Ashumet Nitrogen Plume
Offset Program
This site is intended to provide the history, progress reports and recommendations of the Ashumet Nitrogen Plume Offset Program. Various, Reports, Summaries and Articles are included on this website. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader for some Reports and Summaries.
Introduction
The Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE)
pledged $8.5 million to the Town of
Seal of Approval Program: Information for the program may be found on the link Seal of Approval and the application form may be found on link SOA Application Form. Information for Lawn Service Providers may be found on the link Lawn Service Providers.
Current Status
September 20 2007 Please go to the following websites to get the latest
information on wastewater issues in Falmouth: www.preservefalmouthbays-ponds.org
or www.falmouthmass.us.
November 11, 2004 The town is waiting for
the DEP Estuaries Report on the condition of Bournes, Green and Great Ponds and
the associated goals for reducing nutrients into the ponds. The report is expected this Fall or early
Winter. We expect the reports will be
similar to the reports that FAPCC had Horsley and
July 14, 2004 The last round of Certificates will be presented by the Selectmen at their July 26th meeting. Therefore the deadline for submitting an application is July 19th. At the Selectmen’s meeting, the Honor Roll Poster will be unveiled and given to the Selectmen to post in Town Hall. The poster will have all the names of organizations who have signed up for the Seal of Approval program along with helpful hints on how to maintain a Falmouth Friendly Lawn. Duplicates of the poster will be distributed.
June 30, 2004 The Selectmen presented at their June 14th meeting, 13 more Seal of Approval certificates to organizations/businesses. The press release can be viewed at June press release.
April 26, 2004 A comprehensive list of
plants and trees friendly to
March 25, 2004 Fifty letters have been
mailed to Associations/organizations in
The Committee has received word from the Town that due to “the schedule of the Town’s current wastewater planning process”, they are not recommending going forward with the wood chip surface water treatment pilot project. This is to say that the idea is not dead but that their Alternative Analysis Report, which was prepared as part of the wastewater planning process, included “constructed reactor with wood chip media” as one of the three alternatives. The other two alternatives were freshwater impoundments and constructed wetlands.
March 3, 2004 A very successful Lawn Service Providers seminar was held at WBNERR on February 19th. 27 providers plus representatives from other towns were present to hear Dr. Michael Sullivan, Chairman, Dept. of Plant Services, University of Rhode Island give a dynamic talk on his recent findings on the effects of fertilizer practices on coastal ponds and how much fertilizer nitrogen is really needed. Tom Flaherty, Superintendent, Woods Hole Golf Club than followed up with a discussion of the practices he follows to maintain the golf course and stay within the FFL guidelines.
The third round of Seal of Approval Certificates were presented on March 1, 2004 to 17 signatories to the program. This brings to 59 the total organizations who have committed to reduce/control the use of fertilizer on their properties. We anticipate the next round of presentations will be made in April. If you have been approached by one of our volunteers, please get back to him/her soon so we can count on you for the next round of presentations by the Board of Selectmen.
The Ecological Landscaping Brochure group is still working on the list of invasive plants and any update will be listed on this website.
February 1, 2004 The second round of Seal of Approval Certificates were presented to 20 signatories to the program. This brings to 42 the total organizations who have committed to reduce/control the use of fertilizer on their properties. We anticipate the next round of presentations will be made by the end of February. If you have been approached by one of our volunteers, please get back to him/her soon so we can count on you for the next round of presentations by the Board of Selectmen..
January 14, 2004 The next round of Seal of Approval Certificates will be presented by the Selectmen at their January 20, 2004 meeting. If you haven’t sent in your application, please do so immediately.
The half-day seminar planned for lawn service providers
will be held on February 19, 2004 at 8:00 am at the Waquoit Bay National
Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR) on Route 28,
The seminar is sponsored by FAPCC, WBNERR and FACES and is free to all.
December 7, 2003 The Falmouth Selectmen
presented the Seal of Approval Certificates to 22
The Falmouth Friendly Lawn program is planning a seminar for lawn care service providers in late February (further details will be posted on this site). The goal of the seminar is to encourage dialog amongst the providers on how to respond to the customers’ questions concerning a Falmouth Friendly Lawn and to encourage the providers to offer FFL care.
