CCIAOR Submits Public Comment on Wellfleet Wastewater Management Plan

As part of the Cape Cod and Islands Association of REALTORS® ongoing advocacy work, our CEO, Betsy Hanson, filed public comments with the Massachusetts Policy Act Office (MEPA) regarding the Town of Wellfleet’s Targeted Wastewater Management Plan (TWMP) last week.

The comments were focused on Wellfleet’s Board of Health’s (BOH) overly restrictive triggers to require a septic upgrade to an Innovative/Alternative (I/A) system in their amended septic regulations.

For example, the BOH decided that homeowners are required to upgrade a passing Title V septic system to an Innovative/Alternative (I/A) system at the point of a real estate sale transfer. MassDEP does not require this. The BOH also changed the definition of “new construction” to broaden it to include a requirement for homeowners to upgrade to an I/A system for home renovations that do not increase design flow. MassDEP only requires an upgrade for new construction.

The BOH also placed further restrictions on homeowners.

Homes served by a septic system are required to upgrade to an I/A system within six months of a real estate transfer, even if their system is new and operating properly. This upgrade requirement also extends to properties sold with a working nitrogen-reducing technology system. This is overly restrictive to homeowners.

You can read our public comments here.

CCIAOR supports clean water infrastructure as one of our top priorities across our region and it is a significant focus of our advocacy work.

We also advocate for a property owner’s ability to transfer property. We have heard from members who work and live in Wellfleet that the BOH amended septic regulations would place a heavy financial burden on homeowners who want to sell their homes. Our public comments are an attempt to help shape a more equitable approach to reducing excess nitrogen pollution from Wellfleet’s harbor, estuaries and ponds.