A.D. Makepeace Co.’s Land Use Model: Cranberries, Sand, Solar, Residential/Commercial Development

Who is A.D. Makepeace Company?

A.D. Makepeace is one of the largest private landowners in Massachusetts, with extensive
holdings primarily in Plymouth, Carver, and Wareham, and Rochester. It owns about 12,000 acres. Historically, the company’s business was cranberry agriculture. Since the 1990s, Makepeace has expanded and operates across multiple industries, including:

  • Cranberry Production
  • Engineered Soil Products– Read Custom Soils (RCS)
  • Sand and Gravel Extraction
  • Large-scale Solar Development
  • Residential Development– Redbrook project in Plymouth (about 1,200 homes) and
    Rosebrook business park in Wareham
  • Motto: “Inspired by Nature”

This combination of land ownership and vertically integrated operations positions Makepeace to
control the full lifecycle of land use—from clearing to extraction to redevelopment.

A.D. Makepeace’s operations represent a significant transformation of Southeastern Massachusetts landscapes.

The rapid land use changes — from agriculture and forestry to industrial scale sand and gravel extraction, vast solar facilities and development raises significcant questions for the community:

  • How should cumulative impacts be evaluated?
  • Is the current use consistent with the intent of the Tihonet Mixed Use Development (TMUD) plan from 2005 — a promise of smart growth, open space protection and village centers?
  • What level of oversight is appropriate for projects of this scale? Where is the oversight? Who is in charge?

These issues continue to be debated in courts, town boards, and communities across the region.

Cranberries: The Historical Core — No Longer the Profit Driver

A.D. Makepeace is still:

  • the largest cranberry grower in the world
  • farming about 1,750 acres of bogs across southeastern Massachusetts according to its
    website

However, the economics of cranberry farming have changed dramatically in the last 30 years:

  • The Massachusetts Department of Agriculture has described cranberry farming as a
    “beleaguered industry”
  • Prices have declined significantly in recent years while costs have risen
  • Industry-wide, cranberry growing is often:
    • low-margin or break-even
    • dependent on subsidies and market volatility
    • every fall, excess production and low prices results in dumping a percent of the harvest

Even regional officials acknowledge cranberry growing “isn’t a booming industry.”

The Shift: From Farming to Resource Extraction

Because cranberry farming alone is no longer highly profitable:

Makepeace has shifted toward resource extraction of timber, soils and sand off its land, and
commercial and residential development:

  • Tens of millions of cubic yards of sand have been removed across hundreds of acres of its lands and
  • Sand mining continues today
  • The company now generates significant revenue from sand sales through its
    subsidiary, Read Custom Soils
  • Extraction of timber and topsoils is used to blend with the sand for commercial sale
  • Makepeace now derives at least 70% of its revenue from non-cranberry activities and all its profits, according to public sources

The Integrated Revenue Model

Step 1: Cranberry Agriculture (Entry Point)

  • Land is classified as:
    • Agricultural
  • This classification can:
    • Enable earth removal permits  — commerical sand mining is often permitted as “bog construction”
      or “reservoir creation” or claimed to be for sanding the bogs
    • Reduce regulatory scrutiny under the Wetlands Protection Act, municipal wetland bylaws, the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, and historic preservation laws
    • Reduce real estate taxes: agricultural or forestry land has a lower tax rate allowing Makepeace to pay minimal real estate taxes

Step 2: Sand Mining (Primary Profit Engine)

  • Sand removal has surged in the last 10 years.
  • Multiple operations centered in south Carver and Wareham generate 100s hundreds of truckloads per day with multi-year excavation permits
  • Rising sand prices and demand make extraction far more profitable than farming
  • Dozens of permits in the last 30 years, hundreds of acres
  • Looking ahead:
    • In September 2024, ADM Cranberry filed a Carver Earth Removal Application for Map 131 Lots 1-2 and 1-3, west of Federal Road, seeking removal of 1,776,200 cubic yards over 3 years plus 1 year renewal. The application is on hold but likely will be reactivated. Read more on the ERC Site.
    • In April 2026, ADM Cranberry filed new plans for continued expansion of the 85 acre “bog construction” and sand mining project at 59 Federal Road in Carver
    • The “Farm of the Future” earth removal permit at Frogfoot in Plymouth is on hold, only about 25% complete but certainly Makepeace has plans to generate revenue here. Read more here:

Step 3: Read Custom Soils (Value-Added Processing)

Makepeace does not just sell raw sand.
Through its subsidiary Read Custom Soils (RCS):

  • Sand arrives from nearby deposits or quarry
  • Screening / sorting
    • separates sizes (fine, medium, coarse)
  • Stockpiling
    • large sand piles staged on site
  • Soil “blending and manufacturing: Sand, topsoils, and wood products from AD Makepeace’s land clearing are,
    • screened
    • blended
    • engineered

Products include:

  • golf course materials
  • construction aggregates
  • stormwater and structural soils

This converts raw sand and topsoils into higher-margin specialty products — Makepeace claims this is an “agricultural blending facility”

RCS acts as:

  • a regional distribution hub and trucking terminal to weigh and transship sand, aggregates and its soil products
  • fed by Makepeace land clearing/logging and mining sites around the region

Step 4: Trucking and Distribution

  • Hundreds of trucks move material daily from Makepeace’s lands and directly to customers or through Read
  • Sand and “soil products” shipped across New England

This represents a continuous cash flow from extracted materials

Step 5: Solar Development (Second Revenue Layer)

After trees and topsoil are removed and the land stripped to bare sand:

  • Land is flattened and cleared
  • Then leased for:
    • large-scale solar installations (~20-year leases)

Solar companies override local control: Makepeace has built at least 12 large ground mounted solar projects in the area already

  • In 2023, the Wareham Planning Board denied Makepeace and Borrego Solar extensions
    for the 3 new projects, based on the public health, safety and welfare, including the
    cumulative impact. Makepeace through the solar company sued the Town of Wareham to force them to issue the permits. Then, the Town and the solar company settled behind closed doors and permits were issued in 2025
  • The 3 new solar projects are:
    • 27 Charge Pond Road — Case 7-20, decision dated October 20, 2020
    • 150 Tihonet Road — Case 9-20, decision dated December 28, 2020
    • 140 Tihonet Road — Case 8-20, decision dated March 8, 2021.
      Official Wareham records also show that by 2025 the Town was still in litigation over some of
      these projects. The joint Select Board / Planning Board executive-session agenda for October 8,
      2025 lists litigation involving 27 CPR Solar1, LLC, New Leaf Energy, Inc., Wareham PV1,
      LLC, and Wareham MA 3 LLC. A later Planning Board executive-session agenda on
      December 10, 2025 lists PV1, LLC v. Town of Wareham Planning Board and MA 3 LLC, et
      al v. Town of Wareham Planning Board.
  • Looking ahead:
    • Makepeace conducting aggressive land clearing and sand mining at 0 Maple Springs Road in Wareham: Proposing a solar project under the shell name “OMSR Wareham Solar 1, LLC .” There are active Conservation/ZBA solar + battery filings in 2025.
    • Makepeace seeking permits for a large solar project at 0 Wareham Road, Carver – will clear cut 27 acres of forest. Project is in project in Riverfront Area, wetland buffer zone, and that will clear-cut 27 acres of forest. Appeal process at MassDEP/
    • Wihonet Road, Plymouth, Frogfoot Brook and trails area: CLWC appeals
      Makepeace plan to install solar project on about 40 acres of illegally filled
      wetlands. The location is also called the Canning Bogs.
    • O Golden Pond Road: sand mining, wetlands filling without permits, Carver
      issues Cease and Desist
    • North Wareham Solar: Makepeace and its affiliate REDP seeking to clear-cut 50 acres for a large ground-mounted solar project along Tihonet Road, north of the 160 Tihonet Road solar project

