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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-1-16Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. Community Room, 4 Fairgrounds Road o Members present: Andy Lowell, Ken Gullicksen, Joe LiPuma, Frederick McClure, Biles Blount, Peter Brace S Members Absent: Ken Kuntz Marine Dept: Sheila Lucey, William Pittman Natural Resources Dept: Others: CALL TO ORDER Mr. Lowell called the meeting to order at 5 p.m. w APPROVAL OF AGENDA The board agreed, at the chairman's request, modify the order of the agenda items to allow Nantucket Police Chief William Pittman to update the HSAB on the downtown sewer leak and subsequent repairs process before the board tackled the rest of the agenda. The HSAB unanimously agreed to this agenda change. Downtown sewer system leak - discussion Mr. Pittman detailed for the board how the break in the sewer main occurred at the intersection of South Beach and Sea streets on Jan. 4 as a result of the winter storm happening that day, which generated a 3.2 -foot storm surge on top of a roughly four -foot astronomical high tide. The flooding happened at around 2pm that afternoon. Storm drains clogged that day and then freezing temperatures occurred at this time. Mr. Pittman said that during the storm, flowage in the 16 -inch sewer main increased to 1,700 gallons per minute and that 1,500 gallons per minute is normal for January. Mr. Pittman added that once the operators at the Surfside Wastewater Treatment Plant realized the break had occurred, they shut the pumps off at the Sea Street pumping station and quickly made the decision to discharge the sewage into the harbor. An estimated 2.7 million gallons of sewage flowed into the harbor. Mr. Pittman reported that a small amount of petroleum product, as a result of the flooding, also leaked into the harbor. Mr. Pittman reported that a repair crew from the mainland, a detachment from the Robert B. Our Company, was flown over to the island by helicopter. This crew was successful in install a bypass pipe, which allowed the town to shut off the flow of sewage into the harbor. Mr. Pittman reported that the town was doing daily water quality testing and that the state's Division of Marine Fisheries had closed Nantucket Harbor to the taking of shellfish, including bay scallops. Mr. Pittman said next steps include the Our Company and the town investigating how the break in the circa -1930s cast iron sewer pipe occurred. Depending on the condition of this pipe, the town might need to run two, 20 -inch above -ground sewer pipes from the Sea Street pumping station out to the Surfside Wastewater Treatment Plant. Mr. Pittman reported that the harbor contamination in area was small and contained close to near -shore waters between Steamboat Wharf and the White Elephant, and Easy Street Boat Basin. He added that the town hired Clean Harbors to clean all of the above -ground surfaces and all of the catch basins in the area. Mr. Brace asked if it's reasonable to assume that the sewage discharged into the harbor mostly went out of the harbor around Brant Point. Mr. Pittman said yes. He added that the nitrogen level was just slightly above the amount expected for mid-January and said the indications were that the harbor flushed out fairly quickly. Mr. Pittman said the town needs to take preemptive measures to be ready for potential leaks during future storms this winter. Mr. Gullicksen asked the volume of the petroleum spill, but Mr. Pittman didn't have an answer. Mr. Pittman left the room at approximately 5:48 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Draft minutes of Dec. 19, 2017 Because these minutes were not sent out in time for this meeting, the board agreed to vote on them at the Feb. 6 meeting. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Status of Ken Kuntz Mr. Brace reported that he and Mr. Lowell had discussed how to proceed with possibly getting Mr. Kuntz, currently incarcerated at the Barnstable County House of Correction, to resign from the HSAB so his position could be filled, restoring the HSAB to a seven - member board. He added that to learn Mr. Kuntz's status, someone must call the Barnstable County House of Correction, get his address so the board could write to him to inquire into his situation and if it decided to do so, broach the subject of his resignation. Mr. Gullicksen said he wanted to get a better idea of when Mr. Kuntz might be back on island. On behalf of the HSAB, he offered to find out who his lawyer is so he might learn of Mr. Kuntz's circumstances and approximate time of return. Mr. Lowell said the public isn't being fully served with Mr. Kuntz absent from meeting for so long and that if his incarceration is to continue for sometime, that he be asked to resign. Mr. Brace said the Board of Selectmen would appoint a replacement for Kuntz's seat should he resign before his term expires. Mr. McClure said that the board shouldn't act to remove Mr. Kuntz from the board until he's had a trial and is convicted, or if he remains incarcerated for longer than two more months. Mr. Brace agreed with McClure, but he said Mr. Kuntz's incarceration reflects poorly on the HSAB and that the board shouldn't wait too long after learning of Mr. Kuntz's status to decide how to proceed. Mr. Gullicksen pointed out that Mr. Kuntz's absence is involuntary and that he may not be convicted. Agreeing with the positions of Mr. Gullicksen, Mr. McClure and Mr. Brace, Mr. Lowell continued this discussion to the next HSAB meeting. Filming of HSAB meetings - update Mr. Brace updated the board on having HSAB meetings video recorded. Meeting dates when the HSAB meets in another venue — Feb. 20 and March 6 Mr. Brace reminded the board that the Feb. 20 and March 6 HSAB meeting would not be in the Community Room at 4 Fairgrounds Road. He added that they would most likely meet in the PLUS building conference room at 2 Fairground Road. MARINE DEPARTMENT REPORT: General Marine Department report — Sheila Lucey Ms. Lucey reported that the Jan. 4 storm damaged the floating docks in two places at the town pier. She added that one finger pier broke off completely and a second one is still attached but half sunk in the water. The east end of the pier lost two 10" -by -10" batter boards near the pump -out station Ms. Lucey lost half of the buoys marking the Polpis Harbor channel due to the ice in the first two weeks of January. Ms. Lucey she's going to start fining boat owners who leave their boats and moorings in the harbor after the removal deadline of Oct. 15. She added that she's been consulting with Deputy Police Chief Charlie Gibson on how to strengthen mooring regulations and penalties, and she said that when she has proposed changes, she'll bring them to the HSAB for its review. She added that boats and complete moorings have washed up on Monomoy, Madaket and Little Neck. Ms. Lucey reported that she's been conducting ice rescue training with the Coast Guard and the Nantucket Police Department. She added that one boat owner tried to reach his sailboat trapped/anchored in the ice at night first by skiff, which subsequently sank, and he then slid across the ice to reach it and upon reaching it, signaled for help with a flashlight and by yelling. And the next day, tried to get out there via kayak, having then to be rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard from Station Brant Point, which, in the process of rescuing the boat owner, got the boat's mooring tackle wrapped around its propeller. Mr. LiPuma said boat owners need to be held financially responsible when rescued. Ms. Lucey reiterated her desire to strengthen the mooring regulations so, among other problems to be solved during weather events, vital rescue assets aren't compromised when they most need to be at the ready. Mr. Gullicksen asked for an update on the status of the ATV Nautical Lady. Ms. Lucey reported that the town took the boat's owner, Dwayne Dugan, where the judge ordered him to pay the town's fine, which was $100/day times 45 days in violation; $4,500. She added that Mr. Dugan appealed this ruling and that the judge said if he removed his boat from Nantucket Harbor within seven days, the fine would be waived. NATURAL RESOURCES REPORT General Natural Resources Department report — NRD staff PUBLIC COMMENT ON MARINE DEPARTMENT / NATURAL RESOURCES REPORT OLD BUSINESS Drafting language for eco -friendly moorings recommendation – Frederick McClure – discussion Mr. McClure said he's already spoken with Ms. Lucey on this topic and then he produced copies of proposed recommendation for moving forward with this type of mooring for the board to consider. In essence, the proposal is an eco -friendly pilot project in one or two locations in Nantucket Harbor where mooring chain would be eliminated, existing types of mooring weights could remain in place and boat owners could opt for environmentally -friendly mooring weights. Mr. Gullicksen asked for a map identifying scallop beds and Ms. Lucey said she could get it to him, adding that the locations are Hulbert Ave., Monomoy. Mr. Lowell asked Ms. Lucey to gauge her dislike for helix moorings. Ms. Lucey said it isn't that she doesn't like them, her concern is safety. To wit, scallopers can hang their dredges up on these moorings, which can cause them to sink. She added that she doesn't like that helix moorings are difficult to remove unlike mushroom anchors and Dor-Moor mooring systems. Ms. Lucey left the meeting at approximately 6:19 p.m. Mr. McClure said Ms. Lucey is having difficulty getting the owner of Hazelett Marine, the maker of the eco -friendly moorings the town is interested in, to understand that he needs to meet with the HSAB and get this board's recommendation before going to the Board of Selectmen to make his presentation. He added that she would be exploring other non -chain mooring systems besides Hazelett Marine. Mr. Gullicksen stressed the need for a control area — an area without the new moorings — next to the pilot plots to track the success for the eco -friendly moorings. He added that this aspect of the study should be sanctioned by the Nantucket Land Council. Mr. McClure indicated that it would be and said he would speak with the Land Council's executive director, Cormac Collier to confirm this. Mr. Gullicksen asked that impacts by scallop dredging on eelgrass should be studies in these pilot eco -mooring harbor areas. Mr. McClure clarified that he wanted the town to take the HSAB's idea to be its own and to run with it, to make this happen. HSAB Goals and Objectives - discussion The HSAB continued this item to its Feb. 6 agenda. NEW BUSINESS Local commercial fishing vessel survival – discussion Mr. Blount explained for the board how the commercial ground fishery works and noted that his 2017/2018 fishing year had been the worst year he'd ever experienced. In nine months, he hasn't been able to make it work for him and his family, suffering huge losses along the way. He detailed how he buys codfish quotas from other fishermen, which he sells to try to make a profit. He told the board he's most likely going to have to sell his house and move off island. Mr. Blount explained how that codfish fishery is coming back and how his codfish quota is low enough so that when the codfish do come back to historic higher levels but his quota remains low at 1,000 pounds per year, he'll be hauling in more than he's allowed to keep and thereby incurring fines for going beyond his quota. Mr. Blount explained that the Army Corps of Engineers somewhat base funding for various kinds of harbor projects on how many commercial fishing vessels are based in a given harbor. He stressed that the HSAB and the town need to be aware that commercial fishermen endure boom and bust cycles, and that at times, they can't afford docking fees. He urged the HSAB to find ways to make it work for commercial fishermen on Nantucket. Mr. Blount explained for the HSAB all the constraints by the federal government on commercial fishermen making it almost impossible for them to stay in business and how he believes the commercial fisheries are being mismanaged. Mr. Blount recommended that the town and the HSAB needs to be ready to help Nantucket's remaining commercial fishermen stay afloat during lean fishing years. He added it was probably too late for him. Mr. Lowell suggested possibly seeking dockage fees relief for Mr. Blount's boat. Mr. LiPuma said that it the town needs to find out if the existence of commercial fishing vessels based in Nantucket has positive bearing on Army Corps of Engineers funding. Mr. Brace said he would contact former harbormaster Dave Fronzuto to see if he can help the board get this information PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENT RECAP and ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING ADJOURN Unanimously approved at 7:33 p.m. Future Meetings: Feb. 6 and Feb. 20 Respectfully Submitted, Peter B. Brace, Secretary