Clean water management plans move forward in Mashpee, future phases still to be determined

MASHPEE — The town of Mashpee has done a "great deal of work" on protecting its waters, state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Martin Suuberg said at a recent Select Board meeting.

"We hope and believe we can talk about regulatory efforts but also funding efforts the Baker-Polito administration has proposed to help communities address water quality issues," Suuberg said at the July 11 meeting.

There has been progress across the Cape in wastewater mitigation, he said.

He has also followed Mashpee's progress to implement the first phase of the town's Watershed Nitrogen Management Plan.

But, Suuberg said, the Cape's effort to address wastewater and nutrient contamination has been inconsistent. Ultimately, he said, it is the state's responsibility to ensure water quality standards are met.

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Two regulatory changes are coming in the fall, he said.

"The regulatory approaches we plan to publish will provide the community choices on how to address pollutions affecting our waters," Suuberg said.

The types of watershed plans the Cape community has historically created and modeled will transition into what the state Department of Environmental Protection is calling a "watershed plan concept," said Ray Jack, interim engineer and project coordinator for the town. In the state's eyes, Jack said, communities on the Cape haven’t moved fast enough to clean up embayments through their various plans.

Two new state regulatory changes coming, says state official

As new state regulations unfold, towns will be able to either apply for and receive a watershed permit from the state, which will include a 20-year planning horizon. That option would allow towns to phase in their approach to wastewater initiatives, he said.

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The alternative will be to replace every septic system in Mashpee with a new system. Logic indicates, said Jack, that the watershed plan would be the most responsible option.

"It's very similar to where we are now, with the caveat that it will be limited to 20 years," Jack said over the phone, referring to the town of Mashpee.

Once regulations are published, Jack said the town will need to consider where they want to go.

"What everyone needs to keep in mind, is that sewering isn’t cheap — nor are the alternatives," he said.

What can be done — and when — is going to be a function of what the town can afford, Jack said.

No time can be wasted in addressing any and all wastewater and nutrient contamination, Suuberg said.

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"This is not just an environmental problem. It ends up being a public health problem, and ultimately ends up being an economic problem for communities that appropriately value their natural resources," he said.

Funds available to help towns maintain water quality

As the state's watershed plan unfolds, there are new planning tools that can help towns make local decisions about possible solutions, Suuberg said.

The Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund, which was proposed by Cape legislators and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker in 2018, can help towns pay for water infrastructure and water remediation projects, he said.

"It's already providing substantial financial assistance to efforts on the Cape and Mass DEP has also continued to work with communities to develop and implement wastewater plans," he said.

Through the fund, Mashpee was awarded a subsidy of 25% of the total wastewater project cost, providing an estimated $12.8 million to help pay for the first phase. The final award will be adjusted to reflect 25% of the final cost once it is under contract.

Baker has also proposed $200 million in additional funding in a pending supplemental budget for communities that are working on these issues. Those funds, said Suuberg, will help support actions to improve water quality.

There are also funds through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, said Suuberg.

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First phase for Mashpee moves forward pending community decisions in fall

Board of Selectmen Chair Andrew Gottlieb, who is a liaison to the town Sewer Commission, said regardless of state regulation changes, the first phase of Mashpee's plan went to Town Meeting and was approved in the spring of 2021, with a budget of $54 million for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant and initial sewering. The project is currently out to bid, Gottlieb said.

"Our schedule calls for us to award a contract on or before Sept. 30 and to break ground later this fall," he said.

A treatment plant will be built at the town's transfer station and landfill site. A sewer collection system will be placed at Route 28 North, and Route 28 South, between Quinaquisset Avenue and Orchard Road.

Town officials won’t know until all the bids are in, if and when the town will move forward with a second phase, Jack said. The town, he said, will decide what the future phases are and what they are going to be.

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"That process usually takes a year and a half to two years just to take a look at it," he said. "By that time, the original plan, developed in 2015, is already going to be nine years old. It’s already a little dated."

Phase II on hold...for now

Eventually, Gottlieb said, there will be two steps to the Phase II process. Funding will first need to be approved for a preliminary design, and that will then make way for cost estimates for construction.

"What’s happening with inflation is not our friend right now," he said. "At some point we will determine what the reality is versus what the estimate was."

So far, there's no decision about whether any decisions regarding the second phase will go before voters at the October town meeting, Gottlieb said.

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"Given a lot of the questions about how the bid was constructed, and what the relative merits of each of the responses were, the board simply decided to defer the question to a later date," he said.

