Conservation Commission Appears Willing To Allow Repair Of Damaged Geotubes

The Conservation Commission may be moving toward granting the Sconset Beach Preservation Fund (SBPF) approval to repair a portion of the controversial erosion control geotube array along the Sconset Bluff that was damaged in an alleged act of vandalism last January.

After initially expressing skepticism of the repair plan at a meeting in June and asking if it was “too late” to repair the geotubes, Conservation Commission chair Seth Engelbourg seemed more open to potentially approving repairs at the Commission’s latest meeting Thursday, and other Commissioners appeared to agree.

“It’s high time we got this ball rolling,” Conservation Commission member John Schaeffer said.

SBPF addressed several of the Conservation Commission’s concerns on Thursday, confirming that the metal shoring proposed as part of the plan would be removed once the work was complete and setting a one-month timeline for the repairs.

Engelbourg was still hesitant to approve the plan outright, and asked for more information about the sand SBPF would be required to deposit on the beach to absorb the impact of the waves as part of the repair plan, as well as conditions governing that sand.

“I think having that sand be delivered to the edges of the template should be conditioned to happen first, before any repairs take place because the system has not been appropriately nourished with sand in many years,” Engelbourg said. “We’re hoping that you’ll provide some information on the quantity of the sand being delivered, the type of machinery that it will be delivered by and conveyed by, and the exact locations.”

Other Commissioners and town staff seemed to support these suggestions, and the final decision was continued to the Conservation Commission’s September 3rd meeting.

“I think administratively it makes a lot of sense for us to write up the actions that are specifically going to be taken,” town of Nantucket natural resources director Jeff Carlson said.

The repair efforts are not the only reason the geotube array has been in the news recently. The state upheld a Conservation Commission decision permitting an expansion of the erosion control project, though Town Meeting approval will still be needed before any work on the expansion can begin, and voters rejected the proposal last spring. Key stakeholders have held at least one meeting behind closed doors in an effort to come to an agreement on how the project can move forward, and the town of Nantucket has yet to commit to bringing the expansion back before voters at a future Town Meeting. SBPF has indicated it would like the expansion to be on the warrant for next spring’s Town Meeting, and previously told the Current that any repair work would be impractical if the town does not commit to supporting another article asking for the expansion.

For decades, SBPF has battled local activist groups and regulatory bodies over the geotubes, which are long textile fabric rolls filled with a slurry of sand and water and installed at the base of the bluff to protect the homes perched along Baxter Road above.

Opponents have raised concerns about the impacts of the geotubes on nearby beaches and about the source of the mitigation sand that SBPF is required to pour over the tubes to ensure those beaches are not eroded—a requirement SBPF has often shirked.

Proponents have argued that the geotubes and the potential expansion, which would come at no cost to Nantucket’s taxpayers, are needed to protect Baxter Road and avoid the potentially enormous expense of providing utilities to homes along the bluff should the road be deemed impassable.