Wellfleet property owners with cesspools, those who plan to sell, those who are expanding living space or increasing septic flow will need to upgrade their Title 5 septic systems to ones that do a better job scrubbing pollutants.
The news comes after the Board of Health voted 4-1 on Jan. 22 to amend local regulations to align with the state’s Title 5 regulations and the town’s Targeted Watershed Management Plan. Ken Granlund was the lone no vote. Board Chairman Nick Picariello said variances could be issued on a case-by-case basis.
Otherwise, property owners who fall into the above categories will need to replace their septic systems with “best available nitrogen reducing technology.” Those systems, referred to in Wellfleet documents as enhanced innovative alternative septic systems, can reduce nitrogen loads by up to 70% according to the Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment.
Speakers at the public hearing called for the board to hold off on adopting the tighter regulations. They cited as reasons the costs of those upgraded systems, the definition used for “new construction,” and the timing of the regulation amendments before a sewer district has been established.
Resident and Selectboard Vice Chair Michael DeVasto said lowering nitrogen load is a legal and moral imperative, but he urged the board to wait for the sewer district to be decided. Owners within that district will be able to connect when it starts operating. But to pay for a new septic system and then pay connection costs to the sewer means people are paying twice, he said.
“This is inequitable,” he said. “You’re implementing a plan before completing it.”
Trigger events
Properties with cesspools rather than septic systems located in the watershed that drains into Wellfleet Harbor will be targeted for replacement first, Picariello said. Town officials are trying to identify cesspool locations by going “file by file,” Assistant Health Agent Gary Locke said in a phone call on Jan. 21. Property owners would have two years to upgrade their systems.
“They need to come out,” Selectboard member Ryan Curley agreed, even as he urged the board to take time to rethink some proposed amendments to make them more equitable.
But Picariello said it was time to start getting the harbor cleaned up. “The longer we delay, it’s getting worse,” he said.
Four other triggering events would require an owner to install a Best Available Nitrogen Reducing Technology system or hook up to the sewer. Those triggers include new construction, an increase in septic flow rate, property sale, and system failure. A sewer district is being discussed for downtown, but it is years from completion.
“Triggers are largely owner-driven,” said Health Agent Heith Martinez, ‘if an owner sells a property, increases space or increases system flow.” Real estate transfers to family members are not considered trigger events.
Costs for innovative/alternative systems:
Costs associated with the installment of innovative/alternative systems range from $30,000 to $100,000 depending on the property, geography and design flow. Some systems require annual monitoring to the tune of thousands of dollars.
“We have an obligation as Selectboard to make sure we’re doing things in a way that is cost effective for the taxpayers,” DeVasto said. At $65,000 per system, with 3,000 households, it’s a lot of money, he added.
The town has only 15 subsidies available for installing innovative/alternative systems, according to Martinez.
Massachusetts residents in an owner-occupied primary residence are eligible for tax credits. The Cape Cod Aquifund offers low-interest loans through Barnstable County for repairing or replacing septic systems and for connecting to a sewer system. Eligibility is based on whether properties are primary, seasonal or rental.
The Horsley Witten Group, an engineering and consulting firm, will give a sewer district presentation to the Selectboard on Feb. 4. The board is responsible for determining the boundaries of the sewer district.
Wellfleet is not alone
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection designated 30 watersheds on Cape Cod as Nitrogen Sensitive Areas on July 7, 2023. Wellfleet Harbor was one of them. But much of the Cape falls into the category.
Septic systems located within designated NSAs would be required to upgrade to the best-available, nitrogen-reducing technology within five to seven years of designation, unless the town in which the septic system is located obtains a watershed permit or files a Notice of Intent for a watershed permit.
Denise Coffey writes about business, tourism and issues impacting the Cape’s residents and visitors. Contact her at [email protected] .
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