November 24, 2003 As of today we have 16 organizations that have submitted applications for the SOA Certificate to be presented at the Selectmen’s meeting on December 1, 2003.
The Ecological Landscaping on Cape Cod brochure has been printed and will be available in the vestibule rack in Town Hall Wednesday afternoon, November 26, 2003. The list of plants, both good and invasive, as noted in the brochure, will be put on this site in January 2004.
November 17, 2003 The Seal of Approval program will be officially launched at the Selectmen’s meeting on December 1, 2003. As of this date we have eight organizations, including three golf courses, that will be presented certificates. If there are other organizations that wish to participate, it’s not too late to submit your application.
The Ecological Landscaping Brochure has been finalized and is going to the printers.
September 29, 2003 The initial contacts have been made for the SOA program. It is anticipated that the first group of program participants will get their certificates from the Selectmen in the near future.
The Ecological Landscaping Brochure is in the final stage
of design. We are still anticipating the
Brochure will be available by the end of the year.
September 2, 2003 The Fertilizer Committee
has been developing an Ecological Landscaping Brochure. The brochure will be available by the end of
the year. The “We Support Falmouth
Friendly Lawn” bumper stickers are now available at Town Hall. Tim Traver continues his articles in
Friday’s
The “Seal of Approval” program paperwork is now in place and contact with initial participants will begin shortly. The Program Description, the Impact of Fertilizer and Application for an SOA Certificate are shown on SOA Program.
The Treatment Wetlands program has been forwarded to the Town and can be found on Wetlands.
August 17, 2003 The “Seal of Approval” program was approved by the Selectmen, the initial paper work is being printed and the first participants will be contacted shortly. The Falmouth Friendly Lawn revised brochure was sent to all homeowners on August 2nd and bumper stickers are now available. Tim Traver’s articles continue to be published in the Falmouth Enterprise on Fridays and can be viewed on this website at Enterprise Articles.
July 11, 2003 The Seal of Approval program was “blessed” by both the Conservation Commission and Board of Health and will be presented to the Selectmen on their July 21st meeting. The Falmouth Friendly Lawn brochure has been printed and will be distributed shortly. The articles continue to be published in the Falmouth Enterprise and can be read on this website Enterprise Articles.
June 30, 2003 The Seal of Approval program will be discussed with the Conservation Commission at their July 2, 2003 meeting and with the Board of Health on July 7, 2003. The wetlands project will be discussed with the Selectmen on July 24. The articles continue to be published in the Falmouth Enterprise and can be read on this website Enterprise Articles.
June 09, 2003 The Falmouth Friendly Lawn Campaign has revised the brochure and it will be going to the printers and distribution to all resident homeowners soon. We are attempting to get our message across via FCTV Channel 13 and are looking for interested parties to assist us. The Seal of Approval (SOA) program is moving along with the goal of signing on a few entities this year and then attempting to gather full support next year. There will be more after we finish coordinating the SOA program with the various Town authorities.
April 29, 2003 The Falmouth Friendly Lawn
Campaign was officially kicked off at the Selectmen’s Meeting on April
28, 2003. At that meeting Shannon Goheen was introduced as the new Campaign
Coordinator. The weekly articles were
started on April 18, 2003 in the Falmouth Enterprise and will be included in
this website as Enterprise articles. Again the Committee thanks Margaret Russell
and Laura Reckford of the
Now that Town Meeting has met and approved the
March 7, 2003 The following is a summary of a presentations given by the FAPCC Chairman and Fertilizer Subcommittee chair to the Falmouth Selectmen on February 24, 2003: “As survey results demonstrate, the first year of Falmouth Friendly Lawns [FFL] has had a favorable impact on homeowner attitudes and fertilizing practices, Attachment 1. In fashioning FFL for 2003, we have been mindful of three considerations: [1] the many helpful suggestions contained in the overwhelming number of positive responses to the survey; [2] the need to sustain a multi-year education program; and [3] the need to move toward a sustainable level of expense without having to rely on extended use of US Air Force funding.
Last year, Selectmen approved a budget of $250,000 to
launch FFL on a very professional basis with the help of O’Sullivan
Communications [OC] of
As we indicated when you approved the 2002 budget, our
Fertilizer Subcommittee has been careful to husband expenses. As a result, actual expenses in 2002 were
held to $197,100. Excluding
one-time set-up costs, expenses in 2002 would have been $119,100, which is what
a “no change” second year budget would require.
