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which lie within the Popponesset and Waquoit will play in meeting the nitrogen TMDLs and dealing ac watersheds as to each town's share of responsibility for with other water quality issues.While the District will m the cleanup of those estuaries made little progress in be the utility providing water supply and wastewater w 2013.A draft Intermunicipal Agreement was prepared collection and treatment services,other efforts needed g, '? and circulated to the other two Popponesset Bay towns to implement the WNMP, including the shellfish b, by the mediator in 2012,with good progress made with program, stormwater management, fertilizer controls, , � g Barnstable but almost none with Sandwich. growth controls, long-term water quality monitoring tl Determining each town's fair share of responsibility is and overall responsibility for meeting the TMDLs will lc a key element in our planning process, as it will help remain with the Town. Once the required election and p, determine what amount of wastewater treatment and inter-municipal agreement are completed, this Sewer it other nitrogen reduction measures Mashpee will have Commission will cease to exist. w to fund and implement. As part of the expansion of the "Breezy Acres" The County's Cape Cod Water Protection affordable housing development on Old Barnstable R Collaborative continued its work on seeking state and Road, the Commission took on responsibility for ! P federal funding assistance for wastewater facilities on Mashpee's first public sewer line, connecting the 11 the Cape, on coordinating wastewater facilities development to the Mashpee High School wastewater planning by the towns and on otherwise dealing with treatment plant.The Commission established a rate and j 7 our water quality improvement needs.Selectman Mike management agreement for the project in 2011,which I Richardson serves as the Town's representative on the was slightly modified in 2013.The sewer line has been p Collaborative. The most important achievement of the installed, the housing is under construction and it Collaborative to date has been its role in the appears that wastewater will begin to flow in 2014.The development and passage by the state legislature of Commission will be collecting the first year fee for former Senator O'Leary's bill(Chapter 312 of the Acts treatment, which will be transferred to the DPW to ` of 2008) which provides 0% interest loans for cover the costs of treating the additional sewage and wastewater facilities primarily intended to prevent maintaining the sewer line. These facilities will be nutrient enrichment of water bodies or water supplies. among the items subject to the required inter-municipal The loans, however, are only available to applicants agreement between the Town and proposed Water & who have a Comprehensive Wastewater Management Sewer District. 7 Plan (CWMP) approved by DEP (the plan we are working on) and have adopted land use controls With the resignation of Oskar Klenert in the intended to limit wastewater flows to the amount Spring,the Commission again finds itself two members authorized by zoning and wastewater regulations as of short. There are also still Community Advisory the date DEP approves the CWMP(so-called"growth Committee vacancies for Precincts 2 and 4 and the } neutral"regulations). The 0%loans are available only Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, for which the t until 2019, in competition with other similar projects Commission would greatly appreciate volunteers as we around the state, so we have a strong incentive to move into the critical final stages of planning. j complete and implement our wastewater plan as soon i as possible. The Commission and Mashpee officials and 1 residents have serious work cut out for us over the next With regard to the proposed conversion of the year to complete the WNMP,complete the transition to t Mashpee Water District to a Water & Sewer District, a Mashpee Water & Sewer District and to identify legislation has been filed and was working its way funding and financing strategies for developing the through the House of Representatives as the year facilities and practices needed to clean up our ended.As written,the legislation,once approved by the waterways. Among other issues,we will have to devise legislature and signed by the governor, will only take a fair division of the large costs involved between effect after approval on the ballot of the next available individual betterments and general property taxes,and Town election and after the signature by the Selectmen determine how best to deal with developments that and Water District Commissioners of an inter- already have private sewer systems(which would need municipal agreement specifying the transfer process of to be upgraded to help meet the TMDLs).The WNMP Town wastewater facilities and other properties to the will have major water quality, land use and fiscal District and an understanding of what roles each entity ramifications for the Town,so we invite all residents to i 142