Milford-Franklin-Bellingham Brace For Drainage Regs
State Rep. John Fernandes, D-Milford, wants to see clean water in the Charles River; but not at the expense of putting companies in Milford, Franklin and Bellingham out of business.
Fernandes, local officials and business owners in the southern Interstate 495 area are worried a new federal regulation regarding stormwater runoff could threaten to do just that.
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to designate the three towns as a pilot region to help clean up the Charles River.
Federal scientists have found high levels of phosphorus in the river, so under the authority of the Clean Waters Act, the EPA is proposing to mandate that communities and businesses in the area take better care of their stormwater to help reduce the high phosphorus levels.
"We're all for the concept of clean water," Fernandes said. "What's concerning to us is that our own consultants are estimating the costs to the towns and businesses could be more than $100 million."
Tracking Pollution
A high level of phosphorus in water is not an uncommon problem, according to Framingham State College biologist Richard Beckwitt. High levels of the element can cause excess algae-like substances that threaten to kill aquatic ecosystems. Some areas of the Charles River are posted with signs warning people to not go near or touch the algae in the water.
Phosphorus comes from a variety of places, but is most commonly found in lawn fertilizers, on chemicals that are used to de-ice roads and in sand, gravel and dirt.
The EPA is targeting the three towns and any commercial or industrial business property that has two acres or more of impervious surfaces, such as flat-top roofs, parking lots or roads.
Those businesses may be required to hire a consultant to study the discharges from their properties and create plans of how to reduce stormwater runoff from their properties over the next few years.
"We're getting railroaded," said Vinny Cataldo, owner of Cataldo Paving in Bellingham. "This is definitely the wrong time for this to be happening. There is never really a good time, but this is a really bad time."
Cataldo recently reconstructed his parking lot to allow stormwater to drain on site instead of being discharged off the property. So, he's unsure what the regulations will mean for him. But for other businesses, it could cost thousands of dollars to comply with the regulations.
David Breen owns about 2.4 acres of land that houses Pinz Entertainment, a bowling alley and restaurant complex in Milford. He estimates the work could cost him upwards of $120,000 per acre of land he owns.
"That's money I just flat out don't have," he said. "I'm not trying to do anything wrong on my site, I'm just trying to run a business. If this stays the way it's being proposed, my building would likely become a nice blighted eye sore for the community."
Bill Walsh-Rogalski, EPA counsel for special projects, said the steps businesses may have to take could be as simple as maintaining their property better by street sweeping and cleaning up litter more.
More expensive programs could require businesses to install or expand catch basins on their properties or to install more porous parking lots to allow rainwater to seep into the ground, according to Milford town engineer Michael Santora.
Walsh-Rogalski said one thing businesses can do to help reduce costs is to team up with their municipality and develop a joint plan of how to alleviate stormwater runoff.
Depending on the success of this four to 10 year plan of reducing phosphorus levels, the regulated areas could expand further down the Charles River, Walsh-Rogalski added. He said the Milford-Bellingham-Franklin area was chosen as a starting point because that's where the river begins.
The EPA is set to hold a public hearing on the issue to take public comment on the proposal on June 22 at the Tri-County Regional Vocational School Auditorium on Pond Street in Franklin. EPA officials will discuss the proposal then will take public comments.
A draft of the proposal can be found on the EPA website here.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments