Nantucket's Environmental Advocate

The Massachusetts Senate recently passed S.3064 , known as the Mass Ready Act, a sweeping environmental bond bill that would invest over 3 billion dollars in climate resilience, water infrastructure, flood protection, PFAS remediation, conservation, and municipal environmental projects. Many of these investments align closely with priorities long championed by the Nantucket Land & Water Council, including funding for clean water infrastructure, climate adaptation, and the protection of natural resources. However, several amendments added to the bill during the Senate process have raised serious concerns among environmental organizations, municipalities, conservation commissions, and clean water advocates across Massachusetts. These provisions would weaken local municipal authority to protect wetlands and water resources and would disadvantage communities like ours that have adopted stronger environmental safeguards than just those required by state law. 

Nantucket has officially been designated as being in a Level 2 Drought Condition, triggering mandatory water conservation measures for properties served by Wannacomet Water. Although the current green lawns and foggy mornings of June may not make the island feel particularly dry right now, drought determinations are based on more than appearance alone . State officials evaluate long-term precipitation trends , groundwater conditions , and other indicators of water availability .

Once again, Nantucket Land and Water Council (NLWC) has filed an appeal in Superior Court of the latest decision of the Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) about the controversial Surfside Crossing c. 40B project on South Shore Road. This is the third such appeal after two prior successful cases in which the Court ruled in favor of NLWC. Both the Town of Nantucket’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and Tipping Point residents group have also filed appeals of the same HAC decision. “The NLWC appreciates the need for affordable and attainable housing on Nantucket, and recognizes the level of effort and the significant progress being made by the Town. We also know that the protection of our water resources, particularly our drinking water, is critical to the health of our community.” Emily Molden, Executive Director said about the NLWC’s move to appeal. “Creating much-needed housing on the island does not need to come at the expense of clean water. We can do this differently, but all parties need to be willing to work towards a solution”.

The Nantucket Land & Water Council has completed our annual reviews of the warrant in advance of the 2026 Annual Town Meeting in order to provide comments and recommendations on articles that impact the health of our island environment . Our review is conducted in the context of our mission to preserve the long term health of Nantucket's environment and community through the protection of our land and water resources.

New partnership will transition conventional moorings in Monomoy to protect and restore Nantucket Harbor habitat The Nantucket Land & Water Council (NLWC) has received a generous grant from the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation to support the installation of eelgrass-friendly moorings in Nantucket Harbor, a major step forward in protecting one of the island’s most important marine habitats. Healthy eelgrass is essential to the vitality of Nantucket Harbor. Eelgrass meadows provide critical habitat for wild bay scallops and juvenile fish, improve water quality by filtering polluted runoff, absorb excess nutrients, store carbon, and stabilize shorelines against erosion and storm surge. Yet eelgrass in Nantucket Harbor has declined significantly in recent decades due to nutrient pollution, warming waters, and physical disturbance — including abrasion from traditional boat moorings. Since 2018, NLWC has worked with Harbormaster Sheila Lucey and her team, the Town of Nantucket and island partners on eelgrass restoration initiatives aimed at reversing this decline. One of the most practical and immediate solutions is transitioning conventional chain moorings to eelgrass-friendly systems — a key recommendation of the newly adopted Nantucket Eelgrass Management Plan. In 2022, NLWC partnered with Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucey and Anderson Stillwater Moorings to design and implement an environmentally-sensitive mooring system adapted for Nantucket’s unique needs. The design uses a 300-pound pyramid anchor and an eco-rode that keeps gear suspended above the seabed, preventing the heavy chain “scouring” that destroys eelgrass beds around traditional moorings. The NLWC Waterkeeper vessel has been successfully secured using this mooring system for three consecutive seasons. Thanks to generous funding from the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation, NLWC and the Harbormaster’s Office will now launch a pilot program this spring, in partnership with local mooring companies, to transition up to 25 conventional moorings to eelgrass-friendly systems. Ed Orenstein, GHYC Foundation President, states: “The Foundation prioritizes projects that deliver both immediate and long-term benefits to Nantucket Harbor’s ecosystem and our community at large. These new eelgrass-friendly moorings accomplish both. We couldn’t be happier to team with NLWC on this impactful initiative and applaud Emily Molden’s leadership." NLWC will monitor the pilot sites to measure eelgrass recovery and seabed stability, with the goal of informing future harbor management decisions and expanding the program if successful. “Eelgrass is the foundation of our harbor ecosystem — without it, we lose scallops, water quality, and coastal resilience. The beauty of eelgrass-friendly moorings is that they solve a problem without restricting boating. This project shows conservation and harbor use can work together for the betterment of our environment and to the benefit of our community, and we hope it becomes a model for broader adoption.” – RJ Turcotte, Nantucket Waterkeeper The Nantucket Land & Water Council extends its sincere appreciation to the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation for their foresight, vision, and generous support for innovative solutions that protect the island’s land and water through science, advocacy, and community engagement.

