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Falmouth committee urges Select Board to submit draft EIR for proposed wastewater outfall
Summary
The Water Quality Management Committee voted to recommend that the Select Board submit the draft environmental impact report for the town’s proposed wastewater outfall to the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) office, starting a 30‑day public comment period once filed. Wastewater Superintendent Amy Low outlined the technical basis and schedule.
The Town of Falmouth’s Water Quality Management Committee on May 27 voted to recommend that the Select Board submit the draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the town’s proposed wastewater outfall to the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office, initiating the formal 30‑day public comment period.
Amy Low, Falmouth’s wastewater superintendent, told the committee the DEIR compiles three years of technical work — hydrodynamic modeling, eelgrass and benthic surveys, fisheries assessments, USGS aquifer evaluations and marine borings — and documents coordination with regulatory agencies. She said the project’s permitting path will include a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and that the town plans to present the DEIR to the Select Board on either June 8 or June 15 and submit the document to MEPA at the end of June.
“We are near the end of draft EIR preparation,” Low said, asking the committee for support to submit the DEIR pending the Select Board vote. She said the DEIR and an executive summary will appear in the Environmental Monitor and on the town website after filing; the MEPA comment period would follow the filing.
Committee members asked technical questions about design capacity and phasing. One member clarified that the outfall is being sized for a future design average flow of about 3 million gallons per day, while the treatment plant’s current average discharge is roughly 500,000 gallons per day. Low said some diffuser components could be added later as flows increase but that final design details remain to be determined.
John Waterbury moved that the committee recommend the Select Board submit the DEIR to the state; the motion carried on a voice vote. Committee members praised Low and her consultants for the breadth of data presented and asked that Low produce a more public‑friendly figure for forthcoming Select Board and public presentations.
Next steps: the committee’s recommendation will go to the Select Board; if the Select Board approves submission, MEPA will publish the DEIR in the Environmental Monitor and open a 30‑day public comment period, followed by a public meeting in July and later work on a final EIR and permitting.