This land use model with solar creates:

  • long-term, steady income
  • on land already monetized through logging and mining
  • does not generate power that helps local rate payers, but rather produces energy that is
    sold throughout New England while local communities bear the burden of deforestation
    and risks to drinking water supply

Step 6: Final Development — Land Sales:, Redbrook and Beyond

After logging, sand mining extraction and sales, comes solar development or done in parallel, Makepeace develops residential and commercial projects

  • Example: Redbrook (Plymouth, MA) Master-planned village developed by Makepeace
    • Includes:
    • housing
    • commercial space
    • infrastructure

The TMUD Connection

The Tihonet Mixed Use Development (TMUD):

  • ~6,500-acre master plan from the early 2000s
  • Spans Plymouth, Carver, Wareham
  • Does not include Redbrook which is under a different MEPA review
  • Originally intended for:
    • smart growth
    • mixed-use development
    • conservation
    • approved through a special MEPA (state environmental) review process

The TMUD framework:

  • allowed large-scale land conversion
  • reduced environmental review requirements — “MEPA Light”
  • Where TMUD failed:
    • ignored sand extraction
    • did not require full “EIR”; review for 12 solar projects from 2014 to present long-term buildout
    • a “ bait and switch ” from the original TMUD plan — MEPA let Makepeace out of the MEPA review process in 2022
    • 12 solar projects covered in the TMUD, ADM released from MEPA 2022:
      • 9 complete, 3 underway

Solar and sand mining projects not covered by TMUD MEPA Certificate or any MEPA review:

  • Maple Springs Solar, Wareham
  • Cranebrook Solar, Cranberry Road, Carver
  • 0 Wareham St. Solar, Carver
  • Canning Solar, Plymouth (Frogfoot area)
  • All sand mining projects in Carver, Plymouth and Wareham are not covered by ANY MEPA REVIEW

Why This Model Is So Powerful

  • Same land generates revenue multiple times
  • Lands are stripped of all value, leaving barren wastelands
  • Land acquisition cost = zero (already owned)
  • Vertical integration = maximum control

Result:

  • Continuous, compounding income stream at the expense of biodiversity, habitat, cooling
    shade, clean air, clean water

Oversight Concerns

  1. Agricultural exemptions exploited:
    1. Mining permitted under “cranberry agriculture”
    2. Wetlands Protection Act exemptions for “Normal Improvement of Land in Agricultural Use” to evade permits
    3. Tax preferences for agriculural land exploited
  2. Fragmented permitting:
    1. Mining, solar, development reviewed separately
    2. No cumulative review
    3. Impacts not assessed as one system
    4. Environmental risks
  3. Threats to:
    1. Plymouth-Carver aquifer
    2. Pine Barrens ecosystems
    3. Community health from emissions of sand dust

Conclusion

A.D. Makepeace’s operations are no longer just agriculture — despite its image.
They represent a fully integrated land monetization system where:

  • Cranberry farming provides the legal and historical foundation
  • Sand extraction generates immediate profits
  • Read Custom Soils adds value and scale
  • Solar leases provide steady income
  • Sevelopments like Redbrook deliver long-term returns
  • The public: left with a denuded wasteland — sand mines are barren lands where “nothing much will grow in human time” and no upside from solar, rapid development that strains infrastructure, undermines rural Southeatsern Massachusettts character

The result is a multi-layered, continuous revenue model built on the same land base.

Wareham: Voters Seek Accountability for AD Makepeace Co. Sand Mining

 

  • Select Board yet to act on 2021, 2023 Town Meeting calls to hold Makepeace accountable

  • Letter says Makepeace deprived the Town of a least $625,000 in earth removal fees

Background

AD Makepeace Co. is based in Wareham MA. It is one of the state’s largest private landowners, with about 12,000 acres in Wareham, Carver and Plymouth. Makepeace owns a large portion of the Town of Wareham and has considerable political clout in the Town. The company regularly donates to charitable causes and hosts recreational events to solidify its power– even “Arbor Day” which some find ironic due to the company’s massive destruction of forests and the environment. The Save the Pine Barrens You Tube channel is documenting Makepeace’s sand mining. 

Makepeace’s core business is selling the sand from its mines via its sister company Read Custom Soils. Makepeace sells to industrial and commercial customers like concrete and asphalt facilities, golf courses, and more.  Sand and gravel sales are highly profitable and prices have gone up 5 times in the last 5 years. Makepeace is also a cranberry grower but that business is  break even business at best. Makepeace is also in the business of residential real estate development and industrial solar installations. 

Read more in Sand Wars In Cranberry Country here.

Cranberry farming gives Makepeace a cover for its sand mining. It claims the sand mining is exempt from laws because it is “farming” and entitled to special protections. Read more about how the cranberry industry evades laws on sand mining in the Sand Wars report here.

Below: 85 acre AD Makepeace sand mine in Carver, MA. Makepeace claims this is cranberry agriculture. It put in a solar project to the left after sand mining and stripping 50 acres of pristine Pine Barrens forest starting in 2016.

Makepeace sand mining in Wareham

Makepeace has been sand mining for commercial sale in Wareham for decades. Residents observe the endless number of trucks leaving loaded with sand. The trucks are a safety hazard on the roads, destroy roads, and operate recklessly. Examples of the excessive truck traffic is on You Tube. 

Makepeace has mined at least 2.5 million cubic yards from Wareham leveling up to 250 acres of forest. More mining is proposed at 140 Tihonet Road and possibly other locations. At today’s prices, the sand is worth up to $40 million.

Below: Google Earth aerial image of some mining sites in Wareham marked with yellow pin. Most are AD Makepeace, but other cranberry companies and sand and gravel companies operate without permits or in violation of permits.

Makepeace often portrays its sand mining as “site preparation” for industrial solar. The state has allowed Makepeace to destroy Priority Habitat for rare and endangered species in Warehan claiming that the sand mining is just site preparation for solar. For example in 2015, the state Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program issued a take permit for over 50 acres of Priority Habitat and 12 species at the 160 Tihonet Road mining site that is now solar. Read more here. 

“The site was formerly used for sand mining, which cleared the site of vegetation….Because sand mining is ongoing, site grades fluctuate; final grades will range from 54 ft to 64 ft NAVD.” 

Makepeace mining violates Wareham Earth Removal Bylaw for over a decade

Wareham regulates earth removal.  The Earth Removal Bylaw requires a permit and strict plan conditions to protect the environment and residents, and requires mining companies to pay 25 cents per cubic yard for sand removed. A typical tractor trailer is about 24 cubic yards and would owe a fee of $6.00 — a small amount compared to the value of the sand.

The Town Select Board is responsible for the Earth Removal Bylaw. It must ensure that companies doing mining get permits and comply with them. This includes paying fees.

Below: Excerpt from Town of Wareham General Bylaw, Earth Removal Regulations, Section 4, requiring fees of 25 cents per cubic yard of earth removed.

The Select Board has never applied or enforced the Wareham Earth Removal Bylaw against Makepeace and only rarely against other companies. The chair of the Select Board confirmed this in a 2021 Letter.

By allowing Makepeace to mine without a permit the Select Board deprived  Wareham of up to $625,000 in revenue.

October 2021: voters approve sand mining audit, collection of fees, penalties

In response to growing alarm about the scope and scale of Makepeace’s sand mining and environment destruction, Wareham voters proposed a Town Meeting warrant article.  Article 18 urged the Select Board to audit Makepeace’s mining.  The article passed almost unanimously. Read the Wareham Week story here.

