Chapter 7 - INSTITUTIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS 



Cape Cod Aquifer Management Project Final Report Page 78 



The Zoning Act also contains "grandfather" provisions that undermine 

 attempts to make local zoning consistent with groundwater protection dis- 

 tricts. The most severe is an eight year "grandfather" period allowed for 

 subdivision plans. This permits a project up to eight years to be con- 

 structed under zoning bylaws in effect at the time plans were submitted. 

 Despite the obvious problems with the Zoning Act, previous attempts to 

 change it have usually resulted in a lengthening of the "grandfather" 

 period rather than the reduction planners had sought. 



7.4.3 Dearth of Technical Expertise at the Local Level 



Most Cape Cod towns are severely handicapped in their efforts to 

 implement local regulatory programs to protect groundwater because they 

 lack the necessary personnel with the requisite technical expertise. Half 

 the towns do not employ town planners and several do not maintain 

 full-time health agents. Due to the wide range of disciplines required of 

 any one town employee, even the towns that retain planners and health 

 agents are hard-pressed to deal expertly with the many complex 

 environmental issues. Technical expertise and professional staff are 

 needed not only for planning and for implementation of Title 5 for on-site 

 septage disposal but also to control a host of other land-use activities 

 as briefly described in Chapter 6. 



Many land uses are judged inappropriate for federal or state regula- 

 tion because they are often too small to detect or too numerous to en- 

 force. These activities must then be managed by local agencies or go 

 unregulated. A graphic example are the numerous discharges that require 

 state groundwater discharge permits, but have gone unregulated by an under- 

 staffed DEQE (see Appendix M and Chapter 6, section 6.5.2). The towns are 

 thus on their own in attempting to regulate such things as: small-scale 

 storage and disposal of hazardous substances; the siting and regulation of 

 many commercial -land-use activities potentially harmful to groundwater 

 quality; and high-density development in groundwater recharge areas. In 

 sum, most land uses on Cape Cod fall outside the regulatory framework 

 established by the lead state and federal regulatory agencies. 



7.4.4 Importance of Technical Assistance 



There are a wealth of talented professionals working in state, feder- 

 al, and regional agencies who should extend their abilities to local gov- 

 ernment through outreach efforts. It is essential that DEQE, DEM and EPA 

 develop and enhance programs that serve to educate and assist local 

 land-use planners and managers. The USGS is also invaluable in its role 

 of transferring technical information for utilization at the local level. 

 Regional planning agencies such as CCPEDC are ideally suited to serve as 

 conduits between state and federal agencies and the local level. Such an 

 outreach effort would ensure that information is conveyed properly and 

 delivered to the appropriate agency or board. Many of CCAMP's 

 recommendations (Appendices H-0) contain specific suggestions concerning 

 outreach in various areas. 