For 2003, to strengthen our message and delivery media, while still accomplishing a downward trajectory of expense, we see the need for five changes in the basic FFL campaign:
1. The fertilizer message needs to change from “no more than twice” to “no more than once a year”. We have seen significant research showing that established lawns need no more than one pound/1000 sq ft per year of fertilizer, if that. Clippings left lying, and nitrogen in rainfall and stored in topsoil contribute enough to sustain most turf grasses.
2. Survey respondents said mailings, news articles and nursery recommendations are the best sources of advice about lawn care, and we will focus on those media in 2003.
3. Survey respondents also said we should extend our outreach to address visible locations like golf courses, businesses, churches and town-owned properties; provisions for explicit coverage of such target audiences is proposed for the 2003 budget.
4. We need to diversify our message delivery to homeowners, especially with children and teenagers because mailings and news articles don’t always register [e.g. the fall survey was the seventh mailing to homeowners but still 5% of respondents who took the time to write back to us with suggestions said they had never before heard of FFL].
5. Although OC is best positioned to update the materials they have developed, it will not be economic for them to diversify outreach and message delivery or to prepare more news articles; we need new and less expensive sources to coordinate and write such products.
In a new initiative, the Fertilizer Subcommittee has formed an informal alliance with Falmouth Garden Club and the League of Women Voters and WBNERR to develop a program to promote native plants. FFL’s goal is encouraging property owners to substitute plots of native plantings for some of their lawn, and thereby save both fertilizer and water. In addition, we need to start looking for grants to help sustain FFL and related programs well into the future.
With respect to newspaper articles, we are happy to report that The Falmouth Enterprise has agreed to carry a regular column using the PFB&P logo and heading. The articles will be approximately 800 words each and will start with a twice a month schedule on Fridays, increasing in frequency in late spring. We also have arranged, subject to budget approval, to have the column prepared by a free-lance writer on ecological science. He has MS in environmental studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and, among other work, writes articles for various environmental newsletters. Because his field is not lawn care, however, it will be necessary to provide him research support for certain articles.
As suggested earlier, OC’s work in 2003 will be
limited essentially to updating existing materials. That step will eliminate OC’s role as program coordinator and shift that
responsibility to the
For 2003, we propose a budget of $77,500 for the base program, compared with a carryover base program of $119,100 and actual expense in 2002 of $197,400. We also propose two new initiatives: $26,000 for native plants and $2,000 to seek grants. In total, therefore, we ask your approval for a 2003 budget of $105,500. We also note that, if the savings compared with budget in 2002 of $52,900 are credited against the 2003 proposal, the net new funding will be $52,600”.
The Selectmen approved the plan with the stipulation that the budget be coordinated with the Town Administrator to ensure all contractual requirements are met. To that end, the writer was approved and an RFP will be issued shortly by the Town for the Program Coordinator’s position.
February 20, 2003 The program objectives and budget for the Falmouth Friendly Lawn Program for 2003 will be presented for approval to the Board of Selectmen at their weekly meeting on February 24, 2003. The February FAPCC meeting has been cancelled with the next meeting March 20, 2003.
February 4, 2003 The next joint meeting of the Boards of Selectmen, Planning, Health and Appeals is scheduled for February 13 at 7 pm in Town Hall. The Committee had hoped that there would be nutrient management-related articles for Spring Town Meeting, but at this point the committee has been informed that there will not be any. Before Christmas, we had been hoping for three possible articles; watershed map, legal/finance evaluation and overview engineering plan. Here's where each of them stands:
Watershed map, or more properly an updated Coastal Pond Overlay District map covering the entire town: held up to verify the basis for watershed delineations and exactly where the boundaries should be drawn for each lot.
Legal/finance evaluation: deferred in favor of the County-sponsored WMD study; the committee might consider recommending some support for a Falmouth case study if the CC Commission is unable to obtain other funding within the next couple of months
Overview engineering plan: deferred at least until the West Falmouth Harbor/Maravista Wastewater Planning Study [Falmouth Study] is well underway.
