Epsilon is directing permitting services for the Sconset Beach Preservation Fund for the $20+ million (2.6 million cubic yard) Sconset Beach Nourishment Project designed to protect over three miles of eroding coastline along the eastern shore of Nantucket Island.  Epsilon is coordinating a team of environmental and engineering consultants on the environmental data collection and permitting of this important non-structural shore protection project.  This project will protect and preserve Sconset Beach, the historic Sankaty Head Lighthouse area, a bluff walk, historic homes, and public infrastructure.

The project has received sign-offs from MEPA after submission of an Environmental Notification Form and  Draft and Final Environmental Impact Reports which provided detailed information regarding project design and environmental impacts.  A comprehensive Alternatives Analysis and Biological Assessment were submitted as part of the US Army Corps of Engineer's permitting process.  Federal, state and local permit review and consultations are ongoing. 

The Proponent intends to acquire beach-compatible nourishment material from an offshore borrow site in Massachusetts’ state waters.  Based on consultations with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the National Marine Fisheries Service, Epsilon formulated and performed oversight for a comprehensive Fisheries Sampling Plan intended to accurately characterize marine biological resources and associated habitats in the project area.  Epsilon has also provided permitting services for a number of additional shore protection measures along this retreating shoreline; these additional measures have included coastal bank terraces, wells to drain a perched aquifer that was contributing to slumping along the eroding bank face, and experimental beach dewatering systems.