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Falmouth health agent outlines new Title 5 choices, warns of costly denitrification burden without watershed plan
Summary
Falmouth Health Agent Scott McCann told the zoning board that state DEP rules require towns to meet coastal‑pond nitrogen limits and that towns choosing watershed permitting can delay broad onsite denitrification—but local maps and financing are unfinished and many technologies meeting a 12 mg/L local standard are limited or costly.
Scott McCann, Falmouth’s health agent, gave a detailed briefing on changes to Title 5 and DEP watershed permitting that could require many homeowners to install enhanced nitrogen removal systems in certain coastal‑pond watersheds. He explained the town chose a watershed permitting approach (rather than immediate town‑wide installation of denitrifying septic systems) after the July 2023 DEP regulation, which gives towns flexibility to combine sewer extensions, shellfish restoration, and other measures to meet TMDLs.
McCann said Best Available Technologies (BATs) and enhanced nitrogen removal systems (often called IA systems in the discussion) are intended to reduce effluent nitrogen to roughly 10–12 mg/L; Falmouth’s local regulation is currently aimed at 12 mg/L. He warned that only a limited set of IA products consistently meet that threshold for single‑home installations and that many systems involve replacing or substantially modifying tanks (1,500–2,000 gallon units are common) and reserving area on the lot for equipment. That can mean significant yard disturbance and cost; McCann noted some systems may cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Water Quality Management is drafting maps to define the parts of the 14 coastal watersheds that will be designated for denitrification requirements. McCann emphasized the maps are not final: once Water Quality Management completes them, the Board of Health would adopt any local regulation requiring IA systems in those delineated areas. Until that process is complete, McCann said there are no town‑wide mandated IA areas in effect and recommended that boards use up‑to‑date referrals from the Board of Health when deciding projects. He also discussed alternatives such as urine diversion and sewer extension and urged phased, watershed‑by‑watershed implementation to avoid forcing homeowners to retrofit systems that might later tie to sewer lines.
Board members asked whether specific projects before the ZBA should be required to install IA systems now; McCann said that step depends on finalized watershed maps and Board of Health regulations. The briefing prompted the board to request updated referrals and further coordination with the Board of Health and Water Quality Management ahead of decisions on projects in or near draft blue map areas.
