Briefly, what's the new project you're proposing?
This proposed system uses structures called gabions and marine mattresses placed at the toe of the 'Sconset Bluff to hold sand and soil at the bottom of the bank in place. These will be sand colored, plastic-grid baskets filled with cobblestones to help hold the bank in place. These have been used successfully in similar locations and are performing well.

The whole installation would be totally covered with sand and should be mostly invisible during the summer. The expected erosion of much of the covering sand would typically take place during the winter storm season.

Our pilot proposal would first cover a very limited area, until we make sure it works well and everyone is OK with it. This initial project is small, installed on only two sections of about 300 feet each involving six homes. Doing a small, easily removable pilot project is a basic concept of this effort.

What happened to the beach nourishment project you proposed a few years ago and that everyone disliked so much?
We withdrew it once it was clear there was so much local opposition. We have no intention of proposing anything like that again.

Exactly how big would this project be, and where will it be located?
This small pilot project involves only two nearby sets of three properties, each at the northern end of the bluff where erosion is most severe. If it's working well and others want to join, we might eventually include 20 properties over about 2,000 feet along Sankaty Road frontage and all within the area outlined in our permit application.

Has anyone on Nantucket seen what these things look like?
We have a sample of a marine mattress for viewing here on island, located near the entrance to Holdgate Partners just off Milestone Road. A similar small installation has been in place for XX years on the coastal bank at the end of Hinckley Lane. Although the rigid grid material installed near Hinckley Lane is black, what we use will be a specially made sand color to better blend in with the landscape when the sand that covers them washes away, which will probably happen during the storm season.

Won't these things look ugly on the bank and beach?
As mentioned before, the plastic materials will be natural sand color. The whole structure will usually be covered with sand, which will then be partially planted over with indigenous vegetation. It is expected that much of the sand will be washed away every year during the storm season. We will then replace the lost sand the following Spring.

Who will decide whether you're allowed to go ahead with this project?
The project has been submitted for approval to the Nantucket Conservation Commission in the same way as any building project that requires permitting. If it is approved by ConCom, a license to proceed with the project must then be approved by the Board of Selectmen, because most of the 'Sconset Bluff is Town owned land.

Since last fall, we've met with many Nantucket leaders and groups including Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission and commercial sport fishermen who were against our previous proposal. We've explained our proposed project to them and asked for their reaction and input.

We're working with Town officials who are developing a set of coastal management principles as required by a special Town By-Law passed three years ago at Annual Town Meeting, to make sure our efforts are in keeping with whatever criteria are adopted by the Town for erosion control efforts on the Island.

ConCom plans to start a public review of our proposal this summer. In advance of those hearings, we continue to meet with neighborhood property owner groups and civic associations to explain our proposal and solicit more public input.

What makes you think this will work?
No one can be 1,000% sure of success in an effort like this, but comparable systems are working in several places with similarities to our shoreline. We've included several case studies here on our web site, with detailed illustrations of our proposed installation.

We've modeled our project after those places that are most like us, guided by the advice and design of a highly experienced team of coastal engineers and environmental experts. Our proposed system has been designed to survive and fully protect the bank during a so-called 100-year storm (i.e. having the severity expected only once in a century). The basket material being used has a 40-year life expectancy.

Has anyone tested the system to make sure it won't break apart in a very strong nor'easter or hurricane?
A similar installation, using plastic grid that was significantly less robust than the material to be used in our project, survived intact following a series of New Jersey coastal storms that were strong enough to bring about the declaration of a Federal disaster area. That project is included in one of the case studies. We've also stress-tested our baskets using well engineered parameters that imitated the forces of a severe storm, and the baskets held up without breakage.

What happens if these things DO break apart in a storm? Won't the plastic parts wash away and get caught in boat propellers or wash up on other beaches?
(Answer to come from Les & engineers and based on recent discussions)

Won't the system be more likely to wash away if there are gaps between the protected and unprotected segments?
No. Wherever the system is adjacent to an unprotected bluff, it will include a "return," i.e. a segment of the gabion-and-mattress structure that angles back into the bluff, preventing it from being flanked and possibly washed away.

What about areas along the bluff that won't have this installed? Will this make things worse in those areas?
The system has been designed to contribute approximately the same amount of sand to littoral drift — the natural movement of sand back and forth just offshore — as would happen in the natural erosion of the bank during large storms. In this way, unprotected areas along the bluff will not be deprived of any sand by neighboring protected areas, and unprotected areas should erode at the same rate as they have historically and naturally, but not faster.

How will the system be installed? Will the system require barges to deliver equipment and materials?
The plan is to do the installation from land, either via the nearest beach access point at Hoicks Hollow or by truck and other equipment over the edge of the bluff. We do not plan to request any water access.

What if, despite all of your expectations, the project doesn't work and is harming other areas?
The system can be removed relatively easily from the site. An escrow fund controlled by Nantucket Conservation Commission will be established as part of the permit, to be used for removal of the entire installation if that's ever necessary.

What does the rest of Nantucket get out this?
Both private and public property along Nantucket's shoreline is threatened by the rising sea level and destructive storms. Along the 'Sconset Bluff, homes have already been relocated, and Baxter Road itself could eventually be threatened. That could present extreme danger to adjoining properties and would present the Town with great challenges in maintaining and protecting property in the area including access to the recently relocated Sankaty Head Lighthouse. Relocated homes and the subsequent lost value of those properties values could already be having an impact on the Island's property tax base.

If our pilot project works, other homeowners on Nantucket might find it a useful tool that could be used to save their properties and their neighborhoods from destructive coastal erosion. As our effort moves forward, we'll continue to work closely with Nantucket Conservation Commission, local conservation groups, Nantucket Department of Public Works and others, so that we can all learn about what is and what isn't working. As other Nantucket civic groups and organizations begin looking at the impact of coastal erosion on our Island (link to Egan and Maria Mitchell events), we are committed to sharing our experience with all interested parties on the island.

How much does the Town lose in property taxes because of the decrease in property values caused by erosion?
We commissioned a study of this impact, which compared property tax bills and assessed values of the 50 properties among the entire length of the ocean side of Baxter Road. It is estimated that the 21 properties on the northern end of the ocean side of Baxter Road might pay about $230,000 more annually in property taxes if erosion were not undermining the bluff and dramatically reducing their value. This amount is currently being shifted onto the tax bills of all other properties on the Island and amounts to about $25 per year, per property owner (link to study).

Some of us think we shouldn't mess with Mother Nature, and erosion along our shoreline is inevitable. Isn't it arrogant to think we can change that?
Like many on Nantucket, we have a deep respect for Mother Nature and the power of the sea. Many agree, though, that reasonable efforts can and should be made to mitigate the destructive effects of major winter storms and hurricanes, as long as those efforts are not harmful to others or the environment and are paid for by those whose properties are being protected. Few are prepared to concede that Nantucket should be allowed to wash away in the face of the rising sea level and increased storm intensity, if a viable alternative is available.

Yes, we want to save our family homes here in the place that we all love. But we also want to preserve an historic area of Nantucket that contributes so much to Island life, and in the process test and confirm an erosion prevention approach that could be broadly applicable to all of Nantucket.