Minutes

Meeting date: 
Monday, April 16, 2018

Approved Minutes

 

Comprehensive Wastewater Management Planning Committee

 

April 16th, 2018

 

Posted: 7:00

 

Posted Location: Wellfleet COA

715 Old Kings Hwy, Wellfleet MA 02667

 

 

ATTENDEES:

Alex Hay, Chair

Curt Felix

Patrick Winslow

 

ABSENT:

Richard Wulsin (Out of town)

Fred Vanderschmidt

 

GUESTS:

Gary Joseph, HRRC

John Riehl, HRRC

 

Old Business:

 

            Next Meeting Scheduled For:

  •  April 26th 7:00PM

 

            Minutes:

  • Approval of Minutes from 4/6/2017

    •  Moved Alex Hay

    • Second Pat Winslow

    • Approved 3 -0

 

 

Review of Status of CWMP

 

  • History I

  • MEP

  • Draft Interim Needs 2012

  • Watershed Report Draft

  • TMDL’s

  • Watershed Needs -II

  • Final Approval/Integrated Adaptive Management

 

Proposed Water Resource Director

 

  • Town Board/Committee Meetings

    • Personnel 4-18/18

    • Fin Com

    • BOH

    • Select

    • Cons Com – 4/18/18

       

Update on memo and request from CC Commission on Watershed Report Final – III

  • Review content of memo and final draft

  • Brief discussion of sentinel station location

    • See attached memo response III

 

New Business:

  • Update from HRRC

    • Discussion

    • Benefits of synergies between CWMP and HRRC

 

 

  • Motion to adjourn 9:45PM

    • Moved Alex Hay

    • Seconded Pat Winslow

    • Approved 3-0

       

 

Appendix:

 

I Original 2010 Article CWMP:

 

ARTICLE 15: To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money for the purpose of planning for comprehensive wastewater management and for the payment of all other incidental and related thereto, and that to meet this appropriation, the Town Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen be and hereby is authorized to borrow said amount under and pursuant to Chapter 44, Section 7 of the General Laws, or pursuant to any other enabling authority including the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust, and to issue bonds or notes of the Town therefore; provided, however that no sums shall be borrowed or expended hereunder unless and until the Town shall have voted to exclude the amounts necessary to pay debt service on any bonds or notes issued pursuant to this vote from the limits of Chapter 59, Section 21C of the Massachusetts General Laws (Proposition 2½).

 

Board of Selectmen Recommends 5-0 Finance Committee Recommends 6-0-1 Board of Health Recommends 5-0

Wastewater Planning Committee Recommends 5-0

 

Planning Board Recommends 6-0

Shellfish Advisory does not Recommend 4-3

Local Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee Recommends 5-0 NRAB Recommends 3-0

 

2/3 voice vote attained to appropriate the sum of $500,000 to pay costs of planning for comprehensive wastewater management and for the payment of all other costs incidental and related thereto, and that to meet this appropriation, the Town Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen be and hereby is authorized to borrow said amount under and pursuant to Chapter 44, Section 7 of the General Laws, or pursuant to any other enabling authority including the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust, and to issue bonds or notes of the Town therefore; provided, however that no sums shall be borrowed or expended hereunder unless and until the Town shall have voted to exclude the amounts necessary to pay debt service on any bonds or notes issued pursuant to this vote from the limits of Chapter 59, Section 21 C of the Massachusetts General Laws (Proposition 2 ½).

 

 

Voted at the Annual Town Meeting held on April 26, 2010

 

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II Watershed Permit Needs:

 

Elements of a watershed  permit:
  1. < > < >< >< > and implementation  measures< > based on water quality results< > water quality or technology  performance< >< >

     

     

    III Watershed Report Comments Response From CC Commission:

     

    Thank you for submitting comments on behalf of the Wellfleet Comprehensive Wastewater Management Committee.  We have revised the watershed report for Wellfleet Harbor based on the comments received.  The revised report is attached.  The information included in the Committee’s comment letter was helpful in updating the watershed report to ensure consistency with local planning efforts.  You will find that the non-traditional scenario and the local progress section have been updated to reflect ongoing efforts in Wellfleet.  Notes have been added to the non-traditional scenario to provide additional detail, beyond what is presented in the table.

     

    The intent of the watershed reports is to outline possible options.  They are not intended to identify preferred and detailed plans for each watershed, but to facilitate discussions regarding effective and cost efficient solutions, particularly in watersheds shared by more than one town.  We recognize that Wellfleet has taken the initiative to implement non-traditional approaches in Wellfleet Harbor.  Data from these initiatives, particularly the ongoing aquaculture project, will continue to be incorporated into the Technologies Matrix and will help to inform projects elsewhere in the region. 

     

    The watershed reports rely on information from the Massachusetts Estuaries Project (MEP) technical reports, where available, to identify threshold nitrogen concentrations that must be achieved at the sentinel stations, as this is the best available science on this matter.  The information on pages 3 and 5 of the watershed report, unless otherwise indicated, is from the MEP report.  As new information becomes available, or as MEP reports are updated or Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) reports are issued, we will update our database to reflect new information.  The reduction in nitrogen load required, as identified in the watershed reports, is an estimate of what is expected to achieve the necessary sentinel station concentration.  However, an effective monitoring program and an adaptive management plan will be necessary to ensure that occurs.  We recognize your concern regarding the lack of recent monitoring data included in the MEP analysis and suggest this be clarified with the MA Department of Environmental Protection prior to the TMDL report being completed.  It is possible that the TMDL report could include data from more recent years than that which is included in the MEP report. 

     

    The scenarios included in each watershed report provide the outer bounds of an adaptive management plan.  The reports include two scenarios that meet water quality goals in the watershed – a traditional scenario, which relies completely on collection and treatment of wastewater, and a non-traditional scenario, which uses a broad range of innovative, non-traditional techniques to remove nutrients from raw and treated wastewater, groundwater and affected waterbodies.  It is likely that a mix of both types of strategies will be necessary to meet water quality goals in most watersheds across Cape Cod and we recognize that there are only discreet areas in the Wellfleet Harbor watershed that may be suitable for collection.  The watershed reports do not include a buildout estimate, nor do they include solutions for any anticipated future nitrogen load.  The scenario reductions are based on existing load only and reduce the amount of nitrogen identified as the load to be removed on page 10 of the watershed report.  The MEP assumptions about buildout do not impact the Wellfleet Harbor watershed report. 

     

    We hope the revised report addresses the concerns of the Committee.  We are more than happy to attend a meeting to discuss this further if the Committee would like to do that.  Or, if there are any specific edits to the language used in the local progress section or the notes made to provide further detail on the scenarios, please feel free to send those and we will make revisions.