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Date Approvedo 6129/2020
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TOWN OF BREWSTER
MINUTES of WATER QUALITY REVIEW COMMITTEE
Friday, February 14, 2020 at 8 : 30 AM
Brewster Town Office Building
Attending Committee Memberso
Chairman Doug Wilcock convened the Water Quality Review Committee meeting at 8 : 30 AM in the
Brewster Town Office Building with members Amy von Hone , Annette Graczewski , Chris Miller,
Mary Chaffee , Ned Chatelain , and Victor Staley .
Members Absent.
Guests : � David Crocker , Crocker Nurseries ; Dave Bennett , Bennett Environmental Associates ;
Jay Merchant , Cape Sand ; Mark O ' Brien , Director of Operations , Captain ' s Golf Course ; Tom
Flynn , Foreman , Captain ' s Golf Course
1 em
11tr Js# : MIn4.te! from .li /14/26.%
Mary Chaffee needed her name to be spelled correctly on page 1 , half-way down page ,
MOTiON to approve 11 /14/2019 Minutes with one edit.
MOVED by Mary Chaffee . Seconded by Doug Wilcock
VOTEo 7mOmO
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ItLim' 2 . , Ceftificate+ - Renewa rocker u series
4 L I I I
Doug began by reviewing Crocker Nursery s past renewal in 2017 , At that time , conditions were
septic system pumping or inspection annually , and the order of conditions were , any changes must
come before the Water Quality Review Committee , and spill kits available on 24 hour basis . From
the application , we saw that one spill kit had been installed , Mr. Crocker had asked in the past not to
have septic system Inspection and just have septic pumping . As a committee , they granted him that ,
and are assuming , if you are asking that again this year, pumping has been done . Doug asked if
David Crocker could tell the Committee what has been done between 2017 and today,
D I rd
avid Crocker answered they have 3 systems� 2 systems are pumped annually , and the 3 is less
a
used and gets pumped every other year. There is one system that hasn 't been inspected at his
house ,
Doug asked Amy for her opinion as Health Director on how to proceed ,
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2/14/2020
Amy responded she thought it reasonable not to require an annual inspection , stating that most of
these facilities don 't get the level of use that would warrant such close scrutiny . If there is a problem ,
it will be fixed quickly . It is being monitored by the Health Department through mandates set by Title
5 — and these things are picked up when systems are pumped annually .
MOTION that we require septic system pumping or visual inspection by septic hauler through
the renewal period through 2023 in order to renew the certificate .
MOVED by Mary Chaffee . Seconded by Amy von Hone
VOTE : 7 -0 -0
MOTION for order of conditions , 1 - any changes or additional use must come before the
Water Quality Review Committee , and 2210 within 24 hours , spill kit be maintained on site .
MOVED by Annette Graczewski . Seconded by Ned Chatelain
VOTE 7 -0 -0
Item 3 , Cape S
and Momtoring Report
Dave Bennett , from Bennett Environmental Associates , was here to make the presentation for the
ground water sampling done at Cape Sand . He first described what was in the package distributed to
the Committee with ground water testing information in it . They continue to have arsenic in the
upgradient well 1 R which is above the standards . Other than that , they see some exceedance of
Manganese which now has a secondary standard . This exceedance is at all downgradient wells as
well as upgradient well 1 R . They have been continuing to monitor these areas . Manganese and
arsenic are caused by byproducts of buried wood waste creating tannins and the acid leaches
metals out of the naturally occurring soils . It is not unusual to see this in an area with wood waste . As
seen in the 3rd party inspection , it is noted there was 15 , 000 cubic yards of recovery in 2019 . They
also received an annual report today and will make copies to send to the individual committee
members . Every 6 months there ' s a 3rd party inspection report and the annual report talks about the
types of materials , the load inspections , deferring waste not suitable for the facility , etc . He will send
any further info as needed . Jay Merchant , from Cape Sand , also mentioned they no longer bury
wood waste — they keep it above ground and process directly .
Questions —
Doug had a question about arsenic - when looking at replacement of Well 1 , why doesn ' t arsenic
dissipate ?
Dave answered there was a lot of other wood waste buried in other areas , and at the groundwater
base , as well as at the base where the well was put in . The tell -tale sign is you get a grey green color
as it leaches the metals out . In the downgradient wells , they don 't see arsenic . They don ' t
understand why it stays in one area and not others , but this is adequately regulated in solid waste .
It' s an active site , which means it has been notified to the Bureau of Waste Site Clean - up , and it
remains adequately regulated under the solid waste regulations and under the local Water Protection
Overlay District .
