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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-5-15Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. Community Room, 4 Fairgrounds Road *HSAB meeting are video -recorded Members present: Andy Lowell, Joe LiPuma, Frederick McClure, Ginger Andrews ,, r Members Absent: Ken Kuntz, Bill Blount G, 2 Marine Dept: Natural Resources Dept: Kaitlyn Shaw f f, Others: Kona Heiser Cn %-r CALL TO ORDER G 5:02 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA APPROVAL OF MINUTES Draft minutes of April 17, 2018 Unanimously approved 5-0 Draft minutes of May 1, 2018 Unanimously approved 5-0 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Summer meeting schedule The HSAB voted 5-0 to meet once in July and once in August with the caveat that if a second meeting is needed in either or both months, the board will schedule post those meetings. MARINE DEPARTMENT REPORT: General Marine Department report — Sheila Lucey No report from Ms. Lucey. Mr. Lowell briefly relayed her report from her, saying she and her department were working to wrap up all repairs to town waterfront facilities damaged during the winter. He said Ms. Lucey hopes to have to have work on the floating pier done by June 1. Through Mr. Lowell, Ms. Lucey said almost all of the navigational buoys are in with the rest being in by June 15 and no -wake buoys in by Memorial Day Weekend. NATURAL RESOURCES REPORT General Natural Resources Department report — NRD staff Ms. Shaw reported that the hatchery has begun spawning quahogs and oysters. The HSAB agreed to allow Ms. Shaw to give her water quality presentation out of turn within the NRD report Harbor/pond water quality presentation — Kaitlyn Shaw Ms. Shaw reported on the results of the town's 2017 harbor water quality sampling results. This 2017 Final Island -Wide Water Quality Report can be found at http://www.nantucket-ma.gov/723/Ponds-Harbors on the town's website. Ms. Shaw announced that the town would be holding a pond management forum at the end of June open to the public. Ms. Shaw explained for the board how nitrogen and phosphorous impact harbors and pond on the island at different levels, and how dissolved oxygen is needed by marine and freshwater species. She also explained the necessity of eelgrass to the harbors, the difficulty of restoring it in a harbor once it's gone and explained why sample are taken at beaches. She explained the town's TMDL number, total maximum daily load that a body of water can absorb and still remain healthy. At 5:14 p.m., Mr. LiPuma joined the meeting. She reported Nantucket Harbor's water quality at the Head of the Harbor is just barely in the healthy zone and its six-year average shows this part of the harbor improving in water quality health. She added that the rust tide blooms since the major one in 2015 have been much smaller over the last three years. Mr. Brace asked for an explanation of the sentinel station. Ms. Shaw said it's the water quality sampling station that the state sets Nantucket's TMDL at. She added that one of two of the NRD's Sondes, water quality sensors deployed in the harbors to measure water quality variables, is near the sentinel station. Ms. Shaw reported that Polpis Harbor's sentinel station reading says its water quality is just slightly below the six-year average, but still above the healthy levels in terms of total nitrogen. She did see some harmful algae species found in this harbor. On Hither Creek in Madaket, Ms. Shaw reported that there is elevated total nitrogen loads beyond what is considered healthy. In Madaket Harbor, the nitrogen level was acceptable. Ms. Shaw said the NRD is also planning to film the harmful algal blooms with a drone during the summer to show the scope of these blooms in Nantucket Harbor. Mr. Brace asked if the shellfish wardens have seen people digging soft-shell clams. Ms. Shaw said she would get back to the board on this. Mr. McClure asked for an inputs definition. Ms. Shaw said atmospheric deposition, wastewater (septic systems), streams, stormwater and fertilizer. Mr. McClure asked if high inputs or poor circulation is to blame for high nutrient levels in the Head of the Harbor and Hither Creek. Ms. Shaw indicated that most likely poor circulation is to blame. Ms. Andrews said she noticed plants in Long Pond that do better in high saline water. Ms. Shaw said higher flushing rates through the Madaket Ditch could be the reason. Ms. Andrews said the culverts at First and Second bridges allow much higher flows of water between the pond and the harbor than did the wooden bridges that were once there. Mr. Lowell asked Ms. Shaw if she is working with the Nantucket Land Council on monitoring the landfill's leachate. She indicated she is working with Department of Public Works director Rob McNeill. Mr. Lowell asked how quickly does Ms. Shaw get her water -sampling results back from the mainland lab the town uses. Ms. Shaw said the turnaround time is longer, but the cost is lower. Mr. Lowell asked if the Nantucket Conservation Foundation's scaling down of the land it grows cranberries on would help