HYANNIS – Selectmen and councilors from each of Cape Cod’s 15 towns were at the Hyannis Resort and Conference Center last night for the opening day of the One Cape Summit.
The meeting, hosted by the Cape Cod Commission, was an opportunity to gather local, state and federal officials together to discuss the issue of water quality on cape and more specifically, the commission’s Cape Cod Water Quality Management Plan.
The more than four hour presentation featured a keynote lecture from Bradley Campbell, President of The Conservation Law Foundation regarding the need to take immediate action to address the region’s water quality issues.
The all Cape Selectmen and Councilors Session was devised to provide the region’s elected officials with the opportunity to learn more about progress that’s been made and what should happen moving forward.
Tracy Post, Chairman of the Yarmouth Board of Selectmen as well as the incoming President of the Cape Cod Selectmen and Councilors Association, said that it is important to confront these issues as a community,
“I always think that shared information is very helpful, we as elected officials deal with similar issues. Wastewater doesn’t understand know town lines it is good to come together and share successes and talk about solutions,” she said.
On hand to discuss those solutions were Campbell, Deborah Szaro, Acting Regional Administrator for the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, and Gary Moran, Deputy Commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The three took part in a panel discussion moderated by Cape Cod Commission Executive Director Paul Niedzwiecki which explored the benefits of implementing water quality solutions and the consequences that could come with doing nothing.
Following the lengthy and in-depth presentation several local officials left expressing the feeling that there is still a major factor standing between the cape and an obtainable water quality solution. Money.
Bill O’Shea is a member of the Eastham Board of Selectmen who attended last night’s session, “This whole thing is crazy, the federal government got sued over this and lost, they mandated it to the state, the state mandated it to us, and now we’re sitting here with a multi-billion dollar problem that the communities have got to solve,” he said
O’Shea continued that the presentation did little to put his mind at ease regarding the issue, “I left just as annoyed as when I came in. We have a problem that’s being caused by the state and the state is taking no responsibility to fix it and is instead dictating regulations on the towns.”
Following the water discussion, attendees heard from Leo Cakounes, Chairman of the Barnstable County Commissioners, on the broader future of regional government. Cakounes praised the work that the county has done on water quality and solicited input from the local leaders gathered to help make county government more effective.
“I and the commissioners need your input because we don’t know what to do, the status quo is not good enough the status quo cannot happen. So I’m giving you the opportunity to help us, the commissioners, formulate where we’re going to go with county government. If you don’t help you’re going to get the government that the county commissioners and the assembly of delegates think you want and that’s not good, that’s never good,” said Cakounes.
By David Beatty, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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