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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinal Report BOS April, 6 2012_201401221138386046ARTICLE 68 WORK GROUP Final Report to the Board of Selectmen Introduction At the 2010 Annual Town Meeting, April 5, 2010, the Town passed Article 68, “An Act Regulating the Content and Application of Fertilizer Used in the Town of Nantucket,” but amended it substantially from the version printed in the Warrant. The original warrant asked that the Town request a Home-Rule Petition from the General Court and specified language for the Petition that permitted only certain fertilization procedures and substances on Nantucket. The Finance Committee voted not to support the article but the article was called and a positive motion submitted by Douglas Smith. During the lengthy debate on the article, Selectman Kopko offered an amendment that effectively deleted all standards of performance from the article and left it to the Board of Selectmen, BOS, to form a committee to perfect the language of the Home Rule Petition. The amendment and the amended article passed. Subsequently, the BOS authorized the formation of an ad hoc work group to study the issue of fertilizer application and provide the “perfected language” of a Home-Rule Petition; this was the Article 68 Work Group. The BOS specified members’ credentials and called for nominations. Shortly afterwards, the Work Group was formed and they were charged with specific expected outcomes. The names and credentials of the people selected for the Work Group are listed at the end of this report. The charge is reproduced here. “Charge: • To recommend constructive changes in perfecting the language of the proposed legislation for Article 68 of the 2010 Annual Town Meeting (Home Rule Petition: An Act Regulating the Content and Application of Fertilizer Used in the Town of Nantucket); • to develop a comprehensive plan to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in our waters, including legislative action, whether a refined home-rule petition and/or a bylaw amendment, and other relevant actions contained in the Harbors Action Plan; • to develop an implementation action plan with roles and responsibilities specifically delineated, as well as measurements of effectiveness for ongoing assessment; and • to develop a timeframe and a budget.” Additionally, the Work Group was asked to report frequently to the Board and make its final report by October of 2010. The Work Group resolved amongst themselves to forward recommendations that were based on sound science. As the group converged on draft recommendations, they sought advice from outside experts, which were given readily although not always instantly. Their advice acknowledged the general correctness of the draft standards while occasionally amending them to meet the findings of the latest research on turf grass nutrition. Nantucket owes a great deal to these experts and they are acknowledged individually in the Best Management Practices report (the BMP). 2 In the initial meetings, Lucinda Young acted as interim chair. At its meeting of May 18, 2010, the Work Group elected her as Chair, Peter Boyce as Vice Chair, and Lee Saperstein as Secretary. The Town provided for James Sutherland to sit in on the meetings and take minutes as an Administrative Assistant. Unfortunately, the delays in getting reviews from the outside consultants meant that his services ended before the Work Group completed its tasks. At its meeting of January 10, 2012, Lucinda Young resigned as Chair so that she could devote all of her energy to completing the editing task of the BMP. She nominated Lee Saperstein as Chair and he agreed to serve pro tem. On January 11, 2012, the Work Group submitted to the Board of Selectmen a draft Home- Rule Petition and a draft Regulation for the Board of Health. Inasmuch as the draft Regulation referred to a document called “Best Management Practices for Landscape Fertilizer Use on Nantucket Island,” the BMP, the Director of the Department of Health and the Work Group agreed that the Board of Health not consider the Regulation until the BMP was ready to be released as a public document. On March 5, 2012, a final version of the BMP was delivered to the Director. The Town is thanked for its support of Libby Oldham who provided copy editing for this final version. Final Report The final report to the BOS is shaped around the original charge. Charges 1 and 2. Regulation: A significant part of the efforts of the Work Group were in response to the first two bullet points of the Charge: final drafts of a Home-Rule Petition, a proposed Board of Health Regulation, and a manual for “Best Management Practices for Landscape Fertilizer Use on Nantucket Island.” It is noted that the Work Group responded to the first charge with a Home-Rule Petition that is written with fairly open-ended language. For the second charge, the Work Group provided a very detailed Regulation that included justification, definitions, standards of performance, and enforcement protocols. It supported this proposed Regulation with a 65-page reference work, the BMP. The Work Group notes that these have been transmitted to the Board in substantial fulfillment of items one and two in their charge. Because of draft State-wide legislation on fertilizer control, the so-called “Brewer” Bill, it is recommended that the Town forward the Home-Rule Petition as soon as possible so that our response to the water- quality mandate is recognized. Charge 3. Implementation: The Department of Health, under the aegis of the Board of Health, is recognized within the Regulation as the party responsible for implementation. The Work Group has a sequence of recommendations to the Department of Health in support of effective implementation of fertilizer application control. These recommendations, including any draft materials attached to these minutes, are meant to fulfill the balance of the implementation charge.  