Below: Town of Wareham Town Meeting Warrant Article 18, October, 2021. It requires an audit a four AD Makepeace mining sites, and others.

 

 December 4, 2021: Select Board votes to hire an expert

In response to the Town’s vote to approve Article 18, the audit, the Wareham Select Board met and on December 4, 2021 voted 4-1 to proceed with the audit and collection of fees and penalties.  On January 4, 2022, the Board discussed the topic again. Read the Wareham Week story here.

The story reported a resident said the petitioner was “an unambiguous complaint” to the town about possible earth removal bylaw violations.”

At the January 4, 2022 Select Board meeting member Peter Teitelbaum, a Makepeace supporter, complained that seeking to enforce the bylaw was a “slippery slope”. Barry Cosgrove who proposed the Town Meeting Article in 2021 commented:

“If fulfilling a legal obligation under bylaw and respecting the will of the people is a slippery slope, what is the metaphor for ignoring a legal obligation and ignoring the will of the people?”

November 2022: group requests Town enforce Earth Removal Bylaw

With Makepeace’s sand and gravel mining continuing to ravage Wareham, local advocacy group Save the Pine Barrens sent a demand for enforcement of the Earth Removal Bylaw to the Town. The Town ignored the demand.

See the Enforcement Demand letter here. It documents violations at six locations including 160 Tihonet Road, Farm to Market Road and mining by cranberry companies Sure-Cran, Rounseville Hammond, and Fletcher, and a pit operated by Graziano.

March 2023: Ten Residents Group sends Notice of Intent to Sue 

Still seeking action from the Town on sand mining, on March 17, 2023, a Ten Residents Group invoked the Massachusetts Citizen Suit Law, Chapter 214, 7A. Under this law, they can seek remedies for Damage to the Environment from Makepeace’s sand mining. Read the Wareham Ten Residents Notice Intent to Sue here.  

Notice letter focuses on three Makepeace mining sites in Wareham and estimates the company removed at least 2.5 million cubic yards without permits. This deprived the Town of $625,000 in earth removal fees.  

Read the A.D.Makepeace Reply to Notice of Intent to Sue 2023.04.14 here. Neither the Town nor the Attorney General responded. The matter is pending.

 April 2023: Wareham voters approve funding for sand mining investigation

Over a year passed with no action on the 2021 to audit Makepeace’s sand mining and collect fees and penalties. In April 2023, the voters approved spending $50,000 for a sand mining investigation. Read the Wareham Week story here.

Read the Wicked Local story here: Expert opinion could quell earth removal ‘innuendo’ in Wareham

April 2024: still no action on voter’s call for sand mining investigation

As of April, 2024, the Wareham Select Board was still discussing how to carry out the 2021 voter’s Article 18 for an audit, penalties and fees for sand mining. Read the Wareham Week story here. In the meantime, sand mining continues. 

 

Above: AD Makepeace sand mining, Farm to Market Road, Wareham, 2021. Image shows excavation into side of hill.

Makepeace claims of cranberry farming don’t add up

Makepeace has claimed time and again that earth removed from Wareham is for its “agricultural operations” such as building, refurbishing and winter sanding its own cranberry bogs. 

Makepeace has mined enough sand around the region to fill Gillette Stadium about 2 miles high. The  region-wide math does not add up. Nor do the Makepeace claims that the mining operations are “necessary” to build new agricultural projects. Read more about the laws and how they are evaded in Sand Wars.

Wareham: 160 Tihonet Road: AD Makepeace Co. sand mining impacts on endangered species

  • Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP) gives Makepeace “take permit” for 10 rare and endangered species and 50 acres of Priority Habitat 601

  • Mining misrepresented as “cranberry agriculture”?

  • No earth removal permit from Wareham making the sand mining illegal 

Above: Persius Dusky Wing, Endangered Species in Massachusetts. NHESP allowed Makepeace to “take” this species by destroying its habitat.
Above: Northern Tiger Beetle, Endangered Species in Massachusetts. NHESP allowed Makepeace to “take” this species by destroying its habitat.

From 2014 to 2021, AD Makepeace clearcut and strip mined 50 acres of pristine Pine Barrens habitat classified as Priority Habitat 601 by NHESP under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. Makepeace leased the land to Borrego Solar to build 50- acre solar porject. Now it is owed by another solar company, Clearway.

Background


In 2014, Makepeace applied to the Wareham Planning Board for site plan review to install Phase 1 of a 52 acre ground mounted solar project to be built by Borrego Solar. Makepeace’s Jim Kane wrote to the Planning Board Chair George Barrett this was likely Makepeace’s “last large ground mounted solar project under the existing regulatory system”. A few years later, the company revealed plans to build at least three more large grounded solar projects in Wareham: at 140 and 150 Tihonet Road and 27 Charge Pond Road. Makepeace built about 15 large ground mounted solar projects in Wareham and Carver. Most of these involved sand and gravel mining. Makepeace’s solar projects, most of them preceded by mining. As of 2025, Makepeace has proposed a 40 acre ground mounted solar project and BESS system at 0 Maple Springs Road in Wareham, 2 miles of solar canopy on its Canning Bogs on Frogfoot Brook and on Jordan Road in Plymouth.

At the 160 Tihonet Road, Wareham site, in 2014, Makepeace told the state environmental review office, Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) “The site will be cleared and graded to a level area ranging from approximately 64’ to 68’ above sea level”. MEPA ignored the environmental impacts of changing the topography and removing groundwater protection. It blindly repeated this in its MEPA Certificate. Makepeace’s consultant Beals + Thomas said in the MEPA Environmental Notification Form: it is “anticipated that excavated earth material will be used in the vicinity of the site such that travel via town roads will be avoided.” This is implausible. 

According to witnesses, Makepeace trucked the sand to Carver to its Read Custom Soils for commercial sale and directly out of town.

Between 2014 and 2018, approximately 22 acres of the 52 acre site were cleared. Borrego installed the first phase of the Borrego solar project in approximately 2015.

State NHESP allows destruction of Priority Habitat 

The 160 Tihonet Road location was once “Priority Mapped Habitat” designated under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. In 2015, Mass Wildlife, which is supposed to protect our wildlife and rare natural plant and animal communities gave Makepeace a permit to kill 10 Pine Barrens species protected by law under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA). This included the endangered Northern Barrens Tiger Beetle and Persius Duskywing butterfly.

After Makepeace destroyed 50 acres of Priority Habitat 601, NHESP redrew the map. 

Below: This map from NHESP shows Priority Habitat (PH) 601 after Makepeace destroyed 50 acres by sand mining then installed a large solar project.

Below: AD Makepeace sand mining at 160 Tihonet Road, Wareham, 2018. The sand mining is clearly visible on Google Earth. Residents complained of non-stop tractor trailer trucks leaving the site. The Wareham Select Board and the state ignored the mining. 

 

MassWildlife issued the permit through its Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP). The permit to kill, or “take” the species is ironically called a “Conservation and Management Permit”. The law requires “mitigation”. How can endangered species be conserved and “managed” when more and more habitat is destroyed? What is the cumulative impact of all the deforestation by Makepeace and other solar and sand mining operations in the Pine Barrens?

Below is an excerpt  from the 2015 NHESP permit for Makepeace to “take” 10 legally protected species so it could say it was strip mining 50 acres “in compliance with the state endangered species law.”

