Conservation commission orders Scott's Beach group to produce engineering plans after geotube failure

The Nantucket Conservation Commission on March 5 pressed the Scott's Beach Preservation Fund (SPPF) to produce engineering plans and a timeline after representatives showed images of punctured and deflated geotubes at the Scott's Beach project.

Meredith Moldenhauer of the Scott's Beach Preservation Fund told the commission the group had documented cuts and failures and had worked with the manufacturer and engineers. "Initially, the manufacturer confirmed . . . that this was inconsistent with storm action . . . and that there were direct images of cut," Moldenhauer said, and she described post-storm inspections and contractor assessments. She also told the commission SPPF had identified sand sources and had previously intended to place sand on the geotubes before the damage and storms intervened.

Chair Seth Engelberg said the commission was not prepared to label the occurrences as vandalism until the police conclude their investigation but that the project is out of compliance and needs mitigation. "We are not going to indicate that it was vandalism until a specific police investigation shows otherwise," Engelberg said, while adding that the commission must still address the on-the-ground hazard and continuing erosion.

Staff and commissioners discussed three possible procedural paths to allow work to proceed: filing a new notice of intent, amending or issuing an enforcement order to permit sand placement and repairs, or the narrow route of an emergency certification by another authority. "We do need to move forward with an enforcement or amending the enforcement to allow sand to be placed," Engelberg said, urging action to prevent further unmitigated coastal engineering structures from failing and causing erosion.

The commission directed SPPF to assemble an engineering package and updated plan of record showing whether the repair or rebuild is feasible in the current beach profile, including survey-level information, engineered designs for removal/rebuild, truck access and staging, and mitigation quantities. Commissioners asked SPPF to return with a substantive status update at the commission's meeting in two weeks; staff said final engineering and survey work may take longer but that a near-term update would be helpful.

Will (staff) told the commission that, absent an emergency declaration from another municipal or state authority, the commission's primary mechanism is an enforcement order: "If they just went out today and put sand on the project, that would be a violation. So, you know, it's up to us to compel action." The commission said it will consider whether to issue or amend an enforcement order once SPPF submits the requested materials.

The commission also sought additional documentation of the damage and a clearer plan showing the scope of removal and reconstruction. Moldenhauer said SPPF is working with engineers and contractors and requested more time to present detailed post-storm assessments and a proposed repair schedule.

Next steps: SPPF will return with a status update in two weeks and, at a later date as required, provide survey and engineered plans sufficient for the commission to decide whether to authorize work by enforcement order. The commission noted it will await results of the police investigation regarding the cause of the tube punctures but will not delay the administrative process to restore the site if a compliant path is available.