NP&EDC endorses Farrell's reef plan

INDEPENDENT FILE PHOTO Joe Farrell Marine salvager Joe Farrell, Jr.'s offer to help Nantucket with its endless erosion problems garnered unanimous endorsement from the Nantucket Planning & Economic Development Commission on Monday night.

At that meeting, which featured updates on the Massachusetts Oceans Management Plan and Nantucket's own wind farm south of Tuckernuck, the NP&EDC said yes to the town's appropriate departments coaxing along Farrell's experimental artificial reef project: the sinking of steel barges at four possible test sites including at the end of Madaket Road, near Dionis Beach, adjacent to Fishermen's Beach and an area near Tom Nevers.

"We have to start from some place and this is an idea that we have discussed here at the commission before and if this is an idea we need to look further into, tell us now," Planning Director Andrew Vorce said to the Planning Commission.

Farrell's conceptual plan is to place several steel 60-foot-by-30- foot barges at one or several of the aforementioned locations. With the proper town, state and federal permits, Farrell would secure the barge(s) just off shore and fill them with seawater to see if his theory proves to be a practical solution for erosion abatement.

If it does, and the town and residents in critical erosion zones are willing to move forward, Farrell would then remove the steel barges and permanently install 800- to 1,400-ton concrete barges where the town needed them, placing a rock cobble fish habitat on top of each. All of this work would require significant capital that Farrell proposes to generate by encouraging the formation of an island nonprofit consisting of coastal property owners at risk of losing their property to erosion where the barges could be placed. Installation of the concrete barges can cost $5 million to $8 million per mile, said Farrell.

"You can play with the sand, it's so easy, but it's not cheap, I've already spent $700,000 on this," he said.

Most of the commissioners seemed enthusiastic about at least trying the experimental steel barge phase, including Linda Williams who agreed that Farrell should keep working on the idea and Nat Lowell who recognized the multi-jurisdictional approach required for success.

"I think that the planning staff for all intents and purposes is [providing]professional services for the town in a lot of ways," said Lowell. "I think this is going to be a selectmen issue and a ConCom (Conservation Commission) issue, I know that for permitting, but it's also going to be a Marine Department issue as well."

But Planning Commissioner Barry Rector, who said conceptually Farrell's idea poses some merit, is skeptical of saddling the planning staff with the primary town role in Farrell's project and said he would not vote for it unless the motion included provisions clearly defining Vorce's and his staff's limited participation.

"I would like to see a little bit more of the proposal fleshed out and the funding fleshed out to see what kind of commitment we need from the staff," said Rector.

Vorce assured Rector that his office would not be taking the lead throughout the project should it become reality.

"I think at this point, the resources are to [be used] to scope out a project and launch the ship and then it's run by others," said Vorce.

The final motion, which the commission approved 8-0, authorizes the planning staff to work on the planning process and the site selection with the other town departments, but have the Marine & Coastal Resources Department take the lead for the town, said Vorce.

Whoever is at the helm, ConCom member Sarah Oktay strongly urged the town to hire an independent coastal geologist to review the project as it progresses. I