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Late in 2022, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) issued draft amendments to the Title 5 regulations. These are the rules that govern siting, construction, upgrade and expansion of septic systems in MA. The changes are intended to better protect estuaries and embayments from nitrogen pollution, particularly on Cape Cod and potentially on the Islands and South Coast.
The Westport River Watershed Alliance (WRWA) has been studying the proposed new regulations carefully, working with the Town and participating in the review process. We want to let you know what we’ve learned and what we are doing.
First, WRWA applauds MassDEP for its effort to address nitrogen pollution from septics on the Cape and in other “Nitrogen Sensitive Areas” (NSAs). This is critical on the Cape where algae problems seriously impair many bodies of water. See the NY Times “A Toxic Stew on Cape Cod: Human Waste and Warming Water." Beyond the Cape, it is critical to reduce nitrogen levels in ponds, rivers and coastal waters where levels are higher than what’s acceptable for clean, healthy waters.
The Title 5 regulations pertain to septic systems. That is an area of MassDEP’s regulatory authority. The draft rules offer two options for meeting the nitrogen reduction goals.
Option 1 requires all property owners in the designated NSAs to upgrade their septic systems (at a cost of $10,000-20,000 each) within a five-year period to incorporate the “best available nitrogen reducing technology.” We believe Option 1 is totally infeasible for Westport. It would be excessively costly to property owners, impossible for the Board of Health to administer, and impractical given limited availability of installers and the technology. We also have concerns about the vagueness of the language in the draft regulations regarding “best available nitrogen-reducing technology.” We are seeking clarification on this requirement.
Option 2 allows a town or towns to apply to MassDEP for a “Watershed Permit.” The Permit would provide a 20-year time frame to create and implement an alternative plan to reduce nitrogen levels. The plan would have to result in the same nitrogen reduction that would have resulted under Option 1. Option 2 clearly allows for a more flexible and diverse set of actions to occur over a more manageable time period.
If adopted, the new regulations will immediately go into effect on Cape Cod. The Cape is MassDEP’s #1 concern. Other areas where nitrogen levels exceed MassDEP requirements may be designated Nitrogen Sensitive Areas at some point in the future and subject to the proposed regulations. Westport will likely be among those considered.
The Town of Westport and WRWA have worked hard in recent decades to reduce nitrogen loads in both branches of the Westport River. In the West Branch, the targeted threshold nitrogen concentrations determined by the standards in Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) have already been met, and in the East Branch they are very close to being met. We have urged MassDEP to incorporate an exemption procedure to allow flexibility for communities that are meeting the EPA requirements. MassDEP will require communities that choose Option 2 to achieve results as if all septic systems had been upgraded. We are asking MassDEP to allow flexibility and take Westport’s progress and current initiatives into account.
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