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Comments and Justification —FY2011 Sewer Commission CIP <br /> Mashpee is the fastest-growing town on Cape Cod. At the same time,it is located almost entirely within the <br /> watersheds of two shallow nitrogen-sensitive estuaries, Popponesset Bay and Waquor Bay, The estuarine <br /> systems of both bays have shown significant signs or degradation attributable to excessive inputs of nitrogen, <br /> Both have been seriously impacted by algae blooms nurtured by excessive nitrogen levels. Wastewater effluent <br /> discharged to groundwater has been identified as the largest source of the nitrogen that reaches both bays. <br /> Impacts have included fish kills,the almost total loss of formerly extensive eelgrass beds,the deposition of a <br /> thick mat of macroalgae and decomposed algae at the bottom of the many portions of the bays and the almost <br /> total loss of a formerly healthy bay scallop population. <br /> The Mashpee River estuary has been most seriously impacted. A thick layer of organic muck at its bottom has <br /> made the river virtually uninhabitable by most shellfish and prompted increasing complaints by nearby residents <br /> of odors,"pea soup"water and associated water quality complaints. A watershed nitrogen loading analysis <br /> released by the DEP Massachusetts Estuaries Program(MEP)in September 2001 confirmed extreme nitrogen <br /> overloading of the poorly-flushed Mashpee River estuary and of all the sub-embayments to Popponesset Bay <br /> (ockway Bay,Mashpee River,Shoestring Bay),as well as the upper half of the Bay itself. Based on the report, <br /> Mass. DEP has established(August 2005)nitrogen reduction targets for each sub-embayment that have been <br /> incorporated into nitrogen TMDLs(Total Maximum Daily Loads)enforceable by USEPA and DEP. <br /> A similar MEP study of he Hamblins Pond /Jehu Pond / Great River and Quashnet (Moonakis) River sub- <br /> embayments of Waquoit bay was completed in January 2005,also resulting in TMDLs published for those water <br /> bodies in October 2005, The Town will be expected to develop regulatory and infrastructure improvements to <br /> meet those TMDL targets. <br /> Both MEP reports recommend sewering of large portions of the Town as the only feasible means of meeting the <br /> TMDL targets. <br /> In response to the nitrogen overloading problem,the May and October 1999 Town Meetings voted$445,000 to <br /> develop a Watershed Nitrogen Management Plan/Effluent Pipeline Preliminary Design study to determine the <br /> most appropriate,cost-effective and politically feasible means,including municipal wastewater facilities,along <br /> with other appropriate facilities and management structures,required in order to address the nitrogen overload <br /> problem. The Engineering firm of Stearns&Wheler and the School of Marine Science&Technology at UMass <br /> Dartmouth were contracted to develop the plan. Advice by DEP to wait for the nitrogen targets to be <br /> established by the Mass Estuaries Program delayed completion of the plan for a number of years,but work was <br /> restarted in late 2006,with completed project reports regarding Needs Assessment(April 2007),Technology <br /> Screening(November 2007)and Draft Alternative Scenarios Analysis and Site Evaluation(March 2008), Five <br /> alternative scenarios for developing wastewater facilities have been reviewed by U-Mass-Dartmouth with regard <br /> to their effectiveness in meeting the established TMDL targets. Upon delivery of their final report at the <br /> December 15,2009 Sewer Commission meeting,the most effective scenarios will be refined, including more <br /> detailed plans and cost estimates, with completion of the study and a recommended plan now anticipated in <br /> late 2010. <br /> The plan will recommend both facilities and management options, which may include development of a <br /> municipal sewer system,possibly based on existing private systems,cluster and innovative/alternative on-site <br /> facilities and facility management approaches, along with stormwater facilities and other traditional or <br /> innovative approaches to nitrogen reduction or removal. The Plan is expected to include conceptual facilities <br /> designs,estimated costs,financing mechanisms,pricing/charges,regulatory changes and other items relevant <br /> to the establishment of a municipal sewer system and management of nitrogen loading to the watersheds. <br /> Once the plan is completed,firmer costs for design and construction of the three proposed CIP projects will be <br /> possible. <br /> One of the specific projects under study(Project#1)is the potential for relocation of nitrogen discharge,via an <br /> "Effluent Relocation Pipeline", from existing treatment plants and developments in the Popponesset and <br /> Waquolt Bay watersheds to a new discharge area near the south coast of the Town which is outside the <br /> 1 <br />