Cohasset board approves nitrogen‑reducing septic plan for 53 Beechwood Street

The Cohasset Board of Public Health voted 3‑0 on Jan. 13 to approve a septic design for 53 Beechwood Street that uses an I/A MicroFAST nitrogen‑reducing system, the board reported.

Michael Joyce of Joyce Consulting Group presented the plan for a new three‑bedroom single‑family home to replace the existing house. The proposal calls for abandoning the existing tank, distribution box and conventional leaching system and installing a new 1,500‑gallon septic tank, a distribution box and a new leaching field. The site lies within 400 feet of Mealy Pond, which the board identified as a nitrogen‑sensitive area; under the town’s supplemental regulations, systems in that buffer must include nitrogen‑reducing technology.

Marcia Lewis moved approval with these conditions: record a deed restriction limiting the property to three bedrooms; record a deed restriction noting the use of I/A technology; submit and maintain an Operations & Maintenance contract for the I/A system; provide a septic as‑built; and decommission the existing system. Mary Goodwin seconded the motion; Dr. Paul Schubert and the two members voted aye. Building Inspector John Hallin noted that Town Engineer Brian Flynn had reviewed the plan and that no variances or local upgrade approvals were requested.

The board and the applicant said the proposed design meets Department of Environmental Protection setback requirements. The approval requires the town’s standard recording and post‑installation paperwork: the deed restrictions must be filed, an O&M contract must be in place before a certificate of compliance, and the as‑built must be submitted after installation. The board did not authorize any deviations or variances.

Next steps include recording the deed restrictions, execution of the Operations & Maintenance agreement, permitting inspections and submission of the as‑built plans; the existing system must be decommissioned as a condition of the approval.