MADAKET MARINE PLANS IN DRY DOCK … FOR NOW
After site reviews by the town and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office revealed greater issues than Madaket Marine could iron out before its scheduled public hearing with the Conservation Commission on March 12, the west end boatyard pulled its notice of intent for a proposed expansion of its pier.

Madaket Marine wanted to add 66 slips to its existing 60, remove 13 moorings down the center of Hither Creek and add three more rack systems to store an additional 127 boats. Madaket Marine chief administrative officer Kim Sparks confirmed that Health Inspector Richard Ray had his doubts that the proposed septic system and public water supply could accommodate the expansion. Ray also had concerns that the new six-foot wide pier for 66 new slips running 2,132 feet down the west side of Hither Creek would interrupt tidal circulation.

She added that the ConCom noted that there was missing information on shellfish, wildlife and sediments, and that Madaket Marine's proposed stormwater drainage plan did not comply with ConCom regulations.

Sparks could not say when Madaket Marine would re-file its notice of intent for the expansion and declined comment on how these issues impact their ability to further develop their 17.07-acre property at 20 North Cambridge St. HIGH WIND ADVISORY The Minerals Management Service, the lead reviewer and permitting agency for Cape Wind's proposal to build 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, will hold a public input gathering session on Nantucket on March 11. The meeting is scheduled to run from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Nantucket High School Auditorium.

Other public input sessions will take place on Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod and Boston. To download or read the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, check out the following Web site: www.mms.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/DEIS/ Volume%20I%20%20Cape%20Wind%20DEIS/C ape%20Wind%20DEIS.pdf.

WHATEVER CRAWLS, SLITHERS, FLIES OR RUNS "Starfish Symmetry Oddities"; "Comparing Apples to Oranges: Quantitative Assessment of Shellfish Habitat"; "Resource Partitioning Between Sub-adult Fowler's Toads and Eastern Spadefoots in the Provincelands Dunes of Cape Cod National Seashore" and "Movement of Native Brook Trout in Cape Cod Streams."

Learn about these research efforts and 11 others

at the 13th Annual Cape Cod Natural History Conference. The one-day confab of natural world scientists sponsored by the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary & Environmental Technology Program at Cape Cod Community College features 15 short presentations by naturalists and biologists from environmental and scientific organizations, agencies, and colleges across Cape Cod and Massachusetts.

The event will take place at Cape Cod Community College next Saturday, March 8. For details, contact the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at 508-349-2615 or at wellfleet@massaudubon. org.

UNCLOGGED Public hearings on the Downtown Circulation and Ferry Access Improvement Study recommendations are scheduled for March 3 at 7 p.m. in the conference room of the town offices at 2 Fairgrounds Road, with a second hearing set for the same time and location on March 10. For details, call 228-7237.

H2-KNOW The Siasconset Water Department wants 'Sconset ratepayers to know that it goofed on its monitoring and reporting requirements between April 1 and June 30, 2007. During that period, the company did not monitor, or did not complete the monitoring, for nitrates in its gravel pack production well because they misunderstood the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's quarterly monitoring schedule.

Samples have been taken recently and Wannacomet Water Company Manager Bob Gardner said he is awaiting nitrate analysis results from the DEP. Gardner said there is no need for alarm, but that if you want more information, you

should call him at 228-0022. I