Good news for water quality on Cape Cod!
The new DEP Regulations for Cape Cod have finally been announced! This is a huge deal for towns across the Cape; it’s time for us to band together to work for progress.
https://www.clf.org/newsroom/
https://www.mass.gov/news/
“The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has drafted proposed regulations that significantly strengthen the rules governing the use of septic systems and encourage and incentivize towns to obtain watershed management permits. Both sets of regulations are critical, time sensitive and warrant support. It has been evident for decades that septic systems, even legal ones compliant with state and local rules, are the source of, not the solution to, the deterioration of water quality in the Cape’s marine estuaries and bays. Updating the regulation of septic systems has been difficult, as the lack of public wastewater infrastructure in most Cape towns has perpetuated reliance on septic systems even when there was no such system that reduced nutrients sufficiently to meet the needs of our water resources. With the creation of new financing mechanisms over the last decade it is now possible for towns to afford to build the needed collection and treatment systems. At the same time, technological advances in septic technology allow their use in certain areas as a complement to core sewering in dense areas.”
-Association to Preserve Cape Cod (full info here)
Add your voice to help protect Cape Cod water
Mass Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is seeking public comments on a proposed new regulations regarding protections of embayments and estuaries on Cape Cod, the Islands, and Southeastern Mass.
Please take a moment to click here and submit a comment via the Conservation Law Foundation rapid response page. You can also submit a comment directly to MassDEP by email at dep.talks@mass.gov with “Title 5 & Watershed Permit” in the subject line or via post to:
MassDEP, Bureau of Water Resources – Division of Watershed Management
One Winter Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
The deadline for comments is Friday, December 16.
Additional Action Items:
In-person & Remote, MassDEP, 20 Riverside Dr., Lakeville, MA, November 30, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.
Register for remote session in advance at: https://us06web.zoom.us/
Remote Only, December 1, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. Register in advance at:
https://us06web.zoom.us/
In-person & Remote, Barnstable Town Hall, 367 Main St., Hyannis, MA, December 5, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.
Register for remote session in advance at:
https://us06web.zoom.us/
For more information and resources or help submitting comments, please email Glenn and check out this online toolkit (thanks, Glenn!).