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Falmouth boards consider using embarkation fund to address Woods Hole traffic and air pollution
Summary
Board members discussed allocating part of the embarkation fund to address idling, truck traffic and ferry emissions in Woods Hole and urged regional collaboration with New Bedford and state engagement with the Steamship Authority.
Officials at Thursday’s joint meeting discussed directing a portion of the town’s embarkation-fund revenue toward public-health and environmental problems in the Woods Hole ferry terminal area, including air pollution from truck and ferry traffic.
Town staff said the embarkation fund currently brings in roughly $400,000–$500,000 a year, with room for modest growth; attendees estimated that, depending on revenues, $50,000–$100,000 per year could be redirected to mitigation work. The Board of Health described monitoring and enforcement steps already tried — including increased police presence to enforce anti-idling laws — and asked the Select Board for ideas on concrete actions the town could fund.
Several board members recommended a regional approach with New Bedford and the South Coast delegation to explore routing freight through New Bedford rather than Woods Hole, which could reduce truck miles in Falmouth. Members also noted a long-standing obstacle: the Steamship Authority controls ferry operations and has historically resisted freight-routing changes; the boards asked staff to seek renewed engagement with the Steamship Authority and the New Bedford delegation.
Health officials also suggested expanding air-quality monitoring beyond inexpensive ambient monitors to professional assessments of ferry emissions and targeted sampling on Steamship Authority property. No specific budget appropriation was approved; members asked staff to return with concrete proposals for environmental/hazard mitigation that could be funded from the embarkation account.