Doug noticed in the report that there was nitrogen/hydrogen sulfide gas at Wells 1 R and 3A , and
asked Dave if he could explain why that is and what the significance might be .
Dave answered sulfide gas is released as a decay process for the organic waste . So , it' s in an
anaerobic environment just like you would get at a septic system some times .
Doug noticed some arsenic was found in Wells 3A & 5 and wondered if this was something to keep
tabs on .
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Dave answered yes , it is something to be aware of and keep tabs on , evaluate data on a
spreadsheet and compare over time . Lab data is not as precise as everyone would believe it to be .
We prefer looking at a stable repeatable number to determine what the outliers would be , predict
standard deviation and throw out outliers , and then go from there . We are doing testing twice a year
to monitor this .
Doug asked that if Well 3A had an arsenic reading of . 002 - . 006 , it seems to have jumped
considerably
Dave answered that when they do the test again in May , they will look again . Time for travel might
be 200 feet per year in movement . Other wells are a long ways away so he is not concerned yet .
Victor asked if arsenic is tied to buried c &d , why would it continue after c&d was removed ?
Dave answered that soil in MA , the DEP realizes arsenic is naturally occurring ; the same ground you
see here is not unique to the stump dump . Any commercial property or anywhere wood waste was
buried , you will find that . As long as it is isolated on perimeter pits , they are doing their due diligence .
Doug asked if leaf composting north and west of Well 1 R is problematic .
Dave answered that material is not being buried ; the material could be contributing , but doesn ' t think
it is . It is the breakdown of organic material , but it doesn 't sit there very long . Trying to process and
move it to be able to get to the older stuff. Using it to do above ground wood waste processing so it
can be taken away . They will be working on a plan for the site visit to show the Committee their
progress .
1 , Item _ 4 : .Certificate Renewal Captain 's Golf Course
Mark O ' Brien , Director of Operations , Captain ' s Golf Course and Tom Flynn , Foreman , Captain ' s
Golf Course were there to present to the Committee .
Doug asked if there had been any changes since the last Certificate Renewal .
Mark answered there really haven 't been changes in use or practice .
Victor wanted to make a comment regarding fuel use at the golf course saying that for many years
the whole town had been refueling at the golf course , now that doesn ' t happen because there is a
fuel station at the DPW. Therefore , there is not as much fuel turnover for potential problems .
Doug asked about one of the issues that came up , was in terms of Septic Inspection and wondered
when if the last inspection was in 2015 .
Mark answered that the last time we did the permit , Amy advised waiting until this meeting to have
that completed .
Amy said she thought their systems were inspected quarterly for the pressure dosing .
Mark replied that the main system is inspected quarterly . There are 3 other systems - maintenance ,
snack bar, and driving range . Maintenance is used year round , where the others are used only
seasonally. Pumping depends on inspections .
Amy' s opinion is they are already doing regular inspections and maintenance , so pumping once
every 3 years cycled with certificate renewal would be good practice .
Doug noticed in the monitoring report that nitrogen levels are good . Average and standard deviation
are just a little higher , but not concerning . Two years in a row with non -detects for all of the wells
monitored for pesticides or herbicides .
i
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Original Conditions were amended by Chris Miller to add the 5t" order of condition as septic
pumping at least once in the three year cycle for renewal .
AMENDED by Chris Miller. Seconded by Victor Staley
VOTE 7 -0 =0
MOTION for order of conditions , 1 - no use or storage of hazardous materials without
notification to the Water Quality Review Committee , 2 - any changes or additional use must
come before the Water Quality Review Committee , 3 - all pesticides must be approved for use
in watershed areas , 4= well monitoring yearly, and 5 = septic pumping at least once in the three
year cycle for renewal .
MOVED by Mary Chafee . Seconded by Ned Chatelain
VOTE 7 =0 =0
Item 5 . Discussion on Septic Inspection ire.quiremen #s' for Certifica#e Renewals
Doug asked Amy to give her thoughts on this . In the past , we had given the BOH the discretion over
these renewals , however, it is in the bylaw to have septic inspections . He would feel comfortable with
a vote , at least temporarily , to make this change and possibly to bring to Town Meeting if
appropriate .
Amy replied that it was not inappropriate to create a policy to allow the Health Department , on a case
by case basis , to make decisions . She thinks as it stands now , the bylaw is excessive . There are
enough measures that if there were a failed system , it will be caught and corrected quickly .
Chris suggested the committee could include language in the conditions for renewal that would use
the wording : " pumped every 3 years . "
Victor questioned if the septic pumper would also be considered the inspector .
Amy responded that they would need to define a septic inspection along with Title 5 Inspection which
has a 17 page report that needs to be completed when getting a full inspection .
