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).
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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
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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
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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