Mayor returns from Washington with optimism
By Angela Greiner Community Reporter

Marlborough - Mayor Nancy Stevens and Commissioner of Public Works Ronald LaFreniere were among allies during a recent trip to Washington, D.C., to discuss the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) policies and the impact of the wastewater treatment facilities upgrades. Also conven- ing in Washington were local leaders from cities and towns throughout the commonwealth who, like Marlborough, are being hard hit by large bills to retrofit their plants with the appropriate upgrades to meet the EPA regulations.

During the trip, Stevens attended several meetings with other city's and town's concerned representatives as well as several legislators.

"I came away feeling cautiously optimistic," Stevens said.

In Washington, Stevens met in both private meetings and in delegation with state and federal legislators, including U.S. Sen. John Kerry, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, U.S. Rep. James McGovern, and U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, and was encouraged by what she encountered.

"The legislature was empathetic and the EPA was listening," Stevens said afterward.

Assistant Commissioner of Public Works Doran Crouse explained that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has begun working with the EPA to evaluate the conditions of watershed basins across the country.

"The Assabet River was just one of the first watershed basins to be looked at," Crouse said.

Because of high chemical levels like phosphorous in the river, the EPA has adopted more stringent discharge requirements for wastewater treatment plants. This makes most of the wastewater treatment plants in towns and cities along the Assabet no longer meeting effluent requirements. To comply, Marlborough and other towns and cities must begin upgrades, which would carry a significant price tag.

Although taxpayers will not be aff ected for another three to five years, Stevens explained, without some state or federal aid the city projects that sewer bills will triple.

During the trip, Stevens attended an EPA infrastructure improvement meeting, with more than 45 people in attendance, to discuss the eff ect that EPA policies have had on the city.

"We talked about issues we are facing with the new upgrades and we aired concerns with the EPA's permitting process," Stevens said.

In addition to the financial impact that the plant upgrades will have on the city, Stevens was equally concerned about the next permitting process. Because the permits are valid for only five years, Stevens said she does not want to begin a massive overhaul of the wastewater treatment plants only to discover at the next permitting process that they are out of compliance.

Communities like Upper Blackstone, she explained, had already begun their upgrades, when halfway through, their permits expired and when they renewed, there was a new standard of regulations.

"I think we need to change the permitting process. I do not want to have that happen here in Marlborough," Stevens said.

As a result of the meeting, Stevens and LaFreniere have both agreed to participate in a small working group to discuss and problem-solve solutions for change.

"Something needs to change," Stevens said. "We have no concrete solutions."

Stevens and LaFreniere plan to reconvene with the group in six months to generate a plan to address these issues.