The Barnstable Patriot
BARNSTABLE TOWN NOTES
MA Nature Conservancy,
Barnstable win funding
The Nature Conservancy’s Massachusetts chapter has been awarded funding from NatureVest’s 2018 Conservation Investment Accelerator Competition promoting environmental sustainability.
NatureVest is the conservation investing unit of The Nature Conservancy. Applications were received from 26 countries and covered sectors as varied as forestry, freshwater management, and coastal resilience.
The funding will support a feasibility study for piloting innovative, nature-based solutions for wastewater management across the Cape. In partnership with Barnstable Clean Water Coalition and the Town of Barnstable, the pilot aims to reverse chronic nitrogen pollution impacting Cape Cod’s coastal ecosystems and protect the vital Cape Cod Aquifer.
The Barnstable team also will work to facilitate private investment in these more innovative solutions—and increase the pace and scale of implementation.
“As a team, we’re exploring options to implement nature-based solutions that will help mitigate nutrient pollution in our waters,” reads a statement from Horsley Witten Group environmental consultants. “This pilot study will focus on the Three Bays Watershed. Some of the potential solutions include cranberry bog restoration, fertigation wells, stormwater treatment, aquaculture…and innovative wastewater treatment systems.”
BCWA wary of relaxing rules
The Barnstable Board of Health is scheduled to consider repealing and replacing interim saltwater estuary rules governing onsite sewage disposal in the Craigville Beach Zoning District on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 3 p.m. in the Barnstable Town Hall second-floor hearing room.
“Why do we want to relax rules now?” Zenas Crocker, executive director of the Barnstable Clean Water Association, asked in an Oct. 17 interview. “I’m all for sensible development, but the estuaries are getting worse. I’m not for changing regulations before we’ve done anything. I don’t see how I can possibly support it.”
To review the current regulation, visit www.ecode360.com/9042572.