 

2015.sept-21.22take22permit-for-endangered-threatened-species-from-mass-wildlife-nhespDownload

Makepeace calls the mining and solar “cookie cutter”

In a letter to the Wareham Planning Board in 2014, Jim Kane, Makepeace CEO said “This project is the same cookie cutter solar project like Charlotte Furnace and Tihonet West solar in Wareham and Federal Road in Carver.” At these three other sites, solar was preceded by forest clear-cuts, endangered species habitat destruction and extraction and commercial sale of sand and gravel. Does “cookie cutter” mean environmental destruction and killing off endangered and rare species to Makepeace CEO Jim Kane? See the letter her:

2014 AD Makepeace Letter to Wareham Planning Board

Wareham Proposed Re-Zoning of Large Ground-Mounted Solar: What You Need to Know

Warrant Article: Large Ground-Mounted Solar Installations

If passed, this article would allow future large ground-mounted solar installations to be built only in the Business Development Overlay District (BDOD), and not in any other districts within the town. Proposals for large-ground solar installations in the BDOD would still have to be approved by the Planning Board through a site plan review and special permit process, just as any other project would.

The BDOD is an approximately 1,200 acre area in north/central Wareham located both north and  south of Interstate 495. The BDOD currently consists of cranberry bogs, forested land, four large ground-mounted solar installations, and a couple of small business campuses. According to the Town’s 2023 Zoning Bylaw, the BDOD was “intended to create office/R & D use opportunities in a campus-like environment using the existing agricultural uses and natural landscapes as amenities for the businesses located in the office parks.” (Wareham 2023 Zoning Bylaw, Section 450).

See the map of the BDOD, in purple, below.

The Facts on Solar in Wareham

According to an analysis of areal imagery by Community Land and Water Coalition, Wareham already has over 260 acres of large ground-mounted solar installations within its borders. All of these projects, highlighted in orange below, have resulted in the loss of forest and wildlife habitat, and most sit on top of the Plymouth-Carver Sole Source Aquifer. These solar projects have resulted in habitat fragmentation in environmentally sensitive areas.

Map of existing large ground-mounted solar arrays in Wareham, outlined in orange below.

According to the 2023 report by Mass Audubon and Harvard Forest, Growing Solar Protecting Nature, since 2010 Massachusetts has lost significant forest acreage, biodiversity, and productive farmland to solar development. The state has lost approximately 8,000 acres of forest to large industrial ground-mounted solar. But this forest loss is not distributed equally. This graphic from the report below shows that southeastern Massachusetts, particularly Wareham, has had a higher proportion of solar development than many areas of the state. In fact, only four counties – Worcester, Hampden, Plymouth (where Wareham lies) and Bristol – account for 75% of the state’s ground-mounted solar.

At the January 6, 2025 Wareham Planning Board Public Hearing, the Planning Board specifically stated that this solar rezoning proposal was being put forth to limit the amount of deforestation and habitat fragmentation in Wareham from large scale ground-mounted solar. The Planning Board states that currently there are virtually no restrictions on where ground-mounted solar can be built; this article is an attempt by the Board to limit solar installations in an area already proposed for development, and already mostly developed, and get solar away from residential areas. The Planning Board also stated that the allowable zoning for solar can be changed through Town Meeting in the future, if residents or the Board found an even more suitable or appropriate zone within the Town for large ground-mounted solar.

Image courtesy of Mass Audubon and Harvard Forest

January 2025: Seven Pending Solar Projects in Wareham Outside of BDOD

There are seven other proposed large ground-mounted solar projects outside of the BDOD in Wareham. These projects include 27 Charge Pond Road and 150 Tihonet Road, 140 Tihonet Road, 0 Route 25, 370 County Road, and 91 & 101 Fearing Hill Road. There is also a proposed solar array at 0 Tihonet Road currently undergoing MEPA review. The total area of deforestation from these projects, if they get built, would be 278 acres. The proposal at 91 & 101 Fearing Hill Road is coming up for site plan approval and special permit review in January 2025. The projects at 27 Charge Pond Road, 150 Tihonet Road, 0 Route 25 and 370 County Road Solar have been denied by the Planning Board, but are suing the Town for approval. The proposed solar project at 0 Tihonet Road has not yet come before the Planning Board.

Residents must be aware of the tactics used by solar companies, who threaten to sue the Town if their projects aren’t approved, and urge the Select Board to defend against these lawsuits in court, so Wareham can maintain control over its solar siting and protect its forests.

Unfortunately, confining solar installations to the BDOD in the future will not prevent these projects from being built. If the solar developers win in court, it would mean that these projects can move forward, even if the zoning laws have changed since then.

Solar and Sand Mining

Wareham is underlain by thick deposits of well-sorted, clean sand. This sand is very valuable to the construction industry, and unfortunately commercial/private land owners in Wareham are taking advantage of development opportunities from solar to mine the sand below the ground and sell it for profit. This sand mining is occurring without earth removal permits and environmental monitoring, at the risk of the townspeople.

In 2021, Wareham Town Meeting passed a unanimous vote to audit the amount of sand that had been extracted from the town. In January 2022, the Board of Selectmen voted to hire an expert to audit volume of sand AD Makepeace has mined without permits and if any fees and penalties are owed. Unfortunately, this audit has not been completed.

In response to the lack of enforcement, Save the Pine Barrens filed a demand letter to the Town in November 2022.

_STPB Demand with Exhibits Nov 25 (1)Download

Upcoming Changes to the State’s Solar Siting Law

Wareham is not the only town dealing with an onslaught of solar proposals. Rural towns in Massachusetts are being targeted by solar developers for their large tracks of undeveloped land, fueled by financial incentives from the state to build solar as quickly and cheaply as possible.

In 2024, the State passed an omnibus climate bill, which includes solar siting reform. Towns like Wareham will only have 12 months to approve new solar proposals (anything under 25 MW) once this law goes into effect.

WBUR provides a brief summary of what is in the new climate bill when it comes to solar siting.

It is possible that the Town of Wareham is proposing this zoning reform when it comes to solar in order to get ahead of the State’s more restrictive solar siting and approval laws that will soon be put into place.

It is important for Wareham residents to have the facts and participate in the municipal planning process. The proposed change in solar zoning would have a large effect in Wareham. It is important for residents to get involved and vote to help plan for their town’s future!

Please read up on the information behind the warrant, and vote in the Town Meeting on April 28th!

 

Community Land and Water Coalition

Wareham Residents: The Planning Board Wants to Hear from YOU!

The Planning Board in every town votes on whether or not to approve new building projects for development within the Town. This includes everything from schools to supermarkets to apartment buildings to retail stores and solar fields. What type of land gets used for new building developments and where new projects go often has the most impact on residents in the town, in terms of quality of life, health, safety and welfare, and the environment.

In order for the Planning Board to consider YOUR written comments when they vote to approve or deny a new project, you have to follow a very specific set of procedures, called a “Finding of Fact.”

Luckily, writing a Finding of Fact is SIMPLE, and can be done by ANYONE.

Read on for how to submit a “Finding of Fact” to the Wareham Planning Board.

Get involved in your town today! Local decisions have the most impact on our lives and the environment! You CAN make a change! The time to get involved is NOW!

How to Write a Finding of Fact for the Wareham Planning Board:

  1. Start the letter with a salutation to the Planning Board. Include your name, address and contact information.
  2. Tell the Planning Board what project you are commenting on, including name of project, its address, and application number.
  3. Tell the Planning Board what conclusion you want them to draw from the evidence you are about to present.
  4. Tell the Planning Board what section of the Zoning bylaw you think the project either A) Violates or B) Upholds
    1. The Wareham Zoning bylaw can be found at this link
  5. Present scientific evidence, policy documents, legal precedent or or other facts to support the conclusion you want them to draw
    1. Present your evidence in an organized manner.
    2. Evidence has to be credible, traced back to a source.
    3. Describe how the evidence applies to the project.
    4. If you present figures or maps, label and number them.
    5. Include citations to published documents.
  6. Tell the Planning Board what you want them to do with this information.
    1. The Planning Board can DENY the project.
    2. The Planning Board can APPROVE the project as-is.
    3. The Planning Board can add CONDITIONS to the project to make it safer or more environmentally-friendly.

