A group of 13 citizens which includes the principals in the Herring Creek Farm Trust and several of their relatives filed a lawsuit against the town of Edgartown this week, charging that the town is endangering the entire population of Martha's Vineyard by polluting the aquifer with its sewage treatment plant and also that town officials have worked actively for years to cover up the problem.
Major construction along Edgartown-West Tisbury Road is getting underway in Edgartown this month as part of an effort to shore up the town’s wastewater infrastructure.
Wastewater concerns continue to hover over the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital’s proposed new nursing home facility off the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, with selectmen voting Monday to commission an independent analysis.
The Edgartown wastewater treatment facility has dramatically curtailed its capacity for taking pumpouts from septic systems in recent months, forcing septic haulers to scramble.
Without wastewater treatment facilities, Island ponds could be in worse shape. Estuaries suffer from nitrogen overload, coming mostly from septic systems that remove bacteria but not nitrogen.
A few hundred alternative systems are installed on Martha's Vineyard, mostly in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs. The technology could help achieve nitrogen mitigation in Island coastal ponds.
Edgartown Wastewater Treatment Plant Under Legal Seige for Ten Years
Over Its Discharge Permit
By IAN FEIN
A decade-long legal battle examining the environmental merits of the
Edgartown sewer system and wastewater treatment plant came before the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last week.
The court heard arguments on the case last Thursday and will likely
issue a decision sometime this spring.
In a resounding victory for the town of Edgartown, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that the Edgartown wastewater treatment plant is part of the solution - and not the problem - to water quality pollution in Edgartown Great Pond.
The algal bloom in Edgartown Great Pond has prompted much well-justified discussion and concern.The following is intended to provide a little additional detail on prospective solutions to improve the health of the pond.