Victor was concerned that because of the very specific language in this bylaw , the committee would
be wandering off specific bylaw .
Chris suggested that the Health Department could come up with a one page form that could satisfy
what the Committee is looking for in terms of inspections to be included in certificate renewals .
Annette thought that it might be possible to create a specific policy instead bringing an amendment
of the bylaw to Town Meeting .
Mary was concerned that the Committee could be over regulating , and doesn 't think a bylaw change
would be difficult to pass at Town Meeting , even if not for this year .
After the committee deliberated , it was decided and Doug stated that written septic inspections must
be completed if directed by the Health Director with septic pumping within a 3 year period . As it is
our end goal to make sure systems are functioning , if the BOH has a policy in place , both the
Committee and the BOH will be pleased .
It6MZ4 Possibility ' of Meeting Time Change
March meeting will be a site visit scheduled for Friday , March 13t" at Cape Sand . The Committee
should meet at Town Hall at 8 : 30am to get to Cape Sand by 9am .
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The possibility of a Meeting Time Change was discussed . We were wondering about a Friday early
afternoon meeting if possible . The Committee agreed to send Doug their weekly best times to
change the current meeting time to discuss at our April regularly scheduled meeting .
Iter1i _
7 : Topics Char CouId ':Ndt' ' Reasonably Ant[pipatp „ -
Dave Bennet of Bennett Environmental Associates presented information on the old Daniels
Property representing the new owners , Next Grid .
Brewster is going to be a green community after all . The Daniels pit is coming in with a different type
of industrial use . Next Grid came in to engage our services to map a plan of action to clear up what' s
happening in the pit now. There was legal action taken which forced the sale of the property . Next
Grid submitted an application to Cape Cod Commission was for the development of impact to go
through by right and requires a special permit.
Dave will represent Next Grid to introduce this and get approval from this committee for what needs
to be done for environmental protection .
The plan he brought was for 2015 , where all buried wood waste had been removed , then stock piled
above ground and processed . They defaulted on that application , but a new application as reuse for
utility purpose is current . This gives them the ability to tap into brownfields as a distressed property
as this will be a green utility . He would like to hold a spot on the April meeting Agenda . For now , he
would go back to do ground water monitoring in March to bring the results for the April meeting . They
would re-survey the property to get a conditions plan put together from 2015 . He would invite a
representative from town to be at meeting with the DEP where they will want to renegotiate an ACO
and hope they will waive fines or fees from the old owner to return to compliance and further
advance this green initiative for the best interests of the town .
Will landfill closure take place ?
Dave — yes , they will require that process to be completed . He thinks it works to go backwards , verify
conditions in 2015 that said everything was done , dig out , soil test , ground water testing twice per
year, and the only remaining item was the permit application and re-grading and re -vegetation plan .
Similar to the site review process , that is what was left . He hopes to pick up pieces from 2015 and
march forward and complete all licensing and plan approvals before end of year .
Doug - Step one is ground water monitoring , and then come back to us with that.
Dave - Only reasonable and responsible to do this before moving forward .
Doug - we have a Cease and Desist Order currently for Daniels to keep him from moving any soil or
water from the Daniels site . The order would be simple to remove , if intent is to no longer process
there ; there will be no more excavating .
Dave -we will want to remove large piles of wood waste , we need to process that above ground ,
stock- pile the material , and test the material . It then could be used to grade the property or to take to
Cape Sand .
Victor — if that is proposed , we could lift our cease and desist order .
Doug - make that motion at the April meeting . We want to see the groundwater monitoring and then
continue with this in April . We need to have this on the Agenda where everyone can see this is being
discussed .
Dave wanted to get the Committee ' s response to get ground water monitoring started . He has the
2015 spreadsheets readily available and will present the history with current groundwater analysis at
the April meeting .
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Put on Agenda for April 10 , 2020 8 : 30am meeting at Town Hall .
Next Meeting : Friday , March 13 , 2020 meeting at 8 : 30 AM at Town Hall for 9am site visit at
Cape Sand .
MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 10 : 04am .
MOVED by Mary Chaffee . Seconded by Victor Staley
Vote : 7 -0 =0
Respectfully Submitted by : Beth Devine , Recording Secretary
Action items :
Amy von Hone to write a policy to go into the letter for Certificate Renewals regarding septic
inspections .
Doug to look over spreadsheet for Certificate Renewals that may be past due .
Put Next Grid on April 10 , 2020 WQRC Meeting Agenda .
Committee to send Doug their weekly best times to change current meeting time to discuss at
our April regularly scheduled meeting .
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