Enfield, NH, resident David Thibodeau questions the city's selectboard on Monday, November 18, 2024, about proposed septic system regulations for residents with properties on the city's protected lakes and ponds. Under new rules the board approved at the meeting, Thibodeau, who lives near Spectacle Pond, must have their septic system checked every six years, pumped every three years and report to the city's health officer each time. “We are your first and best defense against contamination,” Thibodeau said of lakefront property owners. He added that the rules should cover properties along the tributaries to and in the watersheds of the protected waters. (Valley News-James M. Patterson)
Valley News-James M. Patterson
ENFIELD — The Selectboard unanimously approved wastewater treatment plant regulations for those who live near the city's four major bodies of water at its meeting Monday night.
The regulations, set to take effect Jan. 1, 2025, require property owners to have their septic systems inspected by a state-licensed inspector every six years and pumped every three years, according to a copy of the regulations posted on the city's website . Property owners must file reports of these activities with Enfield Health Officer Vinny Tursi.
The rules apply to hundreds of residents with septic systems within 250 feet of the shorelines of George Pond, Spectacle Pond, Crystal Lake and Mascoma Lake. Those who violate the rules can be fined up to $250 per day, “for each day that the violation continues.”
The Selectboard vote came after months of discussion among city officials, input from residents and a review by the city attorney. The purpose of Monday night's meeting was for the board to review a draft approved by the city attorney before voting on the regulations. The Selectboard didn't spend much time discussing them Monday.
“I think it makes sense,” Selectboard member Kate Plumley Stewart said.
During discussions about the regulations that began over the summer, residents' reactions were mixed. Some see this as a way to protect Mascoma's resources, while others see it as a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
The idea for the new regulations came after a Planning Board forum last June about the possible creation of a lakefront district in the city, where residents expressed concerns about water quality.
While city officials don't have data on how many, if any, wastewater treatment plants have failed, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has said faulty wastewater treatment plants may be contributing to cyanobacteria blooms that have occurred on Lakes Mascoma and Lakes in recent years Crystal occurred.
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In developing Enfield's new regulations, city officials examined Sunapee's septic tank regulations, which require residents of the Shoreline Overlay District to have their systems pumped every three years. Sunapee does not require inspections like Enfield's new regulations.
One of the few residents who spoke against the regulations during Monday's meeting was David Thibodeau, who lives in Spectacle Pond, which is also part of Grafton.
“As a homeowner, I'm not going to let my system contaminate the water that I swim in, that I play in with the kids, devalue my property or anything like that,” he said, adding that he fears the Selectboard ” the water separates out”. People who live right by the water.”
He said he feels like they don't take into account those who live along streams and other parts of the watershed in Lebanon, Canaan, Grafton and Enfield.
These four communities “should all agree on the same rules. “It shouldn’t just be one city doing one thing and another city doing something else,” Thibodeau said. “A lot of water comes from the watershed that feeds these waters, not just the homeowner who lives on the coast.”
Septic tank regulations are one of the few ways the city government is focusing on water quality concerns. Enfield is currently working with Lebanon on a watershed management plan for Lake Mascoma. There are plans to apply for a grant for a similar plan for Crystal Lake, Enfield Town Manager Ed Morris said during Monday's meeting.
“I think it’s a powerful step in the right direction,” Glyn Green, president of the Crystal Lake Association, said of the new regulations in a telephone interview Tuesday. “I hope they soon expand it to the streams that flow into these waters.”
This includes Bicknell Brook, which flows into Crystal Lake.
Green is also encouraged by plans for a watershed management plan for Crystal Lake and how other pollutants get into the water.
“Part of protecting the water in our lakes is making sure nothing gets into the lakes through treatment plants or outside pathways,” Green said.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at [email protected] or 603-727-3221.
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