Editing New Seabury, Massachusetts (section)

== Flood and Erosion Control ==
In 2011,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Houghton|first=Sam|date=4 June 2016|title=Agent Recommends Quarterly Reports On New Seabury "Seawall"|url=https://www.capenews.net/mashpee/news/agent-recommends-quarterly-reports-on-new-seabury-seawall/article_c856009f-f062-5228-8026-3bf391f4ffea.html|access-date=30 November 2021|website=The Enterprise}}</ref> the Mashpee Conservation Commission permitted the construction of an alternative coastal erosion control [[Seawall|sea wall]] along Shore Drive West in New Seabury which consists of wooden pilings with one-inch gaps in between that allow waves to break through the wall and for sand replenishment along the beach.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Houghton|first=Sam|date=21 May 2016|title=New Seabury Seawall Faces Scrutiny|url=https://www.capenews.net/mashpee/news/new-seabury-seawall-faces-scrutiny/article_ffbec349-8e6b-5cd3-a662-3d5a7eec96be.html|access-date=30 November 2021|website=The Enterprise}}</ref> This is a resilience method that lies between [[Urban flood management#Gray infrastructure|gray infrastructure]] and [[green infrastructure]]  and allows for the building of banks that protect homes from [[coastal flooding]] and [[sea level rise]] while simultaneously allowing for natural sedimentation processes to occur. Through this, the system can absorb wave energy and control flooding while also facilitating [[Coastal erosion|erosion]] from the banks onto the beach; this system requires the manual placement of sand behind the pilings.<ref name=":0" /> Because of its permeability, this alternative sea wall is permitted under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=310 CMR 10.00: Wetlands Protection Act Regulations {{!}} Mass.gov|url=https://www.mass.gov/regulations/310-CMR-1000-wetlands-protection-act-regulations|access-date=2021-11-30|website=www.mass.gov|language=en}}</ref>

Although the system has been noted to function, there has been scrutiny from the Mashpee Conservation Commission toward New Seabury’s maintenance of the system.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The inch-wide gaps between pilings has been noted to be blocked as a result of debris and lack of maintenance, leading to the permeable system to function as an impermeable wall.<ref name=":1" /> Because of this, the Mashpee Conservation Commission would like the New Seabury Properties to submit quarterly reports about the condition and upkeep of the sea wall because debris behind the wall can stop sand on the bank from replenishing the beach (1).

In 2014, homeowners on Shore Drive West applied to the Mashpee Conservation Commission to construct a very similar system along their properties that consisted of similar pilings alongside [[coir]] envelopes and [[fiber roll]]s embedded in the dunes that would facilitate bank growth and erosion control.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Houghton|first=Sam|date=31 July 2017|title=DEP Commissioner Cools On New Seabury Dune Structure Recommendation|url=https://www.capenews.net/mashpee/news/dep-commissioner-cools-on-new-seabury-dune-structure-recommendation/article_43c32425-0de4-56e7-8948-a68037bfe683.html|access-date=30 November 2021|website=The Enterprise}}</ref> These homeowners would be required to vegetate these dunes. While it was initially approved, neighbors appealed the decision to the [[Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection|MassDEP]] who ultimately suggested that the proposal be rejected. In spite of this, thirty-six Massachusetts state legislators joined to demand the project be allowed to continue, especially considering the precedent that the decision would set for other coastal areas.<ref name=":3" /> The reason for rejection was that the wooden pilings could alter sediment transport and tidal patterns which violates the Wetlands Protection Act of 1978,<ref name=":2" /> though the coir and fiber were permissible “soft” solutions. The ultimate suggestion was to use smaller wooden poles spaced further out than the timber pilings.<ref name=":3" />