Download a full guideline to submissions to the Planning Board:

Structured guide for formatting and documenting evidence Download

Or use this truncated version for shorter submissions

How to Submit Input on a Zoning or Planning Board Application

How to Submit Personal Oral Testimony During a Planning Board Hearing:

Any resident of Massachusetts can speak during the public comment period at an open public meeting. Personal testimony can be a powerful message to give the Planning Board about first hand experience with a proposed project or planning site. Residents of a town often have the best local knowledge in regard to native species, stormwater patterns, rare flora and fauna, health and safety and general site conditions. If you choose to give personal testimony during a hearing, follow these guidelines:

  1. Tell the Planning Board how you will be personally affected by the project. State whether you are an abutter to the property, a Town resident, a member of an environmental justice community, or a local business owner.
  2. Provide eyewitness accounts of observations. If you have credentials to make statements or observations on a certain topic, state them.
  3. If possible, back up your comments with evidence from scientific or other research studies on the matter, or public policy documents.
  4. Tell the Planning Board what you want them to do with this information: Approve, Deny, or Condition the project.

Where to Find Information on Upcoming Projects

The Town Calendar of upcoming municipal meetings is here. The agenda for each meeting will be posted 48 hours in advance.

The Wareham Planning Board website, which lists upcoming meetings, is here.

Use this website to search for plans and information on proposed projects. Type in the address and hit search.

This website also has helpful information about the Planning Board process.

Remember, the Planning Board want to hear from YOU!

They want to make decisions based on the will of the residents of the Town, and want to go forward knowing they made decisions based on the best interests of the Town.

The time to get involved is today!

 

 

Carver: Legal Efforts to Shut Down AD Makepeace Co. Sand Trucking Hub: Read Custom Soils

CLWC takes legal action, demands Carver Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) issue a cease and desist to shut down AD Makepeace Co. Read sand trucking terminal

CLWC responds to Carver ZBA arguments at May 29, 2024 public hearing: You’re Wrong! Read the July 9, 2024 letter here.

Who is Read Custom Soils? Learn more here.

CLWC fights to enforce laws on behalf of residents, environment

CLWC’s lawyers and scientists are working to get justice for residents and stop the environmental destruction by AD Makepeace’s sand mining. This trucking hub is the key to Makepeace’s sand sales. This facility does not have the required zoning permit from the Carver Planning Board.

CLWC is using the zoning laws to shut down Read. Here are the steps:

  • On February 22, 2024, CLWC demanded that the Carver Building Commissioner issue a cease and desist order to stop Read from operating a “Truck and Freight” terminal without the Special Permit. The CLWC demand letter is here.
  • The Building Commissioner refused to issue a cease and desist to Read. CLWC estimates Read generates up to 500 truck trips daily. The Building Commissioner did not investigate the issue of truck traffic volume.
  • On March 12, 2024 CLWC appealed to the ZBA under the state Zoning Law and the Town Zoning Bylaw. See the appeal here.  
  • On May 22, 2024 CLWC requested the ZBA enforce their bylaws and issue a cease and desist at 46 Federal rd. Read the request here. 

The hearing on CLWC’s enforcement request started on May 29, 2024 and continues July 17, 2024.

Carver Officials Ignore Years of Harms Suffered by Local Residents, Damage to Environment

 

Makepeace uses Read as a truck and freight terminal to sell and distribute sand it mines from its surround land. T

Read more about this massive mining site here. 

For a decade or more, Carver residents living near sand mining sites and who are impacted by truck traffic, noise and vibrations from mining operations have written, emails, and called state and local officials. They attend meetings of the Earth Removal Committee, Planning Board, Conservation Commission and Select Board to tell them about harms from  the mining and trucking of sand and gravel abutting their homes.

Below: May, 2024: Massive AD Makepeace Co. 120 acre sand mine abutting Environmental Justice Community on Federal Road in Carver. This mine supplies Read Custom Soils with sand for commercial sale and distribution.

ZBA biased, sides with mining company over its own residents

 During the May 29, 2024 public hearing on whether the ZBA should shut down Read,  the ZBA was more concerned about protecting the interests of AD Makepeace Co., the owner of Read, rather than protecting residents’ health and well being

  • ZBA tried to dismiss the case on legal technicalities; this tactic is commonly used to deter residents from participating in the public process.
  • ZBA prevented Community Land and Water Coalition from presenting its slides, cut off residents as they spoke, and told residents that they had already spoken on this issue when they had not.
  • ZBA delayed its decision on the shut down until July 17, leaving residents to deal with the noise, vibrations and threat to drinking water for two more months.

The state law requires the ZBA to hold a public hearing on a request for enforcement of the zoning law. The ZBA must vote on whether there is a violation. CLWC has asked the ZBA to issue the cease and desist to Read. The first day of the ZBA public hearing was May 29, 2024. Watch the hearing here.

The ZBA chair argued with the lawyer for CLWC claiming the group had no legal right to bring the appeal. In a July 9, 2024 letter CLWC’s lawyer showed this is wrong. Read the letter here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wareham: Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, History and More at Iconic Fearing Hill

The iconic Fearing Hill in West Wareham is a forest of pristine biodiversity and should be preserved, not developed.

The map below, courtesy of MassMapper, shows that the site contains state-identified Prime Forest Land, wetlands, and a potential vernal pool.

Fearing-Hill-Natural-ResourcesDownload
Photographs taken on Town-owned Fearing Hill conservation land

Location: 91 & 101 Fearing Hill Road, Wareham

Owner: Joe Crespi, 96 Realty LLC

Area Impacted: Approximately 22 acres of deforestation for solar proposed

Natural Resources: The site consists of 44-acres of pristine, untouched, globally rare Pine Barrens forest. The site forms a continuous expanse of forest and wildlife corridor with the adjacent 66-acre town-owned Fearing Hill conservation land. The forest is home to native species of plants and animals.

Water Supply: Although not located on a high yield or medium yield aquifer, the site serves as a groundwater recharge area for many private downgradient wells.

Wetlands and Waterways: According to a wetlands delineation report by Goddard Consulting, LLC, a bordering vegetated wetland system is located on the northeast portion of the property, which extends into the Town-owned conservation land adjacent. The center of the property is Fearing Hill at an elevation of 94 ft above msl. There is a slight north-south ridge along the center of the property; the northeastern portion of the property drains to the bordering vegetated wetland system, located within the Weweantic River watershed. The southwestern portion of the property drains to an isolated vegetated wetland system located along the western property boundary, located within the Sippican River watershed. Fearing Hill serves as a watershed divide between the two rivers.

Threatened and Endangered Species: Wareham is home to the Red Bellied Cooter turtle, the Northern Diamond Backed Terrapin turtle, and the Eastern Box Turtle. Abutters to the site have found Red Bellied Cooter, Eastern Box Turtle, and the endangered Eastern Rat Snake on a property adjacent to the site. Fearing Hill provides ample habitat for all of these species; a rare species survey of the property is recommended.

Archaeological Significance: The Wampanoag People have lived within, cultivated, and honored this land since Time Immemorial. There is an ancient way (a road pre-dating colonial times) running along the property. An archaeological survey conducted by the Public Archaeological Laboratory in 2023 found evidence of Indigenous use of the land.

