Chatham Concerned Tax payers sponsored a meeting with the intent of finding a wastewater solution that is less expensive than the $300 million sewer system and treatment plant upgrade currently being planned.
Addressing the crowded room were Valerie Nelson, Coalition for Alternative Wastewater Treatment director and former Gloucester city councilor, environmental consultant Patrick Lucey of Victoria, B.C.; Jim Kreissl, former EPA wastewater expert; environmental engineer Pio Lombardo of Newton, Mass.; and state representative Matt Patrick, D-Falmouth.
The best system for Chatham, according to Kreissl, is a mixed system of neighborhood cluster systems, onsite nitrogen-removing septic systems, and a small sewer system. Kreissl estimated that it would cost each taxpayer about $60,000 to connect to the new sewer system, including the cost of building the plant and extending the sewer lines. Treating wastewater using nitrogen removal technology, however, would cost each taxpayer about $20,000 and connecting to medium-sized cluster systems around $15,000, by his estimate.
Permeable reactive barriers and nitrogen removal technologies are not yet permitted, but Patrick says he and other members of the Cape Cod legislative delegation plan to encourage the state to step up its investigation and approval of the technology so that towns like Chatham can consider a full range of options.
Ontario
The Ministry of Environment proposed major changes to the Canadian CSA B66 standard involving liquid level depth and air space requirements on prefabricated septic tanks. The proposal also introduces an Equivalency Test Protocol that allows new tank designs to be tested side by side with standard tanks to show that they are equivalent in functionality. The year-long test is conducted by a third party. If accepted, the changes will bring a greater variety of septic tank configurations to regulators and homeowners.