Publish the BMP, with final version of the Regulation as an appendix, in paper and digital formats. Publishing and printing costs, while not great, are real and should be considered by the Department of Health in its budget. It is noted that 3 the BMP will benefit Nantucket for many years to come but that maintaining its currency should not be forgotten.  Create an Advisory Board of four or five members selected from people knowledgeable of the issues of nutrient contamination from fertilizer; work group members are encouraged to contact Richard Ray, Director of Health, to volunteer or to nominate knowledgeable people.  Establish a fertilizer page in the Departmental web site to include the BMP, background reference lists (such as the List of Common Documents), videos of live educational presentations, and a web log for comments and questions. It is realized that fulfillment of this recommendation will take on-going effort from someone such as the suggested educational coordinator.  Develop educational materials for the HPIC Blue Pages; point-of-sale homeowner brochures; and a pocket card with abbreviated copy of the performance standards and guidance for mowing and irrigation and a ruler. Summary materials from the BMP have been transmitted to Peter Brace, editor of the “Blue Pages;” the Blue Pages will need to be reviewed by the Fertilizer Advisory Board when it is written. A draft Homeowners’ brochure has been written and is attached to this report. There is also a draft of a pocket card that can be given to purchasers of fertilizer products. It possible, there should also be a separate brochure on “spoon feeding.” It would also be a good idea to have an educational program for fertilizer vendors so that they could advise customers appropriately. As mentioned below, this could be a workshop based on the BMP.  Use members of the Advisory Committee and former members of the Article 68 Work Group to host continuing live educational sessions for the Nantucket Garden Club, fertilizer vendors, landscape professionals, and homeowners in general. Videos of the best of these presentations should go onto the web site.  The presentation to landscapers should be organized so as to be acceptable as Professional Development Hours for licensure.  Develop Spanish language versions of the handouts. It is believed that there are a number of people in Nantucket schools who could organize such translations, perhaps even as student language projects.  Educational coordinator: The Work Group recognizes that the above suggestions may add a substantial work load to the Department of Health and, therefore, suggests the addition of an educational coordinator to the staff of the Department. Charge 3. Effectiveness: in fulfillment of this part of the charge, Impact Studies, i.e. “measurements of effectiveness,” should be conducted. The Work Group recommends that the Department of Health:  Establish or maintain liaison with the Estuaries Project personnel and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for compliance with Total Daily Maximum Loads, TDML, for N and P;  Continue Town water quality surveys for N and P. Charge 4. Schedule and Budget: The Work Group recommends to the Department of Health that implementation begin in the calendar year 2013, which would allow existing stocks of fertilizer to be used in the summer of 2012 and for appropriate stocks to be 4 ordered for the growing season that begins on April 15, 2013. As noted above, the Work Group recommends that a budgetary position be created in the Department of Health to afford an educational coordinator to be responsible for the implementation items mentioned above. The educational material, including the BMP, should be published and this will create several one-time costs. Additional Recommendations: The work group also discussed two other recommendations that they believe to be very important but that do not necessarily fit within the scope of the charge.  Soil Tests: Because the BMP recommends continuing tests for soil quality (“the soil test”), it is recommended that the Department of Health determine if a soil testing laboratory will establish a presence here on the Island. “Presence” could mean an on-Island laboratory or, more realistically, an identified sample drop-off station or even a sampling service.  Compost from Nantucket’s Waste Recycling Facility: To comply with the BMP recommendations on the use of compost, it is recommended that the Department of Health or the Department of Public Works provide current values for N, P, and K in the compost and remove trash (glass and plastic) and weed seed from the compost. Final Steps The Board of Health will begin its consideration of the Draft Regulation on Thursday, April 12, 2012, and members of the Work Group will attend in support. There is a minimum four-week period for public notice and the holding of a public hearing. Members will be available for consultation during this period. The Work Group has considered and approved a motion to recommend to the Board of Selectmen for its dissolution now that the charges have been met. Peter Boyce, Harbor Plan Implementation Committee, Vice Chair Cormac Collier, Nantucket Land Council Caroline Ellis, Nantucket Garden Club Dave Fronzuto, Marine Superintendent, ex officio Bam LaFarge, HPIC Mark Lucas, Greenskeeper Wendy McCrae, Shellfish and Harbor Advisory Board Mike Misurelli, Landscaper and member of the Nantucket Landscapers’ Association Richard Ray, Director of the Department of Health, ex officio Seth Rutherford, At Large member of the public Lee Saperstein, At Large, Secretary, Chair pro tem from January 11, 2012 Ernie Steinauer, Conservation Commission Jim Sutherland, Administrative Assistant Lucinda Young, Landscaper, Chair until January 11, 2012, and Chair Emerita thereafter April 6, 2012