Letter from Tim Davis, President of The Friends of Bassing Beach, and long-time Cohasset Resident

Friends, Neighbors and others.,

Scituate and Cohasset have many reasons to be good neighbors.  We have shared a border since colonial times. Cohasset Harbor lies, to a large extent, in Scituate.  It is shared by many residents of both towns as well as many from neighboring towns on the South Shore.  The Cohasset Commercial Fishing Fleet is made up of many Scituate residents who moor their boats in Cohasset Harbor, use the Government Island docks and pier, Parker Avenue boat ramp and many other facilities to ply their trade.  The Cohasset Harbormaster provides public safety, emergency services and administers the harbor, both the Scituate and Cohasset portions. If there is an emergency on Bassing Beach, there is no one asking if Scituate will provide the service; Cohasset Fire, Police and Harbormaster are there. 

The Cohasset Harbor Committee has been working with Scituate on plans to clean up the Gulf which flows, with significant pollution, into Cohasset Harbor.  There is a proposal to connect a sewer system from North Scituate to the Cohasset Sewer system to help Scituate resolve their long standing problem with sewage disposal.  This would be a very good thing for both communities, but critical for Scituate which, essentially, has no other financially viable solution. If Scituate demonstrates that they are good neighbors, I am confident Cohasset would as well and approve the Cohasset sewer extension to Scituate.  If Scituate continues to press ahead with their Aquaculture Farm for the benefit of a few people and to the detriment of thousands of children and adults who use that area of Cohasset Harbor every summer, it is doubtful the citizens of Cohasset will approve it.

There are certainly those in Scituate that don’t yet fully understand this, but I do believe they will.  

Three years ago, the Cohasset Harbor Committee commenced the work of developing the Cohasset Municipal Harbor Plan.  Aquaculture was considered in that plan to be a good thing for the greater community. I personally met with the Scituate BOS, the Scituate Waterways Commission, the Scituate Shellfish Advisory Committee and others to discuss the proposed aquaculture farm.  It was always presented as a “small” project in Briggs Harbor. In October, the Cohasset Harbormaster went to a Waterways Commission meeting where their true intentions were finally made public. 32 acres of commercial, industrial oyster farm in Cohasset Harbor.

Since then, we have made our objections known in many forums and many ways.  Their response has always been, thanks, we hear your concerns, but we are going forward with our plan.

Shortly after their plans were revealed, the Friends of Bassing Beach (formerly Friends of Cohasset Harbor) was started to develop a petition for citizens to express their objection, raise a legal defense fund which is currently managed by the Cohasset Land Foundation, and hire legal counsel.  Our strategy is, get to “NO”! People have asked many times, “is there a mutually acceptable solution here?” and I have always said I certainly hope so. But as long as they continue with their process, we have no leverage for meaningful discussion. Therefore, we must get to NO.  

We very much appreciate your support.  You can show that support by contacting your legislators, Selectmen, those who use social media can express their thoughts there.  Also, signing a petition and making a donation would be most helpful.

Tim Davis