DALTON, Mass. — The Board of Health continued to chip away on how it wants to word the "Green Burials" guidelines during its meeting on Wednesday.
One of the things that complicates green burials is diseases. The Board of Health is working with the cemetery trustees to clarify measures to prevent their spread.
The cemetery trustees are still very early on in the process of establishing green burials. This excludes someone who wants to be buried in their yard, which would be a separate process.
Town counsel informed the trustees during a previous meeting that establishing green burials will be a dual effort between them and the Board of Health to come up with guidelines.
The Board of Health will be responsible for the "water table, settling water, decaying bodies, depth of graves, proximity to abutting properties," the meeting minutes said.
The board's main concern, which it has been navigating during its last couple of meetings, is the proper procedures for circumstances involving communicable diseases, such as ebola.
During the previous meeting, board members requested clarification on what a green burial is so that they can have a better idea of how to word the guidelines.
On Wednesday, Town Agent Agnes Witkowski said the state defines green burial or natural burial as "a method of a final disposition of the body with fewer environmental impacts than traditional burial burial," she said
"Generally, a green burial means that the body is not embalmed, no metal or hardware are used to make the casket, no gravel liner or vaults are used and a low profile grave marker issues or no market at all."
The cemetery trustees intend on using a similar definition of green burials as the state but plans on adding that vaults with no bottoms may be used.
"I think [the definition] helps us determine if there's any consideration of infectious disease to the point where the body would not even be embalmed because it needs to be in like two layers of plastic in order to protect anybody from that communicable disease," board member Amanda Staples-Opperman said.
As long as the burial is happening within a cemetery there isn't a problem because cemeteries have to go through certain designations to prevent groundwater from running off into waterways, Staples-Opperman said.
The town will also have to adhere to state Department of Environmental Protections requirements, Witkowski said.
With some communicable diseases, such as ebola, the body needs to be in two layers of leak proof plastic and then in a hermetically sealed casket, she said.
The board could consider adopting similar language as the state which stipulates that prior to the green burial additional considerations by the local Board of Health are required in cases involving serious pathogenic disease, Witkowski said.
She proposed that the guideline says that "in the event of a highly infectious disease," the green burial will need to be cleared by the Board of Health.
Staples-Opperman also requested that they add "cases involving ebola will not be approved."
Board members asked what the best procedure is to review cases involving infectious diseases as waiting till the monthly meeting may not be timely enough.
Witkowski will ask the town's legal counsel whether approving or denying cases can be done via email.
In other news, a Narcan training and education event is in development thanks to a collaboration with the Loaves and Fishes Pantry's Food Distribution Center, Witkowski said.
The collaboration with the food pantry, located at Dalton United Methodist Church, is still in its early stages of organizing. The event would include the distribution of free Narcan kits, training, and education.
Having an event like this is one of her short-term goals but Witkowski hopes to do a second one in town later this year.
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Berkshires Get $60K in Cyber Security Grants
BRAINTREE, Mass. — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced the award of nearly $7 million in federal grant funds to local governments and state agencies to enhance cybersecurity initiatives and reduce cyber risk for public agencies statewide.
The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority received $5,025, the town of Cheshire $13,224, and Monterey had the highest amount at $45,425.
"It's vital that our communities have access to the resources, tools, and guidance necessary to protect against increasingly frequent and sophisticated cybersecurity threats. Through these programs, our administration has undertaken a collaborative approach to equip state agencies and local communities with funding to help prevent, prepare for and recover from attacks on our digital infrastructure," said Gov. Maura Healey.
In February 2024, the administration announced that grant funds were available through two programs, the FY24 Municipal Local Cybersecurity Grant Program and FY24 State Share Cybersecurity Grant Program, to help local governments and state agencies undertake priority cybersecurity enhancements. On Monday, the programs awarded $6,820,897.57 in federal funding to support cybersecurity initiatives across the state.
Seven state agencies received a combined $359,063.07 and 125 local agencies and municipalities received grants totaling $6,461,834.50.
The program prioritized funding for projects in rural communities, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency defines as any community with a population less than 50,000. At least 84 of the grants were awarded to municipalities meeting FEMA's definition of rural. Additional grants were awarded to regional divisions of government, such as county government and regional school districts, that benefit multiple communities, including rural towns.
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