When the new year arrived so did a set of costly septic regulations in Tisbury, with 1,500 home systems immediately subject to new rules from the town board of health.
Island officials hope a new Martha's Vineyard Commission report that explores ways to cut down the amount of nitrogen pollution in up-Island ponds could serve as a blueprint for local planners.
Updates to the state's Title 5 regulations that were originally proposed for the Cape, South Coast and the Islands will now only go into effect on Cape Cod, state officials said this week.
The Dukes County commission voted this week to dedicate $1.4 million to help all seven towns in the county install septic systems designed to prevent nitrogen from seeping into fragile saltwater ponds.
As a tectonic shift in state wastewater regulations is under consideration by state officials, Island homeowners and towns are bracing for what could be millions of dollars in mandatory upgrades in the coming years.
On a boulder-peppered hill in Chilmark, a septic system is near completion. Tons of dense clay have been excavated and in its place a mess of tubes and concrete boxes now sit. Only one step is left: the septic must contend with Coop.
As coastal ponds and estuaries continue to deteriorate throughout the Cape and Islands, the DEP has proposed a pair of wastewater regulation amendments that could have sweeping impacts across the region.
The Edgartown wastewater treatment facility has dramatically curtailed its capacity for taking pumpouts from septic systems in recent months, forcing septic haulers to scramble.
