At a joint meeting of the Planning Board and the Select Board on Thursday, the two boards decided to form a committee to draft a municipal separate stormwater systems bylaw – also known as MS4.
Officials lauded the fact that town resident, stormwater specialist, and the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program’s Bernadette Taber, will serve as a consultant.
The two boards agreed on a committee that will include a member of the Planning Board, Select Board, a town engineer, and the Town Planner. The Planning Board will oversee the process.
Town Administrator Geoffrey Gorman said the federal Environmental Protection Agency ordered the town to enact a bylaw and he set a deadline for November 17 to have a proposed regulation finalized for fall Town Meeting approval.
Gorman and other officials said the town has begun drafting the bylaw and it has been reviewed by EPA officials. He and other officials said the town is about 80-percent toward satisfying the EPA guidelines.
“We in some form or another have been working on it for a year – multiple iterations of the bylaw – and other staff and stakeholders have worked on it as well,” Town Planner Doug Guey-Lee said.
“There was some consensus but there were some lingering issues and we’re looking for outside help,” Guey-Lee said. “The town as a whole has been asked by the (federal government) to take a look at our stormwater management.”
Guey-Lee and others lauded Taber’s willingness to serve as a consultant for the subcommittee.
Select Board Chair Randy Parker at one point questioned if a subcommittee needs to be formed because the town is close to presenting something that would satisfy EPA concerns.
However, some officials indicated that the town has complex zoning, and the bylaw must be clear so there will be no room for misinterpretations. Officials mentioned that having a small group with Taber and presenting it later to the Planning and Select boards might be a better fit.
Planning Board Vice Chairwoman Alanna Nelson said since 2022 there have been cases in which town authorities have not had the skill set – given the town’s small stature – to evaluate an issue.
Making the bylaw crystal clear for building and other matters is crucial, she and other officials noted.
Marion Planning Board and Select Board
By Jeffrey D. Wagner