Carver: Overview of AD Makepeace Co. Sand Trucking Hub: Read Custom Soils

Overview:

AD Makepeace’s Sand Distribution Hub 

Read Custom Soils

Efforts are underway to shut the AD Makepeace Co. sand distribution hub at 46 Federal Road, Carver MA. Read more about our legal efforts here. 

Group says Read violates local zoning laws

AD Makepeace Co.  mines its lands to supply Read, its sales and distribution company

Below: Read Custom Soils, 46 Federal Road, Carver MA.

AD Makepeace owns and operates a regional sand and gravel distribution hub. Hundreds of trucks daily leave the site loaded with sand and gravel.  In just a few hours in 2021, the public documented 258 sand and gravel trucks entering and exiting Read — that’s easily 500 trucks. Watch the video here.

Below: View of Read Custom Soils “soil blending” facility, 46 Federal Road, Carver MA

July 2023.

 

About AD Makepeace Co. & Read Custom Soils

AD Makepeace Cranberry Co., based in Wareham MA, claims to be the world’s largest cranberry grower and Massachusetts’ largest landowner. It owns about 12,000 acres of land in Southeastern Massachusetts. About 1,750 acres are used for cranberry agriculture. It derives most of its revenue from extracting and selling sand extracted from its lands. For decades, the cranberry industry has been a break even business at best. The Massachusetts Department of Agriculture calls cranberry farming a “beleaguered industry.” AD Makepeace mines for profits, not cranberry farming.

To evade local laws, cranberry companies claim their sand and gravel mining is “cranberry agriculture” and exempt from regulation.  Find out more here.

Makepeace used to be a real cranberry company. In 2008, Makepeace deliberately pivoted from cranberry agriculture to real estate development and sand mining due to the poor economics of the cranberry industry. The cranberry industry is still not economically viable and survives on taxpayer subsidies and state grants. Read more in the Sand Wars Report, Part IV, “Economics of Sand” here.

The Massachusetts Department of Agriculture (MDAR) calls it ” beleaguered industry” and gives out millions in grants to sand mining companies who claim this is all cranberry agriculture. 

Visit SandWars.org to see the groundbreaking Report: Sand Wars in Cranberry County: An investigation into the money, politics and corruption behind sand mining and its silent environmental crisis in Southeastern Massachusetts.  Watch the video here. 

AD Makepeace Co. profits from selling its “endless reserves” of sand 

The core of Makepeace’s mining operations is about 2 square miles in the Carver-Wareham area on Federal Road.  Watch the 2022 video for an overview of operations in the area. 

Read operates on a portion of a large parcel of Makepeace land, about 536 acres that has a large cranberry bog on it. The Wankinko River runs through the bogs on the property. Because there is a bog on the large site, Makepeace claims the operation of Read and the mining is “cranberry agriculture” and exempt from local laws.

Makepeace strip mines its land around Read and brings the sand and gravel to Read to be distributed and sold. The map below shows AD Makepeace strip mine sites around Read within a 2 mile radius before in 2010 and as of 2023. These are just some of Makepeace’s sites. The trucks coming in and out of Read come from these sites and others in Southeastern Massachusetts.

This drone video shows Makepeace’s mining around Read. Between 2010 and 2024, Makepeace has strip mined up to 1,000 acres in the region for sand and gravel.

 

Below: 2010 Map showing AD Makepeace sand mines within 2 miles of Read. The areas are forested as of 2010.

 

Above: This is a Map of the same 2 mile radius in 2023. The strip mined areas are marked with a pin. Some are covered up with cranberry bogs.

Above: 59 Federal Road, Carver MA, May 2024. 120 acre sand mine underway since 2016.

 

 

Above: AD Makepeace sand mine. 59 Federal Road in Carver, May 2024.

Read more about the massive mine at 59 Federal Road, Carver here.

AD Makepeace clears forest to access sand. In 2020, the Carver Earth Removal Committee gave AD Makepeace a permit to expand the mine by 85 acres to access $36 million in sand and gravel. 

 

Above: 24 Federal Road in Carver MA, before mining. In 2019 the Carver Earth Removal Committee gave a permit to level the land by 40 feet and dig a pond. 

 

Above: After AD Makepeace mining, July 2023. Over 24 acres of mining and dredging the Sole Source Aquifer for sand to supply Read Custom Soils. A former member of the Carver Earth Removal Committee, John Shurtleff, Jr. who operates a trucking company, was observed trucking sand from this site. Makepeace is mining at this site to supply sand to Read.

He voted to grant the Earth Removal Permit in 2019. See the Permit here. 24 Federal Road – Carver Earth Removal Permit to Makepeace signed by John Shurtleff and others.  Read more about the involvement of Earth Removal Committee members in sand and gravel mining in Carver here.

Impact of Read’s truck traffic: dangerous and uncontrolled 

For over a decade, the public has watched hundreds of trucks come in and out of Read daily.  The volume of trucks is documented by videos and personal testimonials.  Makepeace claims Read is a “manufacturing facility. A manufacturing facility does not have hundreds of tractor trailer trucks entering and leaving daily.  Read’s trucks travel on interstate roads to deliver sand and gravel.

The operation causes dangerous traffic conditions on Federal Road and along the truck routes in Carver, Wareham and Plymouth. Federal Road is owned by the County and is a narrow rural road.

Here are some public documenting the excessive truck traffic from Read’s trucking hub:

  • This video shows 258 trucks coming in and out of Read in just a few hours in 2021.
  • This video shows 106 trucks in 14 minutes coming in and out of Read.
  • In 2021, a sand and gravel tractor trailer flipped over on Federal Road coming from Read. Listen to this police report of how the sand and gravel truck almost killed a resident and his granddaughter because it was going so fast before it flipped.
  • This video shows 14 trucks in 14 minutes coming from Read
  • Makepeace’s own truck logs show hundreds of trucks a day (logs available on request)
  • A court affidavit from a Wareham resident describes the hundreds of trucks a day leaving Read and Makepeace’s mines on Federal Road. 

Below: Sand and gravel truck from Read flipped over on Federal Road, 2021. 

The trucks coming to and from Read go one of two ways to get to the highways to deliver sand:  going south on Federal Road through Wareham to Route 25 or west on Cranberry Road to Route 58.

These are narrow country roads. Traveling them presents a safety risk when tractor trailers of sand are speeding by. The truck routes go through Environmental Justice communities in Carver and Wareham. 

Below: July 2, 2024: Read Custom Soils truck on Interstate 495 hauling sand and gravel from the Pine Barrens..   

“This is agriculture?!” says a local resident.

 

The Carver Earth Removal Committee is allowing commercial mining around Read. There are 3 permits for mining pits in the area. Each permit allows 50 truck loads a day.  Read more about Makepeace’s earth removal permits here.

In April, 2024, the Carver Earth Removal Committee approved expansion of the 120 acre mine at 59 Federal Road. Read more about this mine here.

This adds up to about 530,000 truck trips over 10 years — and that’s assuming Makepeace sticks to the law. There are even more trucks associated with Read. No one knows the actual number of trucks coming in and out of Read but it is alot!

Read more about the Carver Earth Removal Committee here. It is dominated by people who make money from sand and gravel mining or who buy sand from AD Makepeace. 

All this trucking and sales of sand and gravel is just “cranberry agriculture”?

AD Makepeace claims that all this sand mining  and Read’s trucking business is just “cranberry agriculture.” Watch here as the Makepeace CEO and President Jim Kane try to explain to the Carver Zoning Board of Appeals in September 2021 why after 20 years of mining at 46 Federal Road, Carver the cranberry bogs still are not built. 

Impacts of sand mining: air pollution from carcinogenic silica sand dust

The sand being mined and shipped from Read is a silica sand. It causes cancer. There are no state laws to protect the public from air pollution from this sand.

