CCB MEDIA PHOTOS
Residents, town officials and regulators gather at the gazebo at Nauset Beach in Orleans for a hearing held by state environmental officials.
ORLEANS – State environmental officials toured the barrier beach of Nauset Spit Friday morning, one step in a determination of whether Orleans residents will be able to re-obtain access to the northernmost portion of the barrier beach known as Nauset Spit.
The towns of Orleans and Eastham have a dispute over whether vehicles should continue to be allowed on the beach, since the north edge of it now continues for about one mile over the line into Eastham where off-road driving is not allowed.
Chairman of the Orleans Board of Selectmen Alan McClennen, who was among the few officials to go on the tour, said the site visit with officials of the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) went well.
“The state regulators were impressed with the way we have managed the beach, the way we have protected the natural habitat. I think the state officials were very impressed the way we managed the birds,” he said.
Richard Bourre, in cap at left, of the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Office, hears from residents and officials about off-road driving use on the Nauset Spit.
After the site visit, more than 50 people gathered in the gazebo at Nauset Beach and a few offered comments about the importance of the beach to the townspeople of Orleans. They said that the town has shown it can manage the beach responsibly through its management program, in conjunction with residents who also self-police the rules of the beach.
McClennen said the comments from Orleans residents show the importance of the beach to the residents and that the beach is managed properly.
“I think the residents of Orleans that came here today and the town officials made it very clear how we manage the beach and how we intend to manage the beach in the future,” McClennen said.
He explained that the town of Orleans has been allowing vehicles to drive on to Nauset Spit under a state permit issued in 1991.
“We’ve operated very carefully and properly and reviewed it annually and its been very successful,” he said.
With the accretion of the beach into Eastham, the town of Orleans continued to operate its program of allowing ORV driving until last August when the town of Eastham issued a cease and desist order about the driving.
The town of Orleans then moved immediately to go through the regulatory process of the town of Eastham’s Conservation Commission to get permits for the use.
But after three hearings over three months last fall, the Eastham Conservation Commission voted three to three, which equates to a non-issuance of the permit.
The town of Orleans is now appealing to state officials on what amounts to a denial.
After the hearing in the gazebo, Orleans resident Jennifer Budryk said it is hard not to be emotional about the beach, which she has used on an almost daily basis for recreation and exercise for 30 years.
She said of Eastham, “They don’t want anybody driving on their beaches but they buy stickers to drive on ours. So it’s not okay to drive on an Eastham beach but they’ll do the Orleans Chatham side.”
Another Orleans resident, Kevin Flynn, said his children are the third generation in his family to use the beach. He said Eastham’s actions appear to be politically motivated. He said the town wanted its residents to have access to the spit and that is why they are trying to block the access of Orleans residents.
Flynn was among the Orleans residents who said people who use the beach respect it and keep it clean.
Richard Bourre, assistant director of the MEPA office, said written comments are due to him by the end of the day Tuesday so that he can prepare a report on the matter.
Dan Gilmore, environmental analyst assigned to the wetland program of the Department of Environmental Protection, then has 10 days to issue a superseding order of conditions to determine whether to uphold the Eastham Conservation Commission denial of the off-road activity, overturn the decision or some combination of the two.
Comments on the issue can be emailed to the MEPA office at [email protected]. To be considered in the reviewed, comments should be received by the end of the day on Tuesday, June 9, 2015.