The Falmouth Study requires an examination of new technologies to be used outside of the proposed sewer service areas. In that connection, the committee understands that, once a contractor has been chosen for the Falmouth Study it will be appropriate to surface the Nitrex surface flow interceptor pilot. In preparation for that event, we will complete the committee evaluation of constructed wetlands and goals for a pilot and water monitoring project and present them to Selectmen.
Meanwhile, the committee is encouraged to explore "go/no go" criteria for the shoreline subsurface Nitrex filters. In that regard, we believe there are at least two "no go" aspects that should be examined. One is the impact of salt water intrusion into Nitrex. The other is whether or not shoreline groundwater upwelling occurs in stable and identifiable places. In regard to the latter, we have had an introductory meeting with USGS, who would like us to fund some computer modeling; we also have seen temperature sensitive aerial photos that show groundwater upwelling at and near the shoreline --- but they provide no vertical cross secction, of course.
The Fertilizer Sub-Committee has received a proposal for the 2003-year program and plans on meeting with the Selectmen on February 24th to discuss the budget for the year. After approval of the budget, it is then anticipated that the Committee will kick off the 2003 campaign at the Selectmen’s meeting on April 14th. The plan for this coming year will include a series of articles in the Falmouth Enterprise to provide even more information about Falmouth Friendly Lawn care that many homeowners requested in responding to last fall’s survey. In addition, two areas of emphasis will be fertilizing ONLY in the fall and beginning a campaign for people to convert at least some of their lawn to ecological landscaping.
The winner of the Bose radio for the last fall’s
survey was Sem Aykanian of
January 8, 2003 The results of the survey are listed at surveyresultswave2. As can be seen from the results, the majority of respondents believe that they can have an impact on the water quality of the ponds and are willing to help in that effort. The responses to the last question were very much appreciated and told the Committee that people were concerned. The comments are listed at the end of the report. The Committee is using that input and others to formulate the program for this upcoming growing season and will publicize the agenda shortly.
December 4, 2002 The Town in conjunction with the Committee is sponsoring a Nutrient Management Workshop on December 12th at 7:00 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room. The meeting will also be televised live on Channel 13, FCTV. The purpose of the meeting is to start the dialog with the Town officials, Selectmen and the Committee on the Committee’s recommendation of establishing nutrient managements entities to manage the septic waste which is the largest contributor to pond nutrient overload. The agenda can be viewed at agenda.
The results of the Falmouth Friendly Lawn survey were announced in the November 22, 2002 issue of the Falmouth Enterprise (see Enterprise article). In summary, more than 82% of the respondents believe that they can reduce nitrogen pollution and 79% believe that it is a serious problem that could have an adverse effect on property values and property taxes. The Committee is waiting for further analysis of the respondent’s input especially all the thoughtful comments which were added in the last question. In addition, the Committee is now working with O’Sullivan Communications to formulate the program for next year’s growing season.
November 17, 2002 The follow-up survey
preliminary results are in and the responses are encouraging. The number of respondents is down from the
initial survey but still considered very good for this type of survey. We received 31 pages of comments from the
open-ended question (last question); most were favorable with some good
constructive input. Most of the
respondents thought the Falmouth Friendly Lawn campaign was effective, but that
we needed to keep educating the public while a few requested more education. We are awaiting the final report from the contractor.
The Committee and the Town will be sponsoring a workshop
on Nutrient Management Districts on December 12, 2002 in the Selectmen’s
Meeting Room. This workshop will be
televised on Channel 13 and afford the town residents an opportunity to learn
more about the overall problem of treating waste water in the various sections
of town.
The Committee has zeroed in on an approach to use the
fresh water streams to treat that water before it enters the three ponds. This is referred to as treatment wetlands to
remove nitrogen. A presentation is being
prepared for review by the Selectmen and will be articulated at that time.
October 12, 2002 The Committee, in conjunction with the Selectmen, has mailed the follow-up survey to those that received the initial survey in March. The purpose of the follow-up survey is to gauge the effectiveness of the Falmouth Friendly Lawn campaign this past summer and to help formulate future efforts. The deadline for submission is October 18th and like the initial survey, there will be a drawing for a Bose radio for a lucky respondent. The Fertilizer Subcommittee hopes to summarize the highlights/lowlights of the past summer’s campaign after the survey results are known.