The Town of Carver and the state Department of Environmental Protection ignore the public’s written, formal complaints about the emissions of sand from silica mines in Carver and the surrounding area.

In 2021, CLWC filed complaints with Carver about Makepeace and Read exposing the public to silica sand emissions. They ignored the requests. See one of the complaints here: 2021 April Dust Complaint Carver Board of Health-AirPollution

Impacts of AD Makepeace Co. sand mining on Environmental Justice Communities

Read is located in the heart of an Environmental Justice community. The Environmental Justice Community is shown in green on the map below.

An environmental justice community is one that is marginalized and overburdened with environmental pollution according to the state. Governor Healey has an office of Environmental Justice and Equity. The office is:

committed to ensuring a fair and equitable distribution of all environmental and energy benefits and burdens. We work with all agencies under the Secretary to ensure every policy and program is designed with equity at the center, ensuring all voices are heard and all voices are shaping the solutions. We are working hard to ensure there is meaningful engagement in all processes, resulting in more equitable public policies.

The Governor and the Office have done nothing to protect the EJ community from Makepeace’s strip mining and trucking operations.
 

Impact of AD Makepeace sand mining on public and private drinking water

Makepeace’s sand and gravel mining harms the environment, including our drinking water. Read what the experts say here.

The sand and gravel that filter and protect underground drinking water wells are being removed. The Read trucking terminal is located over the Water Protection District in Carver, the Plymouth Carver Sole Source Aquifer, and near well protection zones for private and public wells. The trucking business has resulted in over 500,000 truckloads of sand and gravel being shipped off site. 

Drinking water wells threatened says expert hydrologist. In 2022, CLWC went to court to try to stop Makepeace’s sand mining. World recognized hydrologist Scott W. Horsley testified that the mining operations at and around Read threaten drinking water. Figure 2 below is from Horsley’s court testimony. “Site 1” is the location of Read. “Site 2” is the 120 acre mining operation next to Cranberry Village. Read more here. 

State subsidizes “cranberry companies” making millions from sand mining

According to the company’s CEO Jim Kane, Makepeace Cranberry Co. cannot survive without revenues from sand and gravel mining and sales. Kane states that Makepeace employs 60 independent trucking companies to transport sand and gravel to at least 10 asphalt and concrete manufacturers across New England, as well as other industrial and commercial customers, and some cranberry bogs. See Kane’s affidavit here:  Affidavit of J. Kane

Below: MDAR website explains how taxpayer funds are used to subsidize companies like AD Makepeace whose primary source of revenue is sand mining.

Find statistics on the cranberry industry here. Since the early 2000s, Makepeace has earned its revenue primarily from sand mining rather than cranberry agriculture. They established Read Custom Soils on Federal Road in Carver to sell, ship, and distribute sand and gravel. Read is known as the largest supplier of sand and gravel in the Northeastern United States.

Listen to Kane’s plans for stripping land to put in solar here.

Other “cranberry” companies have also collected subsidies for sand and gravel mining. Read more about how North Weston Cranberry Co. in Carver MA collected state grants for a sand mining site. 

Gov. Healey, local officials refuse to protect public and environment from sand mining

Local government corruption

CLWC’s campaign against sand mining targets local and state officials. It demands that they protect the environment from Makepeace’s sand mining activities. However, these officials refuse to do their job; they side with Makepeace and corrupt Carver officials, allowing sand mining to continue.

Read more about “Cranberry Country Corruption” in Southeastern Massachusetts and what some call the “sand mafia” here. Town officials give out permits for sand mining under false pretenses and in violation of the law. The state Inspector General is investigating corruption and sand mining in Southeastern Massachusetts. Read more in the Sand Wars Report.

State allows sand mining to evade environmental review

State agencies cover up for the sand mining industry and turn a blind eye to the environmental and public health impacts of these mines. The state has never required a full environmental impact study of the impact of Makepeace’s strip mining and trucking operations.

For example, in 2012 and in 2022, Makepeace’s development of its lands had to go through an environmental review. The state rubber stamped Read as an “agricultural project”. It never reviewed the environmental impacts of the sand mining operation. All reports are available upon request: environmentmentwatchsoutheasternma@gmail.com

The 2012 and 2022 environmental reviews were related to Read’s location in the “Tihonet Mixed Use Development” area on Makepeace’s vast land holdings. Find out more about Makepeace’s “TMUD” development here.

Above: In its 2012 environmental notice to the state Makepeace and Beals+Thomas stated the “Project Type” for Read Custom Soils operation on Federal Road was “Agricultural.” Does this look like an agricultural operation?

Makepeace reported to the state that Read would be located at 46 Federal Road in Carver to have easy access to the sand deposits to the east in Plymouth. This is the Plymouth – Frogfoot strip mine where Makepeace plans to extract 7 million cubic yards of sand and gravel. Falsely portraying the Plymouth mining operation as “agriculture” Makepeace calls the Plymouth strip mine the “Farm of the Future”. 

Even though Makepeace and Beals + Thomas always claim the strip mine projects are “agriculture” not one of the sand and gravel sales projects Read brags about on its website is “agricultural”. Instead there are golf courses, athletic fields, and urban roads. The “soil blending” operation is not for cranberry bogs as Makepeace misrepresented to MEPA. 

In its 2022 MEPA filing (FEIR) Makepeace’s consultant Beals+Thomas admitted the Read “manufacturing” facility does not exist:

“The soil blending facility was originally proposed to include an office and work space building and associated parking, a covered bin and pallet storage area with an adjacent concrete mixing pad area, a finished material storage building and associated covered areas for blending and storage, a dry-sand storage structure and associated concrete pad for drying sand and a scale. Although the soil blending facility is currently operational, the previously proposed full build-out, which included several buildings totaling 34,450 sf, as well as a 67,140 sf open canopy roof system, has not been undertaken.” MEPA report Page 1-13.  

 
In 2022, Makepeace defended its “agriculture” narrative by claiming that its aggregate mining was a natural extension of cranberry growing. Learn more about the state’s decision not to mandate an environmental impact statement for sand mining here.

 

Read more about the Citizen Suit and the story behind Makepeace’s sand mining here.

 

Hydrology, Drinking Water and the Plymouth Carver Aquifer

  • Southeastern Massachusetts drinking water comes from an underground aquifer

  • Rivers, streams and wetlands in this low lying area are connected to the aquifer

  • Sand mining and other land use changes are harming our drinking water, wetlands and wildlife that depends on these natural resources

 

How Our Aquifer Works

An aquifer is an underground body of water. It is recharged by precipitation – rain, melting snow – that falls on the land. CLWC’s 2021 webinar about the aquifer in Southeastern Massachusetts featuring UMass geohydrologist David Boutt is on You Tube here.  You Tube at minute 39:37.

In most locations in Southeastern Massachusetts, the aquifer lays close to the surface of the land. It forms kettle holes or depressions where it intersects the surface of the land. These form coastal plain ponds and wetlands. 

Today, over 150,000 people in Plymouth, Carver, Plympton, Bourne, Sandwich, Wareham, Kingston, Middleboro, Halifax, and even Brockton rely on the Aquifer for water. Water from the Aquifer is diverted from Silver Lake in Kingston to Brockton and discharged to the Taunton River watershed.

Below: The aquifer is recharged by precipitation. The trees, vegetation and sand and gravel filter and protect the underground aquifer.

 

Federal “Sole Source Aquifer” Designation for Plymouth-Carver, 1990

In 1990, local residents and groups petitioned the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate the Plymouth Carver Sole Source Aquifer as “sole source” under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. They succeeded!  EPA ruled the aquifer is “very susceptible to contamination due to aquifer characteristics such as high groundwater and high permeability of soils”.

