DALTON, Mass. — Voters will decide whether to allow green burials at Ashuelot Cemetery at the annual town meeting in May.
The Select Board approved including the article on the annual town meeting warrant during its meeting on Monday.
For the last two years, the cemetery trustees have been navigating how the town can safely allow green burials and prevent liability.
According to the nonprofit Green Burial Massachusetts, green burials, or "natural burials," are a way of returning bodies to the earth after death without a metal casket, burial liner or vault, or embalming.
The trustees' proposal explains that the body may be placed directly in the ground in a biodegradable casket, such as wood or coffin, or only wearing a biodegradable cloth shroud or clothing.
Green burials would only be allowed in a designated section of Ashuelot Cemetery, Section GB. They will be delineated by barkers or decorative fencing to separate it from the main area.
However, those who want to be buried next to a family member or partner in a separate section of the cemetery will be allowed to have a green burial, if space allows, using a vault with an open bottom.
If approved, the town will have to determine setting a prudential care fee of $750 to ensure the area is properly maintained as the ground settles during the decaying process, Trustee John W. Bartels Jr. said.
The trustees contracted Hill Engineering to do a percolation test to evaluate the water and drainage conditions of the cemetery and determined their is proper drainage and nothing from the soil will go into the water.
They also tried to coordinate with the Conservation Commission but did not hear back, Bartels said.
Resident Henry Rose texted the commission's former chair and current member, Cheryl Rose, who responded during the meeting that there were no wetlands or streams in that area.
Dalton has received some comments from residents expressing their interest in having this option available to them.
During the research process, the trustees coordinated with other departments, the state, the local Board of Health, and other towns that allow green burials.
Great Barrington is one of several dozen communities in the state that offers green burials, though it took three years to accomplish. Stockbridge, Mount Washington, and the private Pine Grove Cemetery in Sheffield also allow natural burials.
Last May, the town's board of health approved verbiage for green burials that says “all deceased bodies are allowed a green burial unless the CDC or Mass Department of Health deems the deceased passed contains any disease unsuitable for a green burial and thus, the Board of Health will not approve such burial. Known diseases include anthrax, ebola, and prion diseases.”
The Board of Health coordinated with the state Department of Environmental Protection when developing this requirement.
Green burials must take place 48 to 72 hours from the time of death and be approved by the local board of health.
The Board of Health will have a designated representative who can quickly approve green burials, especially on weekends or holidays when regular board meetings are not held, Bartels said.
The Board of Health will also be in contact with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the state Department of Health to stay up to date on any restrictions or requirements around green burials.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
DCF Clears Two Pittsfield High Administrators
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass.—The Department of Children and Families has reportedly cleared two Pittsfield High School administrators of misconduct: Dean of Students Molly West and Vice Principal Alison Shepard.
"(Superintendent Joseph Curtis) told me yesterday that his office has received formal notice from DCF that the agency's investigation of those allegations has been completed, and that the allegations were found to be unsupported," Cameron wrote VIA email.
Earlier in the week, he announced that the first part of a committee-initiated investigation led by Mary-Lou Rup, a retired Superior Court judge, was completed and West, one of the school’s two deans, was cleared by Rup.
iBerkshires inquired about the DCF investigation running parallel. On Thursday, Cameron said the district has reason to believe that DCF's investigation has cleared West, but he did not have written confirmation of that assertion.
"I have been told by [interim Deputy Superintendent Matt] Bishop, who is the Pittsfield Public Schools' contact with DCF in these matters, that the agency's investigation of Ms. West was returned with a determination that the allegations made against her were unsupported," he wrote.
"I have not seen formal confirmation of this from DCF. Apparently, its report to Dr. Bishop was provided through a conversation."
Pittsfield High's Matt Dupuis and Lee's Devyn Fillio Sunday won the boys and girls individual high school bowling State Championships at Spare Time.
click for more
On Monday, the Historical Commission voted to approve the demolition of 676 East St pending a site visit and additional interior photos. click for more
The owners, Yuridiana Zaragoza and Gustavo Cruz, are originally from Oaxaca, Mexico and wanted to bring the culture and tradition to Berkshire County. click for more
On Tuesday, the City Council accepted $1,370,000 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities' HousingWorks Infrastructure Program. click for more