MassDEP wants to protect Dartmouth and Westport natural resource areas
DARTMOUTH — The State Department of Environmental Protection has issued a map of natural resource areas that are sensitive to potential nitrogen contamination. Appearing on this map with shades of green include Fall River, New Bedford, Dartmouth and Westport.
Westport and Dartmouth are almost entirely in green, while only a small portion of New Bedford and Fall River have the shading.
According to a release from the state DEP, there are two proposed regulations that these communities might have to adopt — one is stricter Title 5 septic system regulations or watershed permit regulations.
“MassDEP is proposing the watershed permit regulations to provide a 20-year permit for communities to implement long-term wastewater planning in the most efficient and effective way for the entire watershed, according to a written release from the state DEP. “Permittees will be authorized to take a holistic, long-term, innovative approach to reducing the nitrogen load that enters the estuaries and embayments.”
The Title 5 regulation would require new construction and failed septic systems to upgrade to a nitrogen-reducing system.
Since 2015, Westport has been pushing for the use of the more sophisticated nitrogen-reducing system. At that time, the town discovered that the nitrogen in the Westport River exceeded acceptable state levels.
Excessive nitrogen leads to a process called eutrophication — accelerated growth of algae and invasive plants and weeds.
“This overgrowth deprives many aquatic plants and animals of oxygen and the sunlight they need to live — their environment is essentially smothered by the accelerated and dominant growth of nuisance and invasive plants, weeds, and algae. Fish and shellfish populations have declined significantly, along with aquatic plants in their ecosystems, like eelgrass,” DEP wrote in a release.
According to the state DEP, the nitrogen excess is mostly caused by septic systems.
The state DEP has set up some tentative public hearings: Nov. 30, at 6 p.m. from DEP Lakeville Office, which would also include online participation; Dec. 1, at 1 p.m. Zoom meeting; and a Dec. 5, at 6 p.m., meeting at Barnstable Town Hall, which would also include an opportunity for online participation.
For more information about the proposals, log onto https://www.mass.gov/regulations/314-CMR-2100-watershed-permit-regulations.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: MassDEP looking into Title 5 septic system regs in the SouthCoast