Possible Phase II modification

Once a time line for the second phase can be established, community members and town officials will need to settle on what Phase II will look like in terms of the geographic area and Phase II objectives, Gottlieb said.

Under the current Watershed Nitrogen Management Plan, elements are designed to improve water quality in Waquoit and Popponesset bays. There are no specific considerations given to addressing nutrient problems confronting fresh water ponds. Lakes are driven by phosphorous, said Gottlieb, and the Watershed Nitrogen Management Plan is designed to control nitrogen.

"My big beef with our current plan is that the ponds are clearly suffering water quality degradation," he said.

The sources of pollution come from septic systems, fertilizers and road run off, he said.

"Our plan, as currently constituted, doesn’t do anything in a short enough timeframe to benefit the lakes," Gottlieb said.

The Watershed Nitrogen Management Plan can go further and address both nitrogen and phosphorous — impacting fresh and salt water, he said.

"It’s my personal intention to ask voters to expand Phase II in October. I don't know if I have the votes to get that in front of Town Meeting, but I’m sure enough going to try. I’m sick of waiting."

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But in order to ensure voters can weigh in on plans for the second phase, Gottleib said there needs to be a consensus between the Board of Selectmen and the Sewer Commission.

"There are a lot of people in town, me among them, who thinks that we should look at modifying our Phase II," he said. "In addition to achieving nitrogen reduction levels to the benefit of the estuaries, we can also reduce phosphorous loadings into the ponds."

Jack largely agrees and said the focus of the Massachusetts Estuaries Program, which was the driver behind all the Cape-wide planning efforts for local embayments, did not include fresh water ponds or fresh water sources. But there is logic, he said, to looking at the fresh water ponds and how they are impacted by nearby homes.

Commission musical chairs

Contributing to the delay with multiple clean water projects are the ongoing vacancies on the Sewer Commission. On March 24, 2022, at the commission meeting, members Anne Malone and Michael Rapacz resigned, citing mismanagement issues with Christopher Gallagher, former town engineer, and Rodney Collins, the Mashpee town manager.

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When Malone submitted her resignation, she said she did so with great regret. While she admits the Sewer Commission was a committed, hard working team, she could no longer contribute meaningful work.

Kenneth Dunn is still listed on the town of Mashpee website as a commission member, but he also resigned, according to Gottlieb.

Gallagher was also accused by Rapacz at the March 24 meeting of being a misogynist, and inappropriate toward women. At that time, he said he was surprised Gallagher was still employed by the town.

After Collins received two complaints against Gallagher — from Gottlieb and from Rapacz — according to Collins, an internal investigation was launched by the town manager's office. But before the inquiry could be concluded, Gallagher resigned from his position at the end of May, said Collins.

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Collins, in a phone interview, defended himself from Rapacz's mismanagement accusations.

The Sewer Commission has authority to make critical decisions, Collins said.

In terms of operations, Collins said his only role was to approve contracts, which he wouldn't approve without recommendations from the town engineer and the Sewer Commission.

During the March 24 meeting, there was turmoil over Environmental Partners and GHD Global engineering contracts, which Collins said the Sewer Commission was critical of after they signed it.

"They didn't know what they signed. So, who's fault is that?" Collins said. "Stop and think about how stupid that is. I can't fix stupid."

Current members of the Sewer Commission, including Joe Lyons, interim chair, did not return multiple emails from the Times asking for comment.

In August of 2021, Sewer Commission member Thomas Fudala also resigned. He served on the board for 32 years.

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During the July 11 Board of Selectmen meeting, members addressed the vacancies and filled three of the four vacant spots, voting in Chad Smith, Phyllis Sprout, and Catherine Castaneda, according to meeting minutes.

Fudala, in a phone interview, said he was asked by Collins to join the commission again, and he attended the Select Board meeting for approval. When he was asked by Gottlieb why he wanted to return, Fudala said the commission had fallen apart since his resignation.

"I have been working on cleaning the waters for 38 years in Mashpee," he said at the meeting. "I know the business and I know the plan."

Board of Selectmen Vice-Chair David Weeden acknowledged that the Sewer Commission had lost experience since the spring and commended Fudala for stepping back to the plate.

While board member Carol Sherman tipped her hat to Fudala for stepping up again, she said historically Fudala didn't "play well" with commission members.

Fudala denied that accusation.

Ultimately, the Board of Selectmen did not approve Fudala.

For Gottlieb, town politics shouldn't stand in the way plans to help the waters surrounding Mashpee.

"It’s salacious and miserable," he said. "But, it’s really not, at the end of the day, particularly important."

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Clean water plans move forward on Cape Cod, but future phases on hold