“The number of environmental groups that have weighed in support of it is zero,” Mr. Houser said.An environmental advocacy group, VCS has opposed the artificial turf project at hearings and in its Conservation Almanac, a regular newsletter.
Mr. Houser took note of recent events on Nantucket, where plans to install a turf field have been halted. “Nantucket’s issues are really very similar to our own,” he said. “Despite that, the school there decided not to move forward.”
Off-Island advocates who had spoken out against PFAS during recent Oak Bluffs board of health meetings attended the hearing as well, reiterating warnings about the dangers of PFAS.
“You have heard, or will hear, that there are safe PFAS,” said Kyla Bennett, New England director for the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. “This is simply not true . . . There is no safe level of this carcinogen.”