If you feel aligned with our mission and would like to support our work through advocacy, there are many meaningful ways to get involved. You can attend local regulatory meetings, participate in and speak at Annual Town Meetings, serve as an informed environmental ambassador among friends and neighbors, rally support for articles that protect Nantucket’s natural resources, and oppose those that pose risks to their long-term health. You can also lend your voice by drafting or signing Letters to the Editor. If you’re interested in participating in our advocacy efforts as a Community Advocate, please click H ERE.

As the end of the Fall season approaches, we would like to take some time to reflect on Nantucket’s recent Special Town Meeting, held on November 4th. The Nantucket Land & Water Council has been engaged in Nantucket’s discussion about short-term rental (STR) policy and regulation for many years. As an organization, we have, at times, faced questions from residents about the relevance of STRs to the NLWC’s mission . The NLWC’s mission is to help preserve the long-term health of Nantucket’s environment and community through the protection of our land and water resources. Development impacts the environment. This simple fact should come as no surprise. Our actions on the land have a direct impact on the health of our waters. Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from septic systems and fertilizers, along with other contaminants such as those found in stormwater runoff, don’t just disappear. They travel through the soil and into our ponds, harbors, and drinking water. The accelerated development, repurposing of properties, and intensity of use associated with short-term rentals (STRs) as a business put increasing pressure on the island’s infrastructure, reduce habitat and biodiversity, and endanger our water quality. Of course, a community needs to change and develop and grow, but the health of our environment and the ability of a place to naturally support the people who live there are directly related to the intensity and type of development and growth that we, as a community, choose to allow and encourage. The NLWC has always made it clear that we are not opposed to all short-term rentals. We support the ability of island residents to short-term rent with reasonable restrictions. We have, first and foremost, sought to reduce the impact from investor-owned STRs, and reduce the intensity of use and development from properties that are maximized solely for the use of short-term rentals because of the cumulative environmental impacts that this type of use and development creates. We were very disappointed by the November STM vote, which resulted in the full codification of short-term rentals across all residential zoning districts of the island. It is clear that much of the community was incredibly alarmed by the simple messaging provided by Article 1 proponents that asserted this was a matter of maintaining an important property right or losing that right. Alternatively, we, as proponents of Article 2, attempted to communicate a more nuanced message that memorializing this right with reasonable restrictions would actually allow most residents to continue short-term renting in a meaningful way while helping to protect the future of our environment and community. As the dust settles, and our media expresses the reality of the inadequacy of our existing regulations ( https://nantucketcurrent.com/news/nantucket-banned-corporate-owned-short-term-rentals-a-loophole-is-allowing-them-to-continue ) , there is clearly more that needs to be done. All of our policies and practices relative to growth, development, and land and resource management , including STR regulations, must be scrutinized for their impact on our shared natural resources and adjusted where needed to protect the health of our environment and community. It is easy to make the claim that STRs as an issue is not “in our lane” and to suggest that how we use and develop our properties are somehow separate from: PFAS issues, contamination of our public water supply, nutrient pollution, and water conservation , but these are the exact concerns that compel the NLWC to engage in community conversations about growth, development, land use, and STRs. We are the voice for Nantucket’s environment, working to safeguard the present health and future sustainability of the island. This is our lane. We thank all of our members and friends for your support , regardless of your position or vote at STM. We know that, despite differences in opinion, we all share a deep care for this special place and a desire to protect what makes it unique. Together, we can shape policies that reflect both the needs of our community and the limits of our fragile island environment. Your willingness to stay engaged—ask questions, share concerns, and offer ideas—continues to strengthen our efforts. There is more work to do, and we look forward to doing that work with you.

