
Regarding the Con Com denial under the State law, on Jan. 28, 2020 the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a curtailed superseding order of conditions (SOC) in favor of SBPF’s proposed geotube expansion, but with restrictions. The ConCom and SBPF have both appealed that order.
Separately, SBPF’s appeal of the ConCom decision under Nantucket bylaws is currently pending before the Massachusetts Superior Court.
Why this matters to you
Unintended Consequences
The geotubes have already destroyed the publicly owned beach on which they sit.
The science is clear that over time the geotubes (which are what is called a “hard structure”) will also destroy the rest of the publicly owned beach in front of them.
Geotubes cause “scouring” at either end, creating severe erosion that is concentrated at the two end points.
Geotubes need to be covered regularly with replenishments of clean sand that is comparable to what exists naturally.
There is a limited local supply of such sand, and many other areas on the island also need replenishment.
Beaches on Nantucket have traditionally been open to the public. The installation and maintenance of the geotubes threaten beach access.