‘Premature’ Regulations
To the editor:
Re “Wellfleet Adopts New Septic Regulations” [Jan. 30, front page]:
Your article on Wellfleet’s wastewater planning failed to mention a critical issue: the board of health has imposed aggressive new wastewater regulations before the Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection has approved the town’s Targeted Watershed Management Plan (TWMP) and before the town has formally established a sewer district. Wellfleet is the only town on Cape Cod to enforce major wastewater mandates before securing state approval for its watershed plan.
This premature action could unnecessarily burden homeowners. Property owners may be forced into costly septic upgrades without knowing if these measures align with the final state-approved plan. Without a finalized sewer district or secure financial assistance, residents could end up paying twice — once for a nitrogen-reducing system and again if required to connect to a sewer.
Adding to this, no comprehensive financial analysis of the TWMP has been presented to the select board or the public. The town is moving forward without fully assessing costs, financial impacts on homeowners, or alternative solutions. Wastewater policies of this scale should be made transparently, with full financial data — yet Wellfleet is rushing ahead without a clear economic plan.
Beyond financial concerns, this approach risks alienating public support for wastewater solutions. If homeowners feel forced into unnecessary expenses before the town has a state-approved, coordinated plan, they may be less likely to support future efforts, including town-wide wastewater funding or sewer expansion.
Clean water is essential, but rushed and disjointed regulations create confusion, financial hardship, and public resistance. I urge the board of health to take a step back and work with the select board to implement a cost-effective and community-supported solution.
Michael DeVasto
Wellfleet
The writer is a member of the Wellfleet Select Board.
For Regionalized Schools
To the editor:
“Enrollment Declines Steeply in Wellfleet and Truro” [Jan. 30, front page] paints a stark picture of our local schools’ challenges. The decline in student enrollment raises serious concerns about the future of education in our communities. A robust educational experience requires a certain level of population to support diverse programs and ensure financial stability.
This enrollment decline also places a significant financial burden on taxpayers. Fewer students can translate to reduced state funding, making it increasingly difficult to maintain the current school systems.
This decline is not just local. The U.S. birth rate is the lowest it has ever been: In Truro, we are averaging 9 to 12 births per year. In light of these realities, the need for school regionalization is apparent. A regional school district could pool students from Wellfleet, Truro, and potentially other neighboring towns, allowing us to maintain strong academic programs and ensure long-term fiscal health.
While concerns about local control are understandable, regionalization isn’t about sacrificing community identity; it’s about working together to ensure the long-term viability of our schools. A regional approach could open opportunities for shared services and cost savings beyond the classroom. For Truro, this discussion has merits. The town should be presented with options.
Michael Forgione
North Truro
The Nature of Humans
To the editor:
Mark Gabriele’s engaging op-ed (“A Night to Remember,” Jan. 30, page A4) about encounters at the library before, during, and after the showing of the movie The Occupation of the American Mind was a wonderful celebration of the community of Wellfleet.
But when Gabriele says he supposes “it’s only human nature to find difference, cast blame, and take sides,” I have to say, “Them’s fightin’ words!”
Our social sciences have long suffered from appearing too squishy to be respected the same way physics or biology are. Readers should know, however, that the preponderance of thinking in the academic fields of evolutionary psychology, clinical psychology, brain science, and anthropology are converging on an understanding that Homo sapiens has evolved as a result of relational exigencies.
That is, we grew these big brains of ours while adapting to community life — essentially while looking out for one another.
As evolutionary anthropologist and primatologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy writes in Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding, our oft-invoked “human nature,” used to explain “dog eat dog” behavior, is one of those ideas we must reconsider.
I suggest it is the way our economic and political systems are organized to lead to scarcity, militarism, and racism that is more likely the origin of our individual choices to cast blame and dwell on differences.
When was the last time someone publicly evoked human nature as foundationally empathetic? Yet how recently might you recall a moment when you reached out to someone, friend or stranger, to ask how you could help? Or someone reached out to you? Pretty recently, I bet.
Now that blame, greed, and lack of generosity are put forward as our national identity, it seems more important than ever to keep the profile of human nature as caring in mind.
Deborah Ullman
Eastham
Letters to the Editor
The Provincetown Independent welcomes letters from readers on all subjects. They must be signed with the writer’s name, home address, and telephone number (for verification). Letters will be published only if they have been sent exclusively to the Independent. They should be no more than 300 words and may be edited for clarity, accuracy, conciseness, and good taste. Longer pieces (up to 600 words) may be submitted for consideration as op-ed commentary. Send letters to [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 1034, Provincetown, MA 02657. The deadline for letters is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.
