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MATTAPOISETT
Action Mattapoisett is already taking and should continue in 2008 to protect and improve Bay health:
- Participation in regional Oil Spill prevention efforts and in local spill response planning.
- Support of open space acquisitions.
What Mattapoisett Can Do:
1. Reduce Nitrogen Pollution:
- Mattapoisett is one of only two Bay coastal towns (the other is Marion) that is not providing financial support for the Massachusetts Estuaries Project. This should be a top priority for the town in 2008. Without town support, MEP assessments will not be completed for Mattapoisett Harbor, Eel Pond or Pine Island Pond.
- Start planning for additional wastewater improvement projects. Residential septic systems will likely be determined by the MEP to be the greatest source of nitrogen pollution to Mattapoisett’s coastal waters.
- Support upgrades to reduce Nitrogen Pollution discharges from the Fairhaven and Marion Wastewater Treatment Plants. Sewage disposal from Mattapoisett into the Fairhaven WWTP contributes to the pollution of New Bedford Harbor and inadequate nitrogen treatment at the Marion WWTP impacts water quality in Inner Aucoot Cove.
- Amend Mattapoisett Subdivision and Health rules to require new developments to install nitrogen reducing wastewater technology.
2. Expand Protection for Wetlands:
- Mattapoisett one of only four Bay towns that doesn’t have a local wetlands protection bylaw. The state Wetlands Protection Act is inadequate to provide the proper protection for the town’s wetlands. A Mattapoisett Wetlands Bylaw would expand local authority and control over these vital natural resources.
- Establish ‘No-Build Setbacks’ around freshwater and coastal wetlands for all new construction. The Mattapoisett Conservation Commission should join the Bay towns of Falmouth, Bourne, Carver and Rochester—all of who require construction setbacks from wetlands to protect these natural pollution filters.
- Prioritize wetlands and stream/riverfront lands for open space acquisitions particularly in the Mattapoisett River Valley.
3. Protect River Herring
- Participate in regional investigations into external causes of river herring decline such as the offshore Atlantic Herring fishery.
- Maintain sufficient flow in the Mattapoisett River during drought conditions to ensure that juvenile river herring can travel from Snipatuit Pond to the Bay in late summer.
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