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Planning board chair urges regional sewer authority to tackle South Coast nitrogen pollution
Summary
Jim Whiten, chair of Westport’s planning board and SERPED representative, told the Infrastructure Oversight Committee that a regional authority — modeled on Boston’s MWRA — could deliver more equitable and affordable solutions for nitrogen pollution than town‑by‑town sewering; he also promoted low‑cost septic bioreactors as an interim step.
Jim Whiten, chair of Westport’s planning board and the town’s representative to SERPED, told the Infrastructure Oversight Committee on April 29 that nitrogen pollution in Buzzards Bay and the Taunton River watershed is a regional problem that likely requires a regional solution.
“It's a regional problem and it requires a regional solution,” Whiten said, drawing a parallel to the Boston area’s Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which was created by the legislature and given bonding authority to build and manage large wastewater infrastructure.
Whiten said some Cape Cod communities are facing multibillion‑dollar compliance plans under court‑driven pressure from state agencies and environmental advocates. He cited a Wareham representative’s estimate of roughly $500 million to meet Clean Water Act obligations in that community, and warned that forcing each town to shoulder the full cost alone could be unaffordable.
Whiten argued a legislatively authorized regional entity could bond large projects, provide professional centralized management and allocate costs more equitably across communities. “You would get really professional management of the system and the ability to bond the big infrastructure like the sewage treatment plants,” he said.
At the same meeting Whiten highlighted a lower‑cost individual approach he has promoted locally: small in‑tank bioreactor devices that he said cost about $5,000 to install and, based on his household monitoring, have reduced nitrogen in his septic effluent by roughly 70 percent. “That thing costs $5,000 and you can put it in with a shovel,” he said, describing the devices as practical near‑term options for properties that will not receive sewer in the foreseeable future.
Committee members pressed Whiten on how a regional model would address Westport’s rural areas, where many homes are on narrow lanes, shallow lots or private wells. Whiten acknowledged the equity and technical challenges, and said state participation and legislative action would likely be necessary to scale a regional authority and avoid leaving smaller communities to pay outsized shares.
Why it matters: Municipalities on the South Coast are facing rising regulatory pressure to reduce nitrogen loads to sensitive estuaries. Westport officials said they are close to the town’s total maximum daily load (TMDL) limits and that the mix of expensive full‑sewer options and limited individual fixes creates difficult choices for homeowners and elected officials. Whiten’s presentation framed a regional authority as a way to spread cost and management while pursuing affordable interim fixes.
What’s next: Whiten said SERPED staff are pursuing a site visit with MWRA to study its governance and operations; committee members asked staff to track state legislative opportunities and to follow up about pilot projects for low‑cost denitrification devices.