The Plymouth Carver Sole Source Aquifer is 199 square miles. It lies under 92.9% of Carver and 99.3 % of Plymouth.

The Plymouth Carver Sole Source Aquifer is the second largest aquifer in Massachusetts. It covers about 200 miles.

Read the Aquifer designation here.

Towns Issue Aquifer Action Plan, 2007

All aquifer  towns participated in studying the Aquifer and issued a report in 2007. Find their Plan here.  Towns agreed that “protection of this natural resource is ours to share as a resource we all depend on in our day to day lives.”

The report noted that cranberry operations are large water users. Water is the single most important resource in growing cranberries, according to the Plan:

“Cranberry growers use a large fraction of the water extracted from the Plymouth-Carver Aquifer, as well as create and manage a large percentage of surface water that contributes recharge to the Aquifer.”

Most of the recommendations in the plan have been ignored and never implemented. One specific recommendation concerns sand and gravel mining and measures to protect the aquifer by keeping sand mining above, not in, the aquifer.

“Massachusetts Sand and Gravel Operation Guidelines: Vegetation and the upper soil horizons provide a pollution buffer for shallow groundwater. Improperly managed sand and gravel operations may reduce this protection and introduce hazardous materials and other toxins directly to groundwater. Massachusetts has developed guidelines for managing sand and gravel operations. The Massachusetts Clean Water Toolkit – NPS Management Manual provides guidance on this and many other subjects regarding nonpoint source pollution. (See http:/ /www.mass.gov/dep/water/resources/nonpoint.htm#megaman).”

World-renowned hydrologist reports on the Plymouth Carver Sole Source Aquifer

Scott Horsley, a world recognized hydrologist and Harvard University instructor is providing expert assistance to CLWC as it advocates to protect the aquifer.

Plymouth Airport to study Sole Source Aquifer, drinking water wells says EPA

On January 8, 2024, the U.S. EPA directed the Plymouth Airport Commissioners to redo their environmental study to address potential damage to public and private drinking water wells and the Aquifer. Read the letter here.

State EEA tells Plymouth to study aquifer before expanding wastewater plant, 2023

On December 22, 2023, the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) ruled that Plymouth’s environmental study for the expansion of the Camelot Park Wastewater Treatment Plant did not adequately study impacts to drinking water wells. See the states ruling in the MEPA Certificate here. Search for “Aquifer” in the document.

State EEA tells Makepeace to study aquifer, 2024

On March 8, 2024, EEA flagged concerns about AD Makepeace Cranberry Co.’s developments, largely industrial scale solar, in Plymouth, Carver and Wareham on the Aquifer and other Damage to the Environment. The MEPA Certificate describes concerns about the role of forests in maintaining water quality, protecting streams, and preventing erosion (page 10). Read the Certificate here.

Experts say sand mine will negatively impact Kingston wells, 2024

In 2024, faced with a massive sand mining proposal by Plympton Sand & Grave, the Kingston Water Commissioners hired ReslienceCE to evaluate potential impacts on the Town’s drinking water wells. The expert concluded the mine will “negatively impact” the town’s drinking water wells/ Read the Water Commissioners’ letter and the ResilienceCE report here:

On March 12, 2024, Kingston’s Select Board denied the sand mining permit. Read more here.

Expert says sand mining for “cranberry reservoir” in Carver threatens water quality

Link here to James’ testimony that sand mining operation in the Plymouth Carver Aquifer on Meadow Street in Carver threatens private and public drinking water wells, surface water including risk of cyanobacteria contamination. (July 2023)

 

 

Wareham: AD Makepeace proposes to strip another 54 acres of Pine Barrens forest for industrial solar and battery storage

Partial Victory! 3/8/2024: State requires environmental impact report after over 120 comment letters were sent – but the state still ignores the Damage to the Environment from SAND MINING!

March 8, 2024: The Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs issues the MEPA Certificate on the North Wareham Solar project. The destructive solar project is proposed by AD Makepeace Cranberry Co. and its former executives who spun off “Renewable Energy Development Partners” (REDP) to build solar.

The Certificate is below. Comment letters are attached to it. This includes strong comments from the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe of Plymouth/Pautuxet about the impact of solar on its sovereign lands.

2024.03.08_16792-MEPA-Cert-ENF-North-Wareham-Solar-WAREHAM-final-1Download

The Certificate is a partial victory for the grassroots and the planet because it requires an environmental impact report that takes a “holitistic” look at Makepeace’s past and future solar projects – about 15 of them in this area. BUT the state ignores the Elephant in the Room: SAND MINING! Why? Is it because AD Makepeace Cranberry Co. and its affiliates were the largest contributors to Governor Maura Healey’s inaugural party in 2022 according to the Boston Globe? Sign the petition to the Governor for a Moratorium on Sand Mining and demand accountability!

Don’t be fooled by cranberries – Makepeace’s CEO and President admits the cranberry company can’t survive without the profits from its industrial scale sand mining operations. Read his court testimony below where he says Makepeace would suffer a substantial hardship if it had to stop sand mining.

Affidavit-of-J.-KaneDownload

The Certificate does not require Makepeace to study the Damage to the Environment from Makepeace’s decades of massive sand mining operations in the area — from Makepeace’s Read Custom Soils operation at 46 Federal Road in Carver all the way to the Frogfoot mine in Plymouth and the Charlotte Furnace Road and Farm to Market Road mines in Wareham. The next step in the MEPA process is for Makepeace and REDP to do a draft environmental impact report which will then be put out for public comment.

January 31, 2024 Makepeace MEPA Environmental Notification Form filed

Beals and Thomas, on behalf of AD Makepeace, files an Environmental Notification Form with MEPA. A MEPA ENF was required because Makepeace will obliterate over 54 acres of forest meeting a MEPA threshold. Makepeace has already been commercially logging the land.

Makepeace’s Environmental Notification Form is here.

Background:

This project is part of a string of solar projects that Beals and Thomas, along with landowner AD Makepeace, are proposing along Tihonet Road in Wareham. All told, if all of the projects go through, Wareham will lose another 230 acres of forest to solar development.

Global Biodiversity Threatened

Makepeace’s proposed solar projects lie at the heart of the Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens forest, home to 40 natural communities and over 200 state-listed rare, threatened and endangered species. The company has already destroyed Priority Habitat for listed species with the blessing of the state Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program that gave permits to “take” or kill the species. In states like New Jersey, the Pine Barrens are federally protected, but in Massachusetts has not taken the initiative.

Image courtesy of Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance

The Pine Barrens in Massachusetts are threatened by industrial sand mining, reckless development projects and ground mounted solar. This unique ecosystem is being obliterated while the state stands by. Southeastern Massachusetts is targeted for industrial solar and energy projects because of relatively inexpensive land. Local zoning controls are undermined by the “Dover Amendment” for solar that is used by corporations to threaten municipalities with lawsuits if they don’t approve their projects. Support the legislation to eliminate the Dover Amendment for large solar here.

Concentrations of Solar Development in Massachusetts by size. Image courtesy of Mass Audubon.

Numerous studies confirm that Massachusetts can meet its goals for more solar energy by siting projects on the built and disturbed environment. We do not need to lose our globally rare ecosystems to meet our green energy needs. Read more in the 2023 Mass Audubon and Harvard Forest report, Growing Solar, Protecting Nature.

Community Land and Water Coalition

P.O. Box 1699, Plymouth, MA 02362
Email
Phone: 508-259-9154

Please consider making a donation to help strengthen our impact!

DONATE

You can sign our Sand Mining Petition to Governor Healy and town Selectboards here

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