Orleans water‑quality committee authorizes two members to rewrite its charter after debate over advisory role

The Orleans Freshwater and Marine Water Quality Committee voted unanimously June 30 to authorize committee members Carolyn Audi and Mary Griffin to draft revised language for the group’s official charge and bring it to upcoming meetings with town staff and the select board.

The motion, made by Ed Hafner and seconded by another member, followed more than an hour of discussion about what the committee actually does. Members said recruiting and training volunteers, collecting pond and estuary samples, organizing the data, and working with town‑contracted experts are the committee’s regular functions — and that the written charter understates that active, technical role.

“We’re information gatherers with a purpose,” one member said during the discussion, noting the committee’s heavy reliance on trained volunteers and expert analyses from organizations such as SMAST and APCC. Several speakers urged the charter be rewritten to use stronger verbs — advising, recommending and, where warranted, advocating for science‑based solutions — while making clear the select board and town staff remain the formal decision makers.

Members also flagged operational gaps they want the rewrite to address: keeping the town repository of water‑quality data up to date, spelling out liaison roles with consultants and contractors, and naming activities the public might expect (for example, the regular herring count and the committee’s role in turning samples over for lab analysis).

The subgroup will prepare suggested language and deliver it to the town liaison and select board chair in a scheduled meeting next month. The motion passed by roll‑call vote of the members present (vote recorded as unanimous). The committee chair said the draft would be circulated to members in advance of any select board action.

Next steps: the subgroup will return with redrafted language; if the select board requests changes the committee will revise its language again before any formal approval.