Cape at pollution 'tipping point,' says EPA

Cape communities have until September to get plans in place to clean up the peninsulas nitrogen pollution problem.

This is the opportunity for you to do the right thing by the Cape, said Johanna Hunter, acting director of the federal Environmental Protection Agencys surface water program.

Or someone else might.

Chris Killian of the Conservation Law Foundation, which sued the EPA for not living up to its obligations under the Clean Water Act on Cape Cod, said this was a hopeful time. The suit is in abeyance for six months to give Cape towns a window of opportunity to move forward. If they fail, said Killian, litigation is back on and the Cape could end up with an agency akin to the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority, an agency that controls water and sewer systems for Boston and surrounding communities. It was formed in 1985 to help clean up Boston Harbor, and the Conservation Law Foundation, which sued to start that cleanup, still reviews reports to see that it is fulfilling its mandate.

We dont want to go there, said Killian, looking at a crowded room filled with half the elected officials on the Cape and many other interested residents. But I dont see how that outcome can be avoided.

The Cape isnt starting from scratch. The Cape Cod Commission, with help from scores of stakeholders on the peninsula, has written a 300-page draft 208 plan named for a section in the EPA regulations.

The plan was first written in 1978, but the suit claims it was never implemented or updated and the Capes water quality paid the price.

At the One Cape Summit at the Cape Cod Resort and Conference Center Wednesday, Paul Niedzwiecki, Cape Cod Commission executive director, provided some quick background on how the Cape reached this crossroads.

He said the population of the Cape grew 400 percent from 1950 to 1990. The majority of that growth, 97 percent, used septic systems, which release nitrogen into the groundwater and bays and estuaries. Nitrogen is the primary culprit behind the Capes water quality problems, causing excessive plant growth and starting a cascade leading to unhealthy waters that dont support shellfish and fish and can ultimately lower property values.

The Capes biggest water quality issues are in spots that are the most developed.

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Cape at pollution 'tipping point,' says EPA