Polpis Harbor. Ms. Shaw said the Milestone Cranberry Bog is being scaled back, not the Windswept Bog, the runoff from which directly affects Polpis Harbor. Mr. Lowell asked if there are any signs of negative impacts on Nantucket Harbor from the 2.7 million gallons of sewage discharged into the harbor during the sewage main rupture in January 2018. Ms. Shaw said she's yet to sample at Children's Beach where the discharge occurred, but she added since it happened so close to the entrance to the harbor, she doesn't expect to see any impact. Mr. McClure asked if testing was done at the discharge pipe in front of the Nantucket Yacht Club. Ms. Shaw said this is a DPW issue but there will be testing at this site. He also asked how the NRD works with the Health Department on water quality issues. Ms. Shaw said the Health Department deals more in drinking water than in harbor and pond water but that the two departments do meet regularly to work on bigger water quality issues. She added that she uses social media to get her message out and she regularly goes to homeowners association meetings. Mr. LiPuma asked what the relationship was between drinking water, groundwater and pond water is. Ms. Shaw said he should ask Health Inspector Roberto Santamaria this question. PUBLIC COMMENT ON MARINE DEPARTMENT / NATURAL RESOURCES REPORT OLD BUSINESS Proposed school -to -work commercial bay scalloping program at Nantucket High School — Continued discussion Mr. Brace asked if Mr. McClure had broached this subject with the Egan Maritime Institute. He said he should have a report by the next meeting. Seed stranding rescue protocol — Continued discussion Mr. Brace said he'd contacted Ms. Riley for an update on her idea to have shellfishermen do a minimum eight hours of hatchery and harbor work to get their licenses, which could included seed stranding rescue duty. He said he'd try to get an update from Ms. Riley prior to the next meeting. Goals & Objectives for 2018/2019 — Discussion Mr. McClure said he forgot to send out the latest matrix of goals and objectives but that he would do it for the next meeting. Mr. Brace said the board should do a workshop meeting on the school -to -work shellfishing program. Mr. Lowell agreed. Mr. Brace suggested that maybe the board could do a group viewing to check out all the possible spots for alternate boat ramps. Mr. Lowell agreed with this idea and suggested this could happen for the second June meeting. Mr. McClure said the HSAB must keep on top of the environmentally friendly mooring pilot project that had to be postponed until next spring/summer. Mr. Lowell said at least one mooring handler is advocating helix moorings. He stressed the importance of the mooring handlers meeting with the HSAB so the board could get a good sense of their thoughts on alternate mooring types. Mr. McClure, having had no luck convincing mooring handlers to attend HSAB meetings, persisted, telling the board how vital it was to get the mooring handlers to attend a HSAB meeting. The board agreed that this spring is not the right time to have them in to a meeting but that a workshop meeting would work best to get all stakeholders in one room Proposed pesticides workgroup — Ginger Andrews - Continued discussion Ms. Andrews said she had nothing new to report on this issue. Mr. Lowell said he was sure this issue isn't going away but that the HSAB would stay on top of it. Mr. McClure said he would stay on top of this issue and get reports on it from the Nantucket Land Council. Draft letter to Ken Kuntz - Discussion Mr. Brace asked for comments and edits on the letter. Mr. LiPuma said it shouldn't be written as coercing Mr. Kuntz to resign. Mr. McClure suggested cutting the first two sentences. The rest of the board agreed. He also stressed that the HSAB should reach out to Mr. Kuntz to speak to him in person before having to send the letter. NEW BUSINESS Report on handling and collection of hazardous waste with possible new methods — Discussion Mr. Lowell asked Mr. LiPuma to provide the board with information on this topic. He added that Mr. McNeill would attend the June 5 meeting for this discussion. Mr. Lowell reported that Mr. McNeill is exploring the idea of having collection containers set up at the landfill for all hazardous waste so it can be collected every day the landfill is open. Mr. LiPuma said its vital to educate the general public on how to contain and dispose of hazardous waste. Mr. Brace said the Nantucket Blue Pages is likely going to help with this public education. PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENT Mr. LiPuma said he'd seen a presentation to the Madaket Association by Dave Fronzuto on a 10 -year maintenance dredging plan of the harbors. He said he'd try to find that document and bring it to the next meeting. RECAP and ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING Mr. Lowell floated the idea of the June 29 meeting being a workshop meeting for a possible discussion with mooring handlers. ADJOURN Unanimously approved at 6:58 p.m. Future Meetings: June 5 and June 19 Respectfully Submitted, Peter B. Brace, Secretary