At the upcoming Special Town Meeting on November 4th, Nantucket voters will once again consider how best to regulate short-term rentals (STRs). After years of debate, two competing proposals, Articles 1 and 2, offer very different paths forward. The Nantucket Land & Water Council (NLWC) supports Article 2 , which encourages sustainable use of island resources and provides a balanced, long-term solution. Click Here to read the NLWC’s recommendations on the warrant articles. Click Here to read our Letter to the Editor. Join Us and Vote Environment First! Tuesday, November 4 at 5:00 pm in the Mary P. Walker Auditorium of the Nantucket High School.

Last week, the appeal hearing for the Surfside Crossing 40B development was conducted remotely by the state’s Housing Appeals Committee (HAC). The NLWC participated as an intervening party to defend clean drinking water for Nantucket. The proposed 156 condo unit development on 13.6 acres known as Surfside Crossing (SSX) off of South Shore Rd is of inappropriate density (13 x the local zoning) and would compromise our drinking water supply. Following the comprehensive permit review by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) that took place throughout last fall and winter, the application for SSX was unanimously denied by the ZBA. This denial was subsequently appealed to the state by the developers, Jamie Feeley and Josh Posner, in April of this year. During the comprehensive permit review last year by the ZBA, the NLWC hired an engineering expert and water quality specialist to review the project’s stormwater management plans. The review and testimony of these experts revealed that the stormwater infrastructure proposed for the Surfside Crossing development does not meet the specific state and local standards for projects within the Nantucket Wellhead Protection District (the area where groundwater contributes to the public water supply wells), or for projects that meet the state’s criteria as a Land Use of Higher Potential Pollutant Load (LUHPPL). Given recent public well contamination by elevated PFAS levels, it has become abundantly clear that these standards are incredibly important to uphold, especially for a project of this scale within our public water supply recharge area. The local ZBA agreed with the importance of protecting clean water , and asked the developers to address the stormwater management design to ensure that it meets state and local standards and protects not only the residents and direct abutters of the development, but the public water supply that we all share. Unfortunately, the developers refused to make any changes to their proposed design, in part because it would require a reduction in the number of units to make the necessary changes, and in part because they have already installed their stormwater infrastructure, “at risk”, without the benefit of a permit, and without a water quality certificate issued by the Water Commission as required in Nantucket’s Zoning Bylaw. They simply do not want to have to take it back out of the ground. Based on concerns for the health of the community’s drinking water, as well as other concerns relative to public safety and traffic, and considering the developers’ refusal to consider any changes whatsoever to their proposal, the ZBA unanimously denied the project. As an intervening party in the developers’ appeal of the ZBA’s decision, he NLWC has been working closely with the counsel for the Town of Nantucket’s ZBA, and the residents group, Tipping Point, to file written testimony from the NLWC’s engineer, the ZBA’s engineer, and several water quality and PFAS subject matter experts. During the HAC hearing last week, the developers’ counsel chose not to cross-examine any of these witnesses, and so their written testimony stands unchallenged, leaving the hearing office no basis to question their expert opinions. This hearing on the Surfside Crossing matter follows a similar appeal by developers in the Town of Walpole for a Chapter 40B development that was also denied by the Town’s ZBA due to similar concerns over improperly designed stormwater infrastructure, and the degradation of the Town of Walpole’s public water supply. As we await a decision from the HAC, we are grateful to Nantucket’s ZBA for their due diligence during the public hearing process, and for the opportunity to prepare for the appeal hearing in partnership with Town Counsel for the ZBA, as well as the residents’ group Tipping Point.  Stay Tuned for Updates!