Selectmen approve $16 million for plant upgrade
By Angela Greiner Community Reporter

Hudson - The selectmen grudgingly approved the execution of financing documents for the Waste Water Treatment Facility upgrade in the amount of $16.46 million during the April 7 Board of Selectmen meeting.

The update came in response to the Environmental Protection Agency's finding that the Assabet River's phosphorus levels are too high. Town resident Arthur Gordon appealed to the selectmen at their meeting that in lieu of spending such a large sum to update the facility, they should consider passing a bylaw banning the use of detergent and dishwashing soaps containing phosphorus.

Selectman Anthony Loura said that the Board of Selectmen could not do that.

"How would we enforce it?" Loura asked.

With several states already banning the sales of phosphorus-based cleaning products and Massachusetts currently working on the problem, Gordon's suggestion was not far off the mark. Gov. Deval Patrick recently signed a bill brought forth by State Sen. Pamela P. Resor, D-Acton, and supported by the State Legislature banning the use of phosphorus in dishwashing products. For local residents and retailers tied to particular cleaning products, there is a small window left to continue using them, but by 2010, those products will no longer be available.

According to Alison Field-Juma, policy director for the Organization for the Assabet River, waste water treatment plants are the greatest source of phosphorus pollution entering the Assabet River. By decreasing the amount of phosphorus-based detergents, Field-Juma said, the community would see a decrease in the amount of phosphorus entering the treatment plant, resulting in less to remove.

Selectman Carl Leeber did say that there are communities that have passed bylaws banning the use of phosphorus-containing cleaning products and that the technology is in place to track where the phosphorus stems from.

"The way to control it is not popular," Leeber said. "People would rather pay millions of dollars and still have choices."

In other news, the Federal Communications Commission granted Comcast an exemption to rate regulation because satellite dishes now make up 15 percent of the town's cable usage.

Selectman Carl Leeber was disappointed by the deregulation of Comcast's rates, and would like to see future negotiations with Verizon to bring residents some relief to the local cable monopoly.

"By the end of the summer, 80 percent of the aboveground infrastructure [for Verizon] should be in place," Leeber said.

Leeber has compared his cable bills to those in other communities and has discovered that he was receiving higher rates for the same service.

"The prices just keep going up and up," Leeber said.

Having a monopoly is never advantageous, he added. With the addition of Verizon services, he is hopeful that the residents will receive better services with more choices.