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.