September 17, 2002 The Committee has received a “technical review” of the treatment wetlands proposals and is formulating the next actions to be taken.
The Fertilizer Committee has approved and had mailed out the third postcard entitled Fall Care for your Falmouth Friendly Lawn. In addition it has approved the follow-up survey to the residents of the three watersheds so the Committee can ascertain the impact of the summer publicity programs. The survey will be mailed by the end of the month.
August 6, 2002 The Committee continues to evaluate the treatment wetland programs presented on June 24th.
The Committee has approved ads for both radio and print media. The results of the spring survey are now available at survey results.
July 9, 2002 See July 5, 2002 update as reports have been linked to each presenter.
July 5, 2002 The Committee had a most successful workshop on June 24th on treatment wetlands. Approximately 50 people participated including State and Town officials, interested scientists and citizens. Presentations were given by: David DelPorto, Sustainable Strategies, Concord, MA who proposed a landscaped rock/plant filter concept with subsurface, horizontal water flow which, hopefully, will remove significant amounts of nitrogen (Delporto Report); Pio Lombardo, Lombardo Associates, Inc., Newton, MA who proposed a series of constructed wetlands and extraction points to denitrify the ponds’ waters (Lombardo Report); Al McCullough, Sustainable Science LLC, Denton, MD who proposed surface treatment wetlands in conjunction with interceptor trenches adjacent to the critical pond shorelines to capture nitrogen-rich ground waters before they reach the ponds(McCullough Report). The task of the Committee is to now evaluate the three approaches and recommend to the Selectmen what action should be taken.
The fertilizer program is progressing under the direction of the Fertilizer Committee. The second mailing of a card which reminds residents that fertilizing in the summer is not productive, has occurred. In addition, O’Sullivan Communications is developing an ad for the Falmouth Enterprise. The Committee and O’Sullivan Communications will be present at the Falmouth Street Fair FACES’ booth, July 10, 2002
June 10, 2002 The Committee continues to evaluate the responses to the treatment wetlands feasibility study. It is hoped that most of the Committee’s questions will be answered prior to the workshop so that the guests will have adequate time to ask questions.
The Fertilizer Committee had a strategy meeting with O’Sullivan Communications on May 24th and planned the next events for the program. A postcard is being developed to remind residents that fertilizing in the summer is unnecessary. In addition, other promotional ideas were discussed.
May 18, 2002 At the May 16, 2002 Committee meeting, the plans for the June 24th workshop on feasibility studies for treatment wetlands were discussed as the consultants work towards the workshop date. The workshop will be held in the Town Hall Selectmen’s room and registration will commence at 9:45 A.M. with opening remarks at 10:20 A.M. We are targeting to complete the workshop shortly after 2:00 P.M. Several members of the regulatory agencies, Town officials and the science community are anticipated to attend.
The Fertilizer Education Program continues to gain attention as more and more residents are buying organic fertilizers according to some garden centers. The Fertilizer Sub-committee will be meeting on May 24, 2002 to discuss the next phase of the program.
May 2, 2002 The official launch of the
Fertilizer Program was held at the Selectmen’s meeting on April 22nd
with three selectman, the Town Administrator, other regional dignitaries and
Committee members in attendance. In
addition, it was broadcast live on Channel 13.
The logo for the campaign was unveiled, logo,
and two banners were introduced, sign and sign1. The results
of the survey mailed in late February are listed in survey
results. The winner of the Bose
radio was John Buskey,
The April 26, 2002 Cape Cod Times had the following
editorial; Growing a Friendly Lawn, “Earlier this week, the Ashumet Plume
Citizens Committee launched a campaign to reduce nitrogen pollution in coastal
ponds and estuaries. Most of the
pollution is caused by lawn fertilizers and septic tanks. The Committee hopes to persuade
We are starting to get inputs from the consultants concerning the feasibility study for constructed wetlands. We are still aiming for a June 24th workshop, time and place to be announced later. We are inviting key personnel from several governmental and environmental agencies to the workshop and anticipate a enlightening workshop..
April 21, 2002 The official launch of the Fertilizer Program will be at 6:45 P.M. April 22, 2002 in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room. It will also be televised on FCTV, Channel 13. In addition, the winner of the Bose radio will be announced at that time.
The feasibility studies being conducted by the three companies listed below