Even though there was still no word from the Environmental Protection Agency since the Town responded to the EPA’s draft NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit, anticipated engineering costs estimated at around $450,000 topped the priority list for the Capital Improvement Planning Committee’s fiscal year 2016 report presented to the Marion Board of Selectmen on March 3 by CIPC member Norman Hills.
Hills said the initial funding for wastewater treatment plant engineering and support was the “big ticket item” that pushed several other projects further down the priority list as it faces a possible response from the EPA upholding the NPDES draft it offered. That draft would prohibit the use of the Town’s three unlined wastewater lagoons that are vital to the wastewater treatment plant. Costs for subsequent upgrades to the wastewater treatment facility could exceed $20 million.
A new fire pumper made the priority list on the CIPC report as well, estimated at $540,000, but attention remained focused on the NPDES permit. Selectman Stephen Cushing called the NPDES matter “the big unknown.”
“Be still my heart,” said Chairman Jonathan Henry about his first reaction to the report. “Every time you see a big number, it’s like a dash of cold water.”
Town Administrator Paul Dawson said he continues to work closely with the engineers from CDM Smith, the consulting engineering firm for the Town. Meanwhile, Dawson said, tentative NPDES costs will continue to drive the budget, although costs are still unknown.
“We honestly don’t know and we won’t know until the EPA responds back,” said Dawson. “Obviously, the details of the final draft permit will dictate the measure and the level of work that will need to be done.”
Dawson said the premise for the Town’s response to the drastic measures mandated in the new NPDES permit is the questioning of the scientific validity of the data the EPA used to determine maximum levels of nitrogen and other pollutants, as well as the extent of the pollution the lagoons have made on Aucoot Cove and Sippican Harbor.
Dawson also reiterated that the draft NPDES permit gave the Town no options for seeking alternative solutions to pollutant levels; however, CDM Smith consultants advised selectmen last month some viable alternative solutions do exist.
Dawson said he hopes the EPA response will grant the Town more time to seek out other options, saying the EPA has no time restraints for issuing the permit.
“Our best estimate is $450,000 in capital improvement planning,” said Dawson, “and that might just be the tip of the iceberg.” He continued, “They could issue [the permit] tomorrow, or they could issue it three years from now.”
Dawson said the Town owes it to the ratepayers to find a fair and equitable solution to the NPDES conundrum.
“We don’t want to create the appearance that we’re stumbling along waiting for something to happen,” said Henry, who soon after was appointed as the board’s representative during talks with CDM Smith engineers.
Meanwhile, selectmen received a copy of a letter dated February 26 that Senior Attorney for the Buzzards Bay Coalition Korrin Peterson sent to Brian Pitt of the EPA. The letter urges the EPA to issue the Town of Marion the NPDES permit with a special condition requiring the facility to remediate pollution discharged from the lagoons. The letter also claims there are likely on-going violations at the wastewater treatment facility that violate the Town’s current NPDES permit.
The letter asserts, “…[E]ffluent from the lagoons was infiltrating into the underlying groundwater and the nitrogen from the effluent is flowing towards Marion’s impaired coastal waters…. [T]his evidence justifies the need for a permit condition requiring the town take immediate action to remediate this source of pollution.”
It further states that the lagoons, in their current state, are in violation of current NPDES permit conditions as well as state regulation, and maintaining the lagoons “in a state where they continue to leach into the environment should not be considered proper operation and maintenance.” The letter lists several alleged NPDES permit violations and on-going violations of state regulations.
Selectmen also received a copy of another letter from BBC Attorney Peterson dated February 6 to the EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection saying the BBC fully endorses the draft NPDES, and included specific comments on points in the draft permit.
“The unlined lagoons are a clear source of pollution,” the letter reads. It further states, “…[T]here is no liner or leachate collection system and all evidence demonstrates that the wastewater and sewage sludge are contaminating the groundwater. Marion has offered no evidence to the contrary.”
Also during the meeting, the board approved minor changes that Marion Police Chief Lincoln Miller made to Police Department Rules & Regulations, and took several matters under advisement after brief discussions.
The board will consider the proposed job description of the Music Hall coordinator as well as a draft of financial policies.
The board voted to allow Dawson to draft a Town Meeting article pertaining to the Community Electricity Aggregation Program endorsed by SRPEDD, which would allow residents to opt into a community agreement to purchase electricity at more competitive rates. Town Meeting would have to approve the program, which Dawson said would give residents more purchasing power and “strength in numbers.” Residents would not be obligated to participate and participants could opt out at any time.
A next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen has not yet been scheduled.
By Jean Perry
