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Assessment Report" in April 2007, analyzing existing Report of the environmental resources and demographics, existing Sewer Commission wastewater infrastructure, wastewater flows and nitro- gen loading, nitrogen loading targets, development of wastewater nitrogen priority areas, a summary of To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and the needs and a discussion of funding opportunities. Citizens of the Town of Mashpee: In November 2007 a "Final Technology The Commission's Watershed Nitrogen Screening Report"was delivered,identifying all of the Management Plan / Effluent Pipeline Preliminary potential wastewater treatment, sewering and effluent Design(WNMP)project,intended to identify the most discharge technologies and identifying their favorable cost-effective approach to reducing nitrogen in each of and unfavorable characteristics, costs and effective- our coastal watersheds to levels that do not harm the ness. bays, moved forward significantly in 2008 with the At a series of meetings with our Community development of five alternative scenarios for provid- ing wastewater treatment in Mashpee and the portions Advisory Committee (CAC) and consultants the next of the Popponesset and Waquoit Bay watersheds in step in the planning process was begun with the selec- our three neighboring towns. tion of five alternative scenarios for dealing with wastewater nitrogen. Four scenarios were developed As reported in previous years, the Massachusetts by Stearns & Wheler (Draft Report delivered March Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) 2008). One involves leaving existing private sewer systems in place and public sewering of the rest of the Massachusetts Estuaries Program (MEP) has mod- elect nitrogen loading and pathways, and established watersheds, one uses acquisition of some of the exist- nitrogen loading targets,for both the Popponesset Bay ing private treatment plants as the basis for a munici- and Quashnet River / Hamblin's Pond / Jehu Pond pal system, one abandons all of the private plants and watersheds ("Waquoit Bay East"), as well as for creates a large traditional public sewer system for the Barnstable's"Three Bays" watershed, a small portion whole area, and one presumes that each of the towns of which lies in Mashpee. The recommendations from in the Popponesset and Waquoit watersheds "goes it these reports were used by DEP to set formal nitrogen alone"rather than cooperating on the most cost-effec- targets, called "TMDLs" (Total Maximum Daily tive watershed-based approach (intermunicipal coop- Loads)for each of the sub-embayments of our estuar- eration and cost-sharing will be a major issue that ies. TMDLs, to be enforced by DEP, are required by must be addressed by Mashpee and the surrounding the federal Clean Water Act, and the DEP TMDL three towns). A fifth scenario was developed by a sec- reports have been approved by EPA under the Act. and consultant, Lombardo Associates, Inc. (Final The Town is faced with the need to identify how we Report in July 2008),based on neighborhood"cluster" will meet those targets. systems using "Nitrex" technology that has shown good initial results in its first few installations and The only remaining portion of Mashpee not cov- promises lower costs. ered by an MEP report or TMDL is the extreme west- As the year ended, all of the scenarios had been ern part of the town,including most of the Johns Pond Estates,Winslow Farms and Childs River West subdi- submitted to SMaST to be tested for their effective- visions. These areas will be covered by an MEP ness in meeting the TMDLs using the MEP models. The most promising of the scenarios, or combinations report for Waquoit Bay, Childs River and Eel River which is being undertaken jointly the Town of of them, will be selected for more detailed develop- ment, review and costing, with a final selection made Falmouth. In December 2008 Mashpee signed its contract with the University of Massachusetts — and a final draft of the Watershed Nitrogen Management Plan completed and submitted for Dartmouth School of Marine Science and Technology (SMaST) for our $23,625 portion of the MEP report county and state review, we hope, in 2009. costs. The report is scheduled to be completed during 2009. The scenarios highlight our need to identify and reserve parcels of land for sewage pumping stations, Once TMDLs for most of our watersheds were treatment plants and discharge areas, as well as the determined, our principal engineering consultant, major costs that will be involved in sewering the town. Stearns & Wheler, LLC (S&W), began work in Mashpee has serious work cut out for it over the next earnest on the WNMP. The first portion of the Plan few years to identify funding and financing strategies was completed with delivery of a "Final Needs and priorities related to developing the facilities that 157