TEXTILES.ORG
By Dean Geddes
The massive expansion of the erosion-control project on the Sconset Bluff in Nantucket, Mass. is one step closer to a reality after the conservation commission voted to provide the project with the necessary waivers to move it forward. The joint application by the town and Sconset Beach Preservation Fund to expand the geotextile tubes at the base of the bluff from the project’s current 900-foot length to nearly 5,000 feet has been in front of the commission since January, 2024.
The commission will continue to work its way through an order of conditions for the project before taking a final vote on whether to allow it to ultimately proceed. Last Wednesday’s vote – December 4, 2024 – was the first real look at how commissioners felt about the proposed project that they have been holding hearings on for nearly a year.
Seth Engelbourg was the lone dissenting commissioner, saying he felt the project adhered to terms laid out in the Wetland Protection Act, but that it did not satisfy the requirements of local bylaws. “I believe there are reasonable alternatives that can be done on this site and there will be adverse impacts,” he said in explaining his decision.
The other four voting members of the commission, Mike Misurelli, Linda Williams, Joe Plandowski and Tim Braine, all voted that the project met the waiver requirements in both the Wetlands Protection Act and local bylaws. New commission members RJ Turcotte and John Schafer recused themselves.
The current 900-foot geotube project is currently under a removal order that is on hold while ConCom hears the request for expansion. That removal order came after the commission ruled the SBPF repeatedly failed to follow the order of conditions for the project, most notably failing to replenish the bluff with enough sacrificial sand.
If the ConCom does approve the expansion, it would still require approval by town meeting voters. The commission will hold its next hearing on the matter in January, 2025, at a date to be determined.
Contributed by the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror. Learn more here.