VOICES AWAY FROM THE BLUFF
AN INDEPENDENT SERIES
Jay Starr
9A Hussey Farm Rd.

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent file Jay Starr

Editor's note: This week, The Nantucket Independent

continues Voices Away from the Bluff,

examining the ramifications of the

Siasconset Beach Preservation Fund's

beach nourishment proposal.

We encourage letters to the editor sent to

don@nantucketindependent.com or to 15 North Beach St., Nantucket, MA 02554.

Tell us about yourself - line of work, connection to Nantucket.

My name is Jay Starr. I am a fourthgeneration Nantucket native. Nantucket is not my vacation home it is the only home for my wife, Michelle, our two young sons, and myself. I own and operate a charter fishing business, Starrfish Charters Inc., with my father Lionel. I am also a licensed plumber for a local business on the island.

In general, what are your thoughts about the erosion control methods employed by SBPF in the past, presently and in its current proposal?

My thoughts on the project are ones of dismay. Look at the old dewatering project in Codfish Park. Was this a success or a failure? Either way, it does not work now and there it sits, concrete, pipes, plastic hoses, old pump pits half buried in the sand. Who is held accountable when it turns to trash? Can they clean up one mess before (hopefully not) starting another? Speaking of messes, has anyone looked over the bluff after Noel went by? Is that the future we have in store for our beach/bluff area? The bottom two-and-a-half tiers were GONE, along with the terracing construction material of four-by-four posts, jute and coconut fiber bags, silt fencing from the bluff above and countless man hours to have it all installed. It's all now floating around the ocean or snagged on the bottom waiting to cause a lot more harm than the good it was supposed to do.

From your perspective, what are the pros and cons of dredging sand offshore and pumping it onto a beach to rebuild it (beach nourishment) in relation to the SBPF proposal?

As far as pros and cons of dredge and fill projects, for myself it's very simple: cause and effect. This size of a project has NEVER been done before. Nothing even close to the size of this project has EVER been done on an island before. So to tell me that to dredge 2.6 million cubic yards and put it on the beach will have no effect or have a measurable amount of predictability for the rest of the island borders on insanity. I am not a geologist, engineer, or a sand scientist; I draw my conclusions from a lifelong history of family fishermen and two ounces of common sense. "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck."

Should the Board of Selectmen approve the use of town-owned land, necessary for the project to go forward?

No, they should not. This project benefits only a select few, but the detriments will affect everyone. Should the town and Board of Selectmen be held accountable if/ when it fails? It is public land; it should not be used for a private, heavy construction project. Could someone use Children's Beach to store lumber, excavators, dump trucks, fuel cells and company vehicles while they build their house around the corner in the middle of August?

Where do you draw the line between preservation of public and private property and protection and conservation of natural resources?

I draw the line at common sense. Usually we over protect our natural resources i.e.: closing Jetties Beach for two plovers, and Great Point for seals. In this instance, we seem to be over protecting private property, without any benefits to anyone else under the guise of preservation. I guess in reality it's "private preservation."

How should SBPF modify its proposal to address the projected negative impacts of its beach rebuilding project?

Even under SBPF's new proposal to reduce the project by 30 percent, it still does not have any answers to remedy the harmful effects and damage they will cause. As it stands now, there are not any proposals to rectify the negative impacts. When it's done, it's too late.

If this proposal is approved and harmful effects occur, what should SBPF be prepared to do to remedy the negative impacts?

If SBPF is allowed to dredge and fill the beach, before the permits are signed, each and every homeowner/member of SBPF should have a permanent lien on their property in case of any irreparable damage done. If they are that committed to the project, they should also be committed financially for its lifetime. This way they cannot walk away when it fails and pass blame on anyone else. It's private and they own it forever.

If rebuilding the beach with offshore dredged sand beneath their bluff properties is not the answer, what should the residents of Baxter Road do to protect their property from erosion?

While I feel for all the residents losing their homes to erosion all over the island, the eastern shore is only one part of the problem. From what I observe, there is no protection from erosion. To quote Dr. Orrin Pilkey, PhD (geology), "erosion has never been a problem for coastal beaches, only the homes we build upon them."

Alternately, if the project and its environmental mitigation slows the rate of erosion, creates shorebird habitat, successfully replaces the cobble areas offshore with artificial cobble areas and does not harm the ocean bottom, would you recommend other island shorelines for this erosion control method. Why, why not?

"IF", for me, that one word brings questions to the whole project in its entirety. What are you willing to sacrifice to stop the erosion? This is the largest project of dredge and fill ever proposed. The final answers are not clear to anyone. However, what is definite is it will ruin the natural habitat for fishing off Sankaty, and for the birds that migrate there for however brief a time, and the overall enjoyment for the total public 24 hours a day every third summer when they refill the beach. So, I would not recommend this to other parts of the island, or any place as unique as this.

Is there anything you want to say that I haven't asked you about today on SBPF's offshore sand dredging and beach rebuilding proposal?

When I first started attending the meeting regarding this bad idea at the Coffin School last February, a woman spoke with tears in her eyes about the possibility of losing her house over the bluff due to erosion. She stated that most of us traveled great distances to be here this evening to show its importance and that we care. I then thought to myself, if anyone traveled more than eight miles to get here tonight, this is not your home, but possibly part of your portfolio that you wish to protect. Even with that said I could still empathize with their predicament. But the enormous impacts of this project far outweigh

any benefit. I