DARTMOUTH — South Coast communities will not be subject to costly new septic system rules, state environmental regulators announced on Wednesday.
The announcement is a change of course for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, which has spent months developing regulations to cut down on nitrogen pollution in waters on Cape Cod, the South Coast, and islands.
The regulations will require homeowners to upgrade their septic systems to nitrogen-filtering models, unless their town puts together a 20-year plan to reduce nitrogen in its watersheds. The rules will now only affect Cape Cod communities.
Earlier drafts of the rules would have set up a pathway for including communities on the South Coast and islands in the future, but state officials decided not to include that provision in the final regulations. Their decision was based on feedback from local officials and residents who pointed out major differences between their watersheds and the ones on Cape Cod.
“The fixes for the Cape are not the same fixes for the rest of the state,” said Dartmouth Select Board Member Shawn McDonald. “And that is a win, the state realizing they have to look at each area separately.”
Dartmouth officials welcomed the decision, but warned that nitrogen pollution is still a problem on the South Coast.
“I am scared that this is just going to put the South Coast on the back burner,” said Dartmouth Health Director Chris Michaud, one of the leading critics of the draft regulations.
Michaud said he’s glad Dartmouth won’t have to bear the cost of the new septic regulations, but he added that the state should crack down on other sources of nitrogen on the South Coast. Fertilizers and composting contribute nitrogen to Dartmouth’s watersheds, Michaud said, but only the state government has the authority to regulate them.
In their formal response to the comments, regulators said they still planned to help South Coast communities prepare their plans to address nitrogen pollution “in the near future.” The state will offer guidance and assistance, but South Coast towns won’t be subject to the same formal requirements as towns on the Cape.
State Sen. Mark Montigny, who had also criticized the draft regulations, applauded the state’s decision to exclude South Coast communities from the final regulations.
“Without a compelling scientific justification and financial assistance from the state, there was absolutely no way that it would be appropriate to burden hardworking homeowners across the
Southcoast with new septic rules,” Montigny said in a statement. “Nitrogen pollution is a real environmental problem, but there are far more serious contributors in our region than household septic systems.”
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When nitrogen seeps into bays and estuaries, it causes algae and other harmful organisms to grow. They take up oxygen in the water, making it hard for other aquatic life to thrive. Septic system discharge is the primary source of nitrogen on Cape Cod and one of the major sources of nitrogen on the South Coast.
The draft regulations sparked an intense backlash when they were announced last year. Regulators received more than 1,000 comments in writing and at public hearings.
Dartmouth officials were particularly outspoken about their opposition to the draft regulations.
They argued that the South Coast and Cape should be regulated differently because they have different nitrogen sources and geological conditions. They also criticized the state for what they saw as a secretive, disingenuous regulatory process.
Representatives for the Healey-Driscoll administration met with top Dartmouth officials about the regulations earlier this week. Moving forward, McDonald said he would continue to push for more cooperation between the town and state governments on nitrogen pollution.
“We still need to focus on the solutions and how to help without it becoming a complete burden on the taxpayers and homeowners,” he said.
Email Grace Ferguson at gferguson@newbedfordlight.org.
This is great news for homeowners who were worried about the cost of the proposed septic regulations. It was such a financially burdensome regulation, it was unbelievable that state bureaucrats pushed for it. I’m glad someone mentioned fertilizers. I haven’t used nonorganic fertilizers or pesticides on my lawn for years and have never felt that I needed them. I cut the grass and leave the clippings. I walk in my neighborhood in South Dartmouth and see warning signs for pesticides on lawns everywhere. I assume they cause nitrogen problems in the waterways, too, and would like to hear more about that. I am unclear on composting and would like to hear more about that, too. It seems like a step in the right direction to regulate both fertilizers and pesticides if they are causing problems. Meanwhile, the town could do an in-house study with the staff it already has.