Yarmouth Board of Health adopts draft green home burial rules, forwards revisions for council review

YARMOUTH, Mass. — The Yarmouth Board of Health on Jan. 6 accepted a revised draft of local green home burial regulations and approved sending the draft, with the evening's edits, on to the Town Council and subsequent public hearing and permitting steps.

The board's action follows a lengthy, line-by-line review during which members added or clarified requirements including an explicit requirement that regional Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) review and approval be completed for each burial request before local action; technical site studies including a hydrogeological evaluation; and prohibitions on vaults and non-biodegradable grave liners.

The draft, described by board members as assembled from state guidance and other sources, sets out the purpose and scope of allowing green home burials on private residential property, requires a certified soil evaluator and a hydrogeological study for site approval, and specifies a burial plot and area of non-disturbance. During the meeting members settled on consistent terminology ("green home burials" in lower case unless starting a sentence) and agreed that the site plan and application checklist would list the technical requirements applicants must submit.

"DEP regulations and requirements are separate and, in addition to this local regulation, must be met and approved by the regional DEP office for each burial request," Mary, a member of the Yarmouth Board of Health, said during the review. That…