Association to Preserve Cape Cod |
Indian Lands, Dennis. Photo by Sue Machie. |
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| Don't Change that Channel by Andrew Gottlieb, APCC Executive Director |
Every other month, on the fourth Monday of the month, I trudge up to Plymouth to take my seat as a gubernatorial appointee on the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (NDCAP). The idea behind NDCAP, providing the public some insight into the decommissioning activities of Holtec International at the old Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, is sound. Like many good ideas in concept, the NDCAP in practice leaves much to be desired. The meetings have become a form of bad performance art orchestrated by Holtec.
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I am not just being cranky here, just dumbstruck by the manipulation, half-truths, and hypocrisy I sat through Monday night. It has been well documented that Holtec, despite express prohibitions outlined in the Massachusetts Ocean Sanctuaries Act, sought state permission to discharge 1.1 million gallons of industrial wastewater that also happens to contain radionuclides into Cape Cod Bay. It is also well known that the Commonwealth has notified Holtec that such a discharge is illegal and that it intends to deny the permit application. Also known, because Holtec has said it in public meetings, is that Holtec will appeal the permit denial and extend the timeline for final resolution of the disposition of the wastewater.
Pardon me for being outraged then when Holtec delayed the timeline for final cleanup and disposition of the site by eight—that's eight—years, citing uncertainty about how they are going to dispose of the contaminated water. Just to be clear, the company chose a path known to be illegal, gets called on it, declares its intent to appeal and extend the timeline for resolution, and then relies back on the extended timeline that they created to force an extended timeline for final cleanup. One other thing Holtec mentions, almost under its corporate breath, is that the extended timeline for clean-up means that the balance of the publicly funded trust fund that Holtec uses for this work will be able to be invested and grow in today’s positive interest environment. Any money left over at the end of the closure goes into Holtec’s pocket as profit. Makes you wonder what is the real basis for the delay, permit uncertainty or profit? You decide.
If all that were not enough, Holtec made the case that their handling of the wastewater is the best for the environment and climate-friendly approach to boot. To tease that out a bit, Holtec stated that placement of heaters in the water in the reactor building allegedly to create a warmer work area used less energy than other heating options. Perhaps a happy coincidence is that heating the water increases evaporation of the contaminated water into the atmosphere. Holtec claimed credit for doing a good thing for the environment by using less fossil fuel and ignoring the impacts of the evaporation of the water. They could have chosen to be good climate actors by heating with wind or solar, or by providing their workers with Team Holtec jackets to avoid the release of radioactivity into the surrounding community. They didn’t.
Holtec continued on by justifying disposal of the wastewater into the bay by citing the carbon impacts of shipping the wastewater to an off-site disposal area. Compared to their self-determined finding of no impact from the illegal discharge of the water to the bay, Holtec declared their solution to be the best environmental outcome. While having figured out to the gallon how much fuel would be consumed by shipping the wastewater, no such calculations were provided to quantify the climate impact of Holtec’s five years of transporting over 250,000 cubic yards of demolition debris from Massachusetts to Texas and other western locations. I assume that the latter makes the former a drop in the bucket. I guess it suits the Holtec PR machine to selectively choose from its record when making the case for its climate change credentials. Just because they say it doesn’t mean we need to believe it.
If this NDCAP process were a TV series most of us would have changed the channel on this repetitive and absurd scripted drama. That said, this is real life, and the stakes are high. So we will stick with it and make sure that the right questions are asked and pursue real answers not be distracted by the nonsense.
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Spotlight on Yarmouth Restoration Project |
A public meeting for the Upper Bass River Restoration was held in Yarmouth last week, where the Friends of Bass River, the town of Yarmouth, Tighe & Bond, Woods Hole Group, and Inter-Fluve presented the comprehensive plans and timeline for the proposed restoration. Over 50 people were in attendance, and interest ranged from flooding concerns to ensuring proper stewardship and maintenance of the site.
While APCC is not currently a partner on this project, the project was included in a recent proposal for NOAA’s Transformational Habitat grant submitted by APCC for restoration work across the Cape. The proposed restoration of the Upper Bass River includes the replacement of the culvert at North Dennis Road, the removal of artifact cranberry bog structures, channel and bog regrading, and trail reconstruction in the areas between Mill Pond and Miss Thatchers Pond.
View the full meeting recording here or visit Friends of Bass River for more information about this project. |
Above: The project team takes questions from the audience during the meeting. |
Above: The outline of the work areas for the Upper Bass River restoration project. |
Above: APCC's restoration ecologist, Jordan Mora, on a tour of Upper Bass River at the North Dennis Road culvert. |
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The 2023 State of the Waters: Cape Cod report content can be viewed on this dedicated website: CapeCodWaters.org |
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Is there a college student in your life or someone looking to gain career experience in the environmental field? APCC is now accepting applications for seasonal internships. |
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| Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program Intern(s) |
APCC is seeking interns to help monitor cyanobacteria in Cape Cod’s freshwater ponds as part of APCC’s Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program. Candidate must be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma and one to three years of relevant field experience (e.g., limnology, biology, ecology, chemistry, and/or other science related to aquatic systems). Position starts mid-May.
