My View: Time for Title 6
Zenas Crocker
Groundwater on Cape Cod moves one to four feet a day, so all the wastewater and nitrogen that we have put in the ground is on a slow march to our surrounding waters, and it will be with us for decades.
At Barnstable Clean Water Coalition, we are working on ways to intercept the nutrient-loaded groundwater and clean it up.
Cape Cod is not alone, but we can develop and prove out technology that will impact the world.
For decades, the residents of the Cape and Islands have had their heads in the sand. Literally. We all were led to believe that our waste treatment system known as a Title 5 septic system took care of our wastewater problems, and we could all go about the business of enjoying the pristine waters and blue economy of Cape Cod. And then, after we knew better, we chose to believe this falsehood. Boy, were we wrong.
HYANNIS The Conservation Law Foundation filed suit Tuesday in federal court in Boston against the town of Barnstable, saying the Barnstable Water Pollution Control Facility is in violation of the federal Clean Water Act and is polluting Lewis Bay.
In the suit, CLF contends the levels of nitrogen discharged into groundwater by the plant are too high, and that the nitrogen and other nutrients travel underground to nearby Lewis Bay, where the discharge has elevated nutrient levels that feed large algal blooms. The blooms degrade water quality, lower oxygen levels and harm plant and marine animal life.
If the foundation wins the lawsuit, the town s wastewater plant would then be operated under a more rigorous federal permit under the Clean Water Act.
CENTERVILLE When Wendy Northcross arrived at the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce offices in April of 1997 to begin what had been promised as a one-year term as interim executive director, she found what she called “a very tired chamber.”
Northcross was fresh off a one-year stint setting up Coastal Community Capital, a community development lender, when the county asked her to take the helm of the chamber as it merged with the Barnstable County Economic Development Council.
“They said ‘Wendy, it’s just a year. Just keep the lights on,” said Northcross, 66, who announced her retirement Monday after 24 years as the chamber s CEO.
The Association to Preserve Cape Cod has submitted a public records request seeking to obtain all public comment on the proposed multipurpose machine-gun range at Joint Base Cape Cod.
Filed under the Massachusetts public records law, the request seeks copies of all comments received by the Massachusetts Army National Guard during last year’s public comment period on the final environmental assessment and draft titled “Finding of No Significant Impact” for the proposed machine-gun range, the association said in a statement Tuesday.
The Army National Guard has stated in public meetings that it received about 900 individual comments, which have not been released for public review, the association said.
Environmentalists with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod are asking the Massachusetts Army National Guard to release hundreds of public comments on a