The September 3 Marion Board of Health meeting left off where the August meeting began – Chair Albin Johnson contending with fellow board members and with two residents and calling septic denitrification systems an “overkill.” Johnson is adamant that more studies should be done to determine whether they are needed in Marion.
A resident and Select Board member, Norm Hills, wrote a letter about the issue and debated the merits of these systems with Johnson at the Police Station meeting room.
Johnson repeated what he said at the August 7 meeting, asserting that there is no data in Marion supporting the theory that the state-required Title V septic systems are allowing nitrogen to pollute town waterways and the harbor.
Johnson and his opponents on the issue agreed that nitrogen has no impact on potable drinking water, but it does create algae in waterways, polluting them and building up algae.
Johnson argued that nature breaks down algae and other pollutants from septic systems and that, while some communities on Cape Cod have a need for denitrification systems, there is no direct data proving that Marion has that same need.
Residents and officials at the meeting said that data across the state and in other states confirms that nitrogen pollution is connected to septic systems. Proponents of the system mentioned that 11 areas in Marion were studied for connection to the town sewer line but five areas, due to distance and costs, were not candidates.
“Were any studies done of the amount of groundwater pollution in those five areas?” Johnson asked.
Board of Health Vice Chairman Dr. Ed Hoffer said that a 2023 approved wastewater comprehensive management report indicated that the town should consider a code, now approved, that orders new homeowners, not eligible for the sewer line, to install a septic system with denitrification technology.
Johnson continued to contend that the denitrification system is actually a private wastewater plant that private homeowners must own and manage when there is no data in town to support the theory that Title V systems are insufficient to protect town waters.
At the August meeting, Hoffer had expressed interest in exploring a study for Marion, but that idea appeared to lose momentum at the September 3 meeting.
“We are not inclined to make any changes at this point. We are in line with the town’s comprehensive water management plan. We are aligned with what a number of other coastal communities are doing. And I see no compelling reason to change that,” Hoffer said.
In other Board of Health news, it was reported that town beaches are clean of bacteria and contaminants, and there will be a flu and COVID-19 clinic offered by the Health Department later this month.
The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health is scheduled for Thursday, September 18 at 4:30 pm in the Marion Police Department conference room.
Marion Board of Health
By Jeffrey D. Wagner