Read more... |
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| Eco-landscape Audit Program Manager - April through November
APCC is seeking a qualified individual who is passionate about native plants and ecological landscapes to be the team leader of APCC’s Eco-landscape Audit Program. It will be the second year for the program designed to offer ecological landscape consultations for homeowners. The program team will consist of one or two summer interns and the manager will be the team leader.
Read more... |
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| Ecological Land Care Intern(s) -
May through August The ecological land care summer intern will be part of a team with APCC’s Eco-Audit Program that conducts property assessments for homeowners who want to know more about how they can make their properties nature friendly. Intern will also help with maintaining the native landscape at APCC’s headquarters, and other related projects.
Read more... |
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| Restoration Intern - June through September
As part of APCC's efforts to restore retired cranberry bogs, remove fish passage barriers, remediate stormwater runoff, improve water quality, and enhance salt marsh integrity, the restoration intern will assist with site assessment, monitor various aquatic habitats, assist with training volunteers in monitoring and survey protocols, and assist with education and outreach programming.
Read more... |
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Restoration Coordinator - Full-time, year-round position
Responsibilities include managing restoration projects such as fish passage, river and bog restoration, stormwater management, and coastal resilience projects; managing and developing project and consultant engineer scope of work and budgets; grant administration, reporting, and grant writing; working effectively with multiple partners and constituents (town, state, federal, non-profit, community groups, and public) to plan, initiate, manage and complete multi-year restoration projects, and assisting with seasonal field survey work as needed.
Read more... |
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The Sporting, Safety, Conservation and Education Fund (SSCEF) donated $1,000 to APCC's Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program for our efforts monitoring Falmouth's freshwater ponds. We are grateful!
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Guidelines for Cape-friendly Landscapes - an APCC publication |
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The
Guidelines gives homeowners steps they can take in the design and maintenance of their properties that will support pollinators and birds, manage stormwater, conserve water, and protect the Cape's water quality.
This 40-page booklet is beautifully illustrated by Marcy Ford with content that is easily digestible and supported by numerous resources for additional learning. |
Thank you for this important book! Hopefully everyone of us with a yard will read it and put it to use! - Vicky Titcomb of Titcomb Bookshop |
We've enjoyed creating it and hope it will help you with ideas to help you steward your piece of Cape Cod and maybe foster an environmental ethic in the decisions we all make in our own managed landscapes.
Get your copy here—and maybe one for a friend? |
We are grateful for the several retail shops that are partnering with us to make this publication more widely available: Brewster Book Store, Birdwatchers General Store, Crocker Nurseries, Wellfleet Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary, Cape Abilities Farm, Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, the Cape Cod Lavender Farm, Heritage Museums and Gardens, Titcomb's Bookshop, and Sea Howl Bookshop, Soares Flower Garden Nursery.
If you are a retailer and would like to sell this publication at your store, contact Kristin at [email protected]. |
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The
Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod is a group of organizations promoting native plants and pollinator-friendly land care practices to create a boat load of safe oases for our native bees, butterflies and a whole host of other pollinators that are crucial to the health of our ecosystems.
Spearheaded by the Nauset Garden Club in 2021, the pathway has grown to 44 organizations and 277 residential properties across Cape Cod that are dedicated to supporting pollinators.
Join us! It's easy. There are no fees. You just need to pledge to ADD native plants, SUBTRACT a little lawn, AVOID yard chemicals, especially pesticides, and LEAVE the leaves. And, help us spread the word. Please
get on the map to show your support of pollinators on Cape Cod! |
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| APCC Caps are available for purchase! $25 includes shipping & handling
Click here for more information and to order.
This is one great way to show your support for APCC's work. |
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A Cape Cod Native Plant-selector
~ to help you choose the perfect native plant for your garden location. |
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| Photo credit: homeredwardprice, CC BY 2.0 |
Beaked Hazelnut Corylus cornuta |
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| APCC Enewsletters. Our weekly newsletters are archived on our website and easily shared.
You can find past newsletters and share with your friends to sign up for future enewsletters HERE. |
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Are you thinking of going solar? We hope so!
In partnership with E2 SOLAR in Dennis, APCC receives $500 for every solar installation when APCC is named as referral. |
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| Thank you to the homeowners who just contracted to install solar panels through E2 Solar. May the sun always shine for you! |
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Expressions Gallery, 578 Main Street, Chatham
CLICK HERE |
Expressions Gallery donates 20 percent of its profits to APCC's work. |
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Thank you to our business sponsors |
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APCC is rated four stars by Charity Navigator and 2023 Platinum by Candid (formerly Guidestar). |
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