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SBPF gets final environmental impact review certificate Receipt of this certificate means that the Siasconset Beach Preservation Fund can now apply for permits from state and local agencies to rebuild the beach upward and outwards from Sankaty down to Codfish Park in an effort to protect this part of the island from erosion. "I find that the FEIR adequately addresses the issues remaining from the Certificate on the Draft EIR and provides adequate information to understand project impacts and provides state agencies with information necessary to make their required Section 61 findings," said Secretary of Environmental Affairs Ian A. Bowles in his Jan. 29 certificate. "The proponent has met its obligations under MEPA [Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act] to avoid or minimize impacts wherever possible, and to develop mitigation commensurate with impacts in those areas where impacts are unavoidable." Bowles' words mean that the Conservation Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection's Chapter 91 Waterways Program along with nine other permitting agencies should be hearing from the Siasconset Beach Preservation Fund pretty soon. "It's a pretty exciting step," said Cheryl Bartlett, executive director of SBPF. "Even though there's a lot of work ahead of us, each one of these represents a milestone for us." Bartlett could not say which permit applications would be filed first, adding that SBPF will be having a team meeting shortly to lay out a strategy for filing their next applications. SBPF has already filled out some of these in rough draft form in anticipation of getting the certificate from Bowles. With certificate in hand, some applications may just need minor work while others could be more involved, said Bartlett. The Siasconset Beach Preservation Fund proposes to use 2.6 million cubic yards of sand from a 345- acre shoal about 2.7 miles east-northeast from the Sankaty Head Lighthouse to first build a permanent beach to stabilize the banks and bluffs along a 3.1- mile stretch of shoreline, and then place a sacrificial beach on top. SBPF expects erosion to take this "second" beach during storms. Sand will be replaced every five years or as needed depending on the severity of storms. I |
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