Helping to Protect Our Quality of Life on Cape Cod
WATER is the most precious natural resource we have
We have a great responsibility living above an aquifer!
What products you purchase for inside or outside of your home matters.
Everything that goes down your sinks, toilets, and laundry leaches though The Cape's sandy soil,
it is said, a foot a day on average. Make wise choices!
March 4, 2026 Hearing
at the Massachusetts State House
Would you like to help Cape Cod towns
REDUCE
Pesticides & Fertilizer use in 2025?
Help support important bills! Each email letter counts!
Show your much needed support by writing The Committee by November 10, 2025 @ 5pm.
The Joint committee of Environment and Natural Resource
JointCommittee.Environment@malegislature.gov.
The Joint Committee of Environment and Natural Resources at The Massachusetts State house
Is open to written testimony for #30 important Bills: pollinator protection, rodenticide ban, pesticides, mosquito controls. Emails don't have to be long to count but please give a strong reason to The Joint Committee by backing up your reason with a link to a science study or graph with the creator’s name, to show a strong message. Thank you. Click on the link below for bills:
https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/5442
Please support these #2 Pesticides Bills because they are written stronger than other bills. They are for all pesticides, not just one type, like rodenticides or neonics or mosquito controls. The below two bills include all outdoor pesticide use: herbicides, rodenticides, fungicides, insecticides. Please ask The Committee to move them forward:
#H. 995 – Orleans Pesticide Reduction Home Rule Petition
#H. 4191 – Wellfleet Pesticide Reduction Home Rule Petition
The language in them is: you can use any pesticide inside your own home, on yourself, your kids and pets – but no pesticide use outside, because they travel in the air, water and soil. The problem with pesticides is they travel. And unfortunately, they are killing the natural predators of the ‘pests’ themselves. For example, we spray for mosquito control, which then kills bats, the creatures actually keeping them in check. This also kills the native pollinators we need in order to survive. Another example: we put out poison in traps for mice and the owl dies when eating the mouse, then the owl family dies. One owl eats over 3,000 mice yearly. Again, we are killing what kills the ‘pest’ naturally. These unintended consequences need to stop. Your testimony really counts! You are allowed to support #8 different bills before November 10th, 2025. Please write an email today and share this with your circles. Collectively we will make a difference!
A simple example testimony sent by email:
NOTE: In your email, put the Bill number in the ‘subject’ line, for example:
“Support Bill #H.995 and #H.4191”
Dear Joint Committee of Environment and Natural Resources:
My name is_________. I live in (what town)_____. I support Bill’s #H.995 and #H.4191 would you as well? Cape Cod towns want to reduce pesticide use, please allow them to. (add your reasons - to protect water, oysters, people, etc, add a link to a science study, add a graph if you can. We live above an aquifer; the health of our land, resources, longevity, etc), is up to you, The Committee to take this step. The depth to our drinking water is 25 feet below us on average and we have sandy, silt as soil. These #2 Bills allows towns to do more to help protect our greatest natural resources here. Thank you for your time and support on these very important matters. We need your help now. Please move them forward “favorably” out of Committee. Thank you.
Sincerely, (your name and address)____________________ Date ___________
Any questions? Contact Laura Kelley poccacapecod@gmail.com ~ thank you for caring!
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How it started,
Orleans citizens voted and passed the Fertilizer REDUCTION Home Rule Petition (HRP) 2022. Then in 2023, Orleans citizens passed the Pesticide REDUCTION HRP. Soon after, Eastham resident, Laura Kelley, brought the same language to Eastham and Wellfleet both in the Spring of 2024, and they both passed the Pesticide reduction HRP!
That means, so far three Cape Cod towns want the opportunity to reduce pesticides in their town! This is history changing!
Would you like to help?
Copy and paste the same language below and email it to your town Select Board members requesting these petitions be on your Town Meeting Warrant for town citizens to have the opportunity to vote and decide for themselves what is best for your town - let the voters decide and allow this language on your town meeting Warrant today.
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1 - Pesticide Reduction Home Rule Petition
https://www.town.orleans.ma.us/1404/Home-Rule-Petition-Article
2 - Fertilizer Reduction Home Rule Petition
https://www.town.orleans.ma.us/1120/Home-Rule-Petition-Warrant-Article
For more information, please visit the link below and learn more:
https://www.town.orleans.ma.us/1129/Letters-of-Support
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All 15 Assembly of Delegate members
voted 100% in favor for these petitions to move forward. That means the person who your town chose to represent your town for Barnstable County level matters has agreed this language is good. See their words:
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For questions, if you want to get involved in your town, please reach out to Laura Kelley at: poccacapecod@gmail.com
Thank you again for caring to do all you can to help reduce pesticide and fertilizer use in your town today!
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ALL INFORMATION is on Orleans Town website,
please click on "Explore" below:
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In January 2025, Orleans refiled their home rule petitions
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Please read them on the Mass. State House website:
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Fertilizer Reduction home rule petition:
https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/HD1573
Pesticide Reduction home rule petition:
https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/HD1574
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Another great way you can help, please sign the petition below.
This is very important because it shows power in numbers and will go to our Governor Healey.
No matter what town you live in you can sign it, thank you very much:
https://www.change.org/p/protect-our-environment-reduce-pesticide-use-in-orleans-ma
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Please share this with all your circles of friends!
This is the opportunity we've been waiting for. It is "GO" time - it is up to us now.
You don't have to be a resident of Eastham or Truro to submit testimony for any particular town or bill. You can submit testimony for up to 8 bills at one time, so please support both Eastham and Truro, thank you. You have 2 minutes to give the biggest argument why you support a bill. This is an opportunity to educate the board members why it should become law. They seek our involvement.
It is the time to prove power in numbers can move these bills out of committee to the next board - in order for it to be signed by Governor Healey within 2 years.
Here are the bills written from the Massachusetts state house website:
Truro - passed almost unanimously in May 2025 by town meeting vote!
https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4700
Eastham - passed 75% in favor in May 2024 by town meeting vote:
https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5076
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Just wanted to quickly highlight that the Eastham and Truro Pesticide reduction home rule petitions will be heard at the March 4th Environment and Natural Resources committee hearing. Full details for the hearing and testimony are below. They accept two (2) minute testimonies. Zoom in on March 4th for the best way to communicate to this board. Please support both Eastham and Truro's bills at the same time. Thank you ~
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
Hearing Room 222
The Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources will hold a hybrid public hearing to solicit written and oral testimony in-person and remotely on the following bills:
Docket/Bill No. #H.5076
An Act relative to reducing the use of toxic pesticides in the town of Eastham
Luddy, Hadley (HOU)
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#H.4700
An Act authorizing the town of Truro to regulate the use of pesticides
Luddy, Hadley (HOU)
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Please be advised that the schedule and agenda are subject to change at the agreement of the Chairs. All matters filed in the House that are listed above are required to be reported on by May 3, 2026, subject to extensions consistent with House Rule 27.
The public is invited to participate in this hybrid hearing, which will be livestreamed on the General Court website,https://malegislature.gov/. Hearings will be recorded and posted publicly on the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources’ page https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Detail/J21/Hearings. At the discretion of the Chairs and per committee rules, written testimony received by the committee will be made publicly available. The committee may limit availability or redact testimony that includes sensitive personal information, information about minors, or information that may jeopardize the health, wellness or safety of the testifier or others.
Written testimony can be submitted via email at jointcommittee.environment@malegislature.gov or physically mailed to the House Chair:
Chair Christine Barber
Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
ATTN: Jacob Newman
24 Beacon St. Room 167
Boston, MA 02133
In-person oral and remote testimony sign-up is available via this form until 10:00AM on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Email Jacob Newman at Jacob.Newman@mahouse.gov with any questions or concerns. Please note that oral testimony will be limited to 2 minutes per registrant. Written testimony should be submitted not later than two (2) weeks following the hearing date.
For in-person and remote testimony please include:
1. Name;
2. Organization you represent;
3. Whether on behalf of yourself or an organization;
4. Mailing address;
5. Email address;
6. Telephone number;
7. In-person or remote testimony;
8. Bills testifying on;
9. Whether support or oppose.
For those testifying remotely, you will receive a Microsoft Teams link with more information prior to the start of the hearing.
This hearing will be chaired by House Chair Christine Barber. If you have any questions regarding the hearing, legislation, format of the hearing or reasonable accommodations required to ensure people with disabilities can participate fully in the committee process, please email: Jacob Newman with Chair Barber, at Jacob.Newman@mahouse.gov and Clayton Spivey with Chair Rausch, at Clayton.Spivey@masenate.gov. House Chair Barber’s office can be reached via telephone: (617) 722-2230.
Representative Hadley Luddy
4th Barnstable District
State House Room 448
24 Beacon Street
Boston MA 02133
(617) 722-2582 x8675
Website & Newsletter Signup: https://www.hadleyluddy.com/email-signup
Our Mission
POCCA's mission is to educate residents, businesses and public agencies of Cape Cod how to keep our drinking water safe by eliminating the use of hazardous chemicals in our environment. We believe education is the key to the longevity of drinkable water. With a few simple shifts in our own daily routines, it will make all the difference!
We are fortunate our drinkable water is below us because it doesn't travel very far
but with that comes a greater responsibility of protection.
Will you join the mission to help protect water here?
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Every day the choices you make matter, what you purchase, where you purchase and how much you use. If each of us would do 3 things every day, collectively we would make huge change: purchase foods and essentials at local farmers markets, this supports our next generations here, don't purchase anything toxic, we live above where we drink (shampoo, soaps, detergents, pesticides), and lastly recycle 100% or it will end up in an ocean. See our products page for more detailed information ~
President, Laura Kelley receives Cape and Islands Democratic Award on April 27, 2019, her speech:
Pruning Party with GOATS on Power Lines in Harwich
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~ IT'S OUR WATER AFTER ALL ~
Please join the mission by lessening the amount of products
you purchase and use above our aquifer ~ Thank you!
This map below shows the depth to our drinkable water.
Cape Cod has 6 lenses, 5 are drinkable. The pink lines show where the ROW power lines are throughout Cape Cod, this is where Eversource uses herbicides to maintain vegetation over growth. There are other ways to protect electric wires that are cost effective and less toxic to our natural resources and thus, us. 17 Cape and MV towns have asked they don't use herbicides on our land.
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~ Our Programs ~
The POCCA team educates about this important issue that affects us all: To prevent EVERSOURCE Energy from spraying herbicides along Rights-of-Way power lines on Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard to keep vegetation from harming electricity but there are better ways. Watch this video, it shows what they are doing on our land despite 17 towns writing documents against it from occurring again.
POCCA team members love to come and present pertinent information about our water supply and environmental issues to your group. We offer meetings with informative speakers to discuss emerging contaminants and the hydrology of our aquifer to explain what’s going on below the surface and how important it is to us.
Learn how to lessen your impact on our aquifer by changing your every day habits! Visit the 'how you can help' page to see examples that are cost effective and simple solutions that will make a big difference in nature.
Thank you for your kind donation
