Board of Health keeps watershed and wellhead hearings open for more public review, schedules Dec. 18 continuation

The Nantucket Board of Health opened a public hearing Nov. 20 on proposed amendments to the Hammock Pond watershed regulation and the wellhead protection district regulation and decided to hold the record open until Dec. 18.

Residents and technical consultants urged greater clarity in the draft language and more time for comment. "This affects a lot of people," said Steve Visco, who asked whether the board planned to adopt the rules that night or extend the hearing to allow more public input. Paul Santos of Nantucket Surveyors and Don Bracken of Bracken Engineering identified several drafting issues that, they said, could unintentionally limit previously permitted systems or misstate design-flow limits. Bracken asked that sentences referring to "gallons per day" explicitly read "per day per acre" where intended.

Water department staff told the board they have not observed nitrogen spikes in the public supply and that most Zone 2 areas are on sewer, but the board heard that private septic systems in the wellhead area remain a community concern. Will Arsenal of the Nantucket Land and Water Council said his group is generally supportive but requested more time to review the specific language.

After questions and a request from multiple board members for more outreach and technical clarification, the board voted to continue the hearings to its regularly scheduled Dec. 18 meeting so staff can incorporate edits and interested parties can submit written comments or speak in person. The chair and applicant representatives also agreed to a short pre-meeting check-in to make sure the board’s remaining questions can be addressed ahead of the December session.

The hearing remains open; no regulatory changes were adopted at the Nov. 20 meeting.