In this section we outline the issues and strategies for
each of the six goals. The purpose is to introduce the issues and strategies,
to provide context for the prioritizations in Section 3. More details on the
issues appear in Appendix C, “Issues Background.” The previous round of goals
appears in Appendix D. Corresponding previous accomplishments appear in
Appendix E. Goal 1: Foster
Sustainable Development (people-oriented) Issues: The Grow Smart
North Shore report serves as the NCW comprehensive Open Space plan. It is
available on the NCW website, www.NorthCoastal.net
. The more general goal of sustainable development raises
numerous transportation-related issues. The Blue Line (MBTA) is proposing to
expand through Rumney Marsh to Strategies Several years ago the Metropolitan Area Planning
Council (MAPC) and its North Shore Task Force (NSTF) sponsored a Harvard School
of Design project to investigate the potential to create a metropolitan open
space system for the Greater Boston Metropolitan region and adjoining areas of ·
a network of interconnected existing
preservation areas, new preservation areas, riparian corridors setbacks and a
harbor walk as the means to consider the needs and character of the region’s
resources and people; ·
address the needs of the regional ecology;
address the issues of water quality and quantity; address the rich cultural
heritage of the region; and ·
create a realistic, regional open space reserve
on the Several NCW team members were active in the formulation of
this project and the subsequent presentations to local officials and the
public. It was the consensus of the team that Grow Smart North Shore could effectively serve as the NCW
comprehensive Open Space plan. Planning for growth and community preservation
has been an active component of the Watershed Team’s activities. “Open Space Residential Design” (OSRD) is a rezoning method
intended to implement greater open space within the same population density.
Numerous documents on OSRD methods, bylaw changes, and zoning concepts are
included on the website, under the heading of “Conservation Subdivision Design.”
Some NCW team members were active in programs to support
local agriculture on the Goal 2: Conserve habitat
and wildlife (nature-oriented) Issues The long history of development and alteration within
the watershed has placed much of the natural resources at risk. The Team has
identified as a priority the restoration of degraded wetlands and the reopening
of productive shellfish resources. Estimates compiled for the EOEA 2002 Report
“The State of Our Environment – A Special
Report on Community Preservation and the Future of our Commonwealth”
indicate that the Commonwealth will have about 9.75 million people at buildout,
or about 3.5 million more than today. The primary concern is that the ongoing land fragmentation, resulting from continuing economic
development, more specifically housing growth, will seriously endanger the
biodiversity within the Commonwealth and the North Coastal Watersheds. The
Natural Heritage Program of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife examined the
entire landmass of the Commonwealth, reviewed all existing data on the native
species that live in Strategies The extensive alteration of the waterbodies and
landscapes within the watershed often precludes the ideal application of land
acquisition and establishment of protected conservation easements. Often these
sensitive habitats require the imposition of remedial measures to restore some
of their biological and ecological functions to better reflect a more natural
condition. ·
The NCW team is generally supportive of the
concept of “The Natural Flow Regime.”[7]
This approach recognizes the importance of natural streamflow variability in
maintaining healthy aquatic ecosystems. ·
Integrate the concept of biodiversity into the
MWI program elements (which are still supported by EOEA). ·
Promote a thorough review and study in and
around both surface and groundwater water supplies to insure that drawdowns needed for water supply protection
cannot be so great that they wipe out the wetlands and in-stream flows to
maintain biodiversity. ·
The NCW team will support on-going projects and
foster new projects in the watershed targeted to restoring or remediating degraded
streams, wetlands, reopening productive shellfish beds and promoting
conservation of eelgrass beds. ·
In the past, support has largely been in the
form of site assessment and the writing of endorsement letters to the various
funding sources. However, future projects do not preclude involvement in active
restoration or remediation projects. Goal 3: Improve water
quality and human health issues Issues: The waters within the North Coastal Watershed generally
do not support their desig Sections of the North Coastal watershed have extensive areas
of impervious surfaces created by dense housing developments, roads and
commercial parking areas. The runoff from these areas alters the water quality
and biological integrity of areas once noted for anadromous fish runs, swimming
and shellfishing. In the more urbanized areas of the NCW, particularly in the
Salem Sound and Thermal discharges from two major NPDES permittees located
on opposite shores of the Saugus River Estuary may adversely impact fish
migration as well as egg and larval development. A total of 25 waterbodies both
fresh and marine are listed on as impaired waters (DEP 1996 303d list) (See
Appendix D). The North Coastal Watershed has five municipal sewage
treatment facilities and several large industries, all of which are classified
as major dischargers under the NPDES permitting program. Record keeping and
updates on the actual number and status of minor NPDES permits needs to be
updated. DEP/DWPC/NERO was responsible for overseeing a number of
Administrative Consent Orders filed against municipalities and business for
noncompliance with both State and Federal Water Quality Laws and Regulations.
Changes in program management and personnel had lead to a lack of “up to date
oversight.” Human health issues relate not only to water quality but to
air quality as well. Several community members cited air emissions as a
potential cause of illness. While this report focuses on water-related issues,
the comment section of the website and the associated video include discussions
of other health issues. Hence the term “health” in this category means both human
health and healthy aquatic systems. That includes anadromous fish issues, for
example. This category should be interpreted broadly, to include aesthetics as
well. Strategies: Develop a plan and financing to supplement the
monitoring efforts of DEP/WSM, DMF, SSCW and SRWC by engaging additional
partners, providing communication linkages between the respective programs and
expanding the list of water quality parameters. ·
Provide direct technical assistance for
DEP/DWPC/NERO compliance activities by the collection of water quality samples,
biological assessments and flow measurements. ·
Promote the coordination and pooling of all
federal, state and NGO efforts and tailor some of the sampling. This would
enhance the individual group efforts towards meeting their targeted goals and
provide a more comprehensive assessment of conditions within these targeted
areas. ·
Find resources to assist DEP and EPA in the
review and comment of compliance reports, daily reporting requirements, and
previous studies, update files and follow up on previous permit recommendations
and requirements to issue protective NPDES permits for the nine major NPDES
permittees. ·
NPDES permits should contain specific limits and
monitoring requirements for pollutants that impair water quality. The limits
should be set so that the receiving water meets applicable water quality
standards. ·
NPDES permits should conform to EPA's guidance
document: Watershed-Based - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System -
(NPDES) Permitting Implementation Guidance - August 2003 - Draft ·
Develop and implement a plan to provide
subwatersheds with comprehensive condition assessments and plans to maintain or
improve the water quality and quantity. ·
EOEA should issue its Revised Water Policy as
soon as possible. ·
The EPA’s TMDL loading limits, while sometimes
criticized as onerous, do provide specific num Goal 4: Better water
management / flood control Issues The NCW does not have a unified water supply or well
field located within the watershed. A number of communities have access water
rights to the The high population density places demand on the water supply
resources in the drainage basin, even though several municipalities actually
derive their water supply from surface or groundwater sources outside of the
North Coastal Watershed. Projected water demand at buildout for municipalities
will exceed presently permitted supply by 12,600,000 gallons per day (gpd).
Data compiled from (EOEA 2002 The State
of Our Environment – A Special Report on Community Preservation and the
Future of our Commonwealth). An area of significant concern is the The town of Strategies: ·
DEP/Drinking Water Supply personnel need to
update files and permits issued to all registered water users. ·
Develop and implement a plan to protect
watershed lands around water supplies. But the drawdown needed for water supply
protection cannot be so great that they wipe out the wetlands and in-stream
flows that maintain the Commonwealth's biodiversity. Watershed plans must
employ a better balance between public water supply demands and desig ·
Water suppliers need a program to help them in
securing funds for Watershed Protection. ·
Encourage public water suppliers and DEP
regulators to implement water conservation measures such as leak detection
installation and calibration of water meters. While providing a valuable
resource to the communities at great cost savings, water conservation measures
also help communities meet one of the general water conservation practices
under their Water Management Act permits. ·
Develop and implement a flow monitoring program
to provide accurate and reliable data on flows in most of the subbasins.
Subwatershed assessments and plans are needed to provide the basis for
protecting these resources. ·
Suggest inclusion of flow monitoring as a
standard parameter during all water quality assessments. Goal 5: Foster
recreational use of natural resources and economic growth related to
recreation. Issues: The team had not previously identified the element of
recreation as a specific priority issue to be addressed by the team. Often it
is embedded or included in open space planning and habitat issues. It is
currently included because of the large number of people who participate in
water-based recreation in the NCW area and because of the large number of
public comments that were recreation-related. In particular, the NCW includes several of the Strategies. Because of the many popular beaches in the NCW, the
Watershed Team includes economic issues in this section as well. High-use
beaches provide financial resources for local communities, but in addition, the
recreational benefit accrues to local residents directly. More usable beaches
and waterways provide greater recreational benefit – and many of the best
recreational resources in NCW are degraded. Their improvement would have an
immediate economic benefit and could be the basis of several economic studies.
For example, cleaning ·
In
1999, the Watershed Team participated in a series of workshops and
presentations with DCR (DEM) and Salem
State College on a study of ·
Beginning in 1999, the Friends of Lake Quannapowitt has held a watershed awareness program
with an outdoor classroom for all children that graduate the public school
system. ·
In 2003, the Chebacco Lake Association wrote a
series of articles in the Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle to publicize the issues about
the lake. The lake has high mercury levels and problems with noxious plants
including nonnative plants (fanwort). ·
While
the two goals of clean beaches suitable for swimming and shellfishing is
admirable, the two activities are not compatible in the same time period. Water
quality monitoring and publicizing the results as well as sanitary surveys by
MDMF can make this a reality. Goal 6: Local capacity
building, integration between groups, outreach, and education Issues: The North Coastal
Watershed enjoys an active citizenry often organized at the local level and
generally dealing with specific or regional environmental issues. It was
discovered that there is no single environmental issue affecting all of
the citizenry—rather, the issues and concerns are localized. Virtually all of the environmental agencies under
EOEA have a significant presence in the watershed. Communication between the
various levels of government, sister agencies and local community partners is
inconsistent. The Department of Environmental Protection through its regulatory
authorities plays a central role in protecting and improving environmental
conditions for a host of issues, such as water pollution control, wetlands
protection, water supply, solid waste management, and hazardous waste
management. Particularly successful at interacting at the grassroots level
were, DFG (DFWELE) through their
Stream Team Program and CZM/NS which
provides proactive leadership and assistance in growth management, outreach
programs and grants management. Three Local Governance Committees
(LGCs) Salem Sound
Coastwatch (SSCW), Strategies: Identify the communities working in the North Coastal Watersheds. Channel
outreach and education efforts through the local governance organizations and environmental
groups, strive to develop a pattern of
reciprocal communications. Model outreach efforts employed by DFG
(DFWELE), Massachusetts Audubon Society and CZM/NS to fit NCW needs. Maximize the exchange of information
between team members and collaborative through electronic mail systems. As
contacts are established with local officials invite them to join the team. Prioritize problems within the sub-regions, map
out strategies to effect positive change, solve problems at the sub-watershed
level and make the North Coastal Team relevant to the needs of all
constituencies. Rather than focusing on establishing a “NCW team identity”,
a choice was made to facilitate existing programs wherever possible and provide
additional resources to supplement or augment existing community efforts: ·
Support and encourage growth of local
constituencies. ·
Keep all groups apprised of appropriate grants
and other funding. ·
Encourage the development of working
partnerships between team members. ·
Provide letters of support for funding
opportunities consistent with the watershed team’s objectives. Where possible, the
watershed team will support local activities such as river clean-ups. In the
opinion of the previous Watershed Team Leader[8],
this was the single most effective outreach tool employed, when the watershed
team was able to link this with evidence of anadromous fish spawning. This was
the case in the The Watershed Team
should consider itself the central information source for coordinating
activities between local watershed and community groups. The NCW contains many
such groups that would benefit from coordination, particularly
information-sharing and funding source information. As a result of this
project, the NCW Watershed Team will produce a video about the watershed. It
will be appropriate for periodic broadcasting on local cable stations, at high
school environment classes. The intent is to distribute the video to libraries
and high schools as a means of outreach. The public input detailed in Section 3, while topical and of
interest to the public, does not necessarily reflect the views of the Watershed
Team. In general, the public is much more concerned with health issues and
recreational issues. Similarly, city and town officials are generally most
concerned with local flooding and water flow issues. Watershed groups are
generally most concerned with water quality issues and ecological issues. Our recommendations attempt to reconcile the needs of all
three groups. The most likely users of the recommendations, watershed groups,
can interpret the recommendations about topics primarily of interest to the
public as a means to improve public outreach.
2. ISSUES AND STRATEGIES
2A. Open Space: Sustainable Development
2B. Habitat Conservation
2C. Water Quality Improvement
2D. Water Quantity Management
2E. Recreation as Economic Resource
2F.
Public
Input Process