Eastham has not made it easy for residents to vote without reservation for the financing of its Targeted Watershed Management Plan (TWMP). The $170-million cost of the project is an issue, but it is not the only one. To be fair, wastewater is a large-scale problem, and there are no simple or easy solutions. That said, despite years of planning and three information outreach meetings, several questions remain.
No reasonable person is against responsible wastewater management. Allowing stormwater to travel freely into our watersheds while we dump wastewater loaded with nitrogen and so-called forever chemicals into the ground is environmental negligence of the first order. In response to a 2014 court settlement that requires the reduction of nitrogen flow into marshes, ponds, and Cape Cod Bay, Eastham must clean up its act.
As long as the town demonstrates a good-faith effort to begin to address the nitrogen problem, the state is willing to set a relatively low-bar first-step compliance threshold. Specifically, Eastham must address the nitrogen loading of Salt Pond, Nauset Marsh, Rock Harbor, and Boat Meadow. In response, the town has developed a two-phase TWMP that focuses on the Nauset estuary and portions of both North and South Eastham. To meet nitrogen reduction requirements, the plan includes a centralized wastewater collection and treatment facility.
Eastham’s TWMP has been approved by the state. Now, residents are asked to approve the financing of the project on June 23 and to exempt the project from the provisions of Proposition 2½ on June 24.
Full implementation of Phases 1 and 2 is estimated at 20 years, and implementation of future phases may not begin for 30 years. The town’s “adaptive management” approach leaves many issues unresolved — foremost among them, what would a Phase 3 entail?
In the special town meeting and election warrant, the TWMP is called “the most effective and equitable solution” funded by “a community-wide centralized approach.” In short, every town property will be taxed, while 20 percent of Eastham’s properties will be required to connect to the sewer. Let me state the obvious: everyone in Eastham who flushes a toilet contributes to the nitrogen loading of our groundwater, so the “community” plan as it is now structured merits examination.
The town readily acknowledges that those outside the required connection zone will be “alleviated” from having to upgrade from Title 5 septic systems to a more expensive innovative alternative (I/A) system.
What is not explicitly acknowledged is that, while most residents are “alleviated” from having to do anything other than pay taxes, a small percentage will be burdened with the design and connection costs for hooking up to the sewer system (estimated at $8,000 to $16,000) and dealing with the complexities of Mass. tax law regarding septic tax credits, the challenge of seeking low-interest loans if needed, and the yearly cost of sewage fees, as well as the increased property taxes, estimated at $1,000 for the average property owner.
Those in the required hookup zone confront another issue. Many people are unhappy with the location of the sewer plant next to the transfer station and have raised concerns about traffic, noise, odors, and the appearance of the plant. The town has attempted to address each concern, but many remain dissatisfied with the location.
Some wonder if the town boxed itself in by drilling three wells in locations potentially suitable for a wastewater treatment facility and if the DPW site has been the default location from the start.
The proposed sewer system’s limited capacity means that the 80 percent of properties not in the hook-up zone will not be able to connect to the system in the future. Some have raised questions about the fairness of having to pay taxes for a facility they cannot use.
Another concern is that many, regardless of where they live, are not in favor of further commercial growth and question whether the TWMP has been designed to facilitate the development of the T-Time property as much as to clean up Salt Pond.
In Orleans’s more inclusive and more equitable wastewater plan, approximately 60 percent of the town is to be connected to the sewer in 16 phases that will continue through 2067. The Orleans approach also includes a sewer grant program offering $7,500 to help property owners finance septic system abandonment and sewer hookups.
Complicating matters, the state has offered generous financial incentives (low-interest loans, loan forgiveness, and potential subsidies) to help fund the sewer project, but it has also set a deadline of July 1. Because the debt-service savings are significant, town administrators have chosen to fast-track the TWMP, leaving several issues unresolved.
Three things stand out: all Eastham residents contribute to the contamination of our waterways, wastewater management is a complicated problem that defies simple solutions, and restoring the Nauset estuary to the pristine condition of days past is an environmentally worthy endeavor.
Do we vote “yes” for an imperfect plan and cross our fingers in regard to the future, or vote “no” and ask for a revised plan that is more equitable and looks further ahead? I will be listening one more time to town administrators and my fellow citizens before casting my vote.
Regardless of how we end up voting, all of us need to think about ways to share the burden of protecting the environment we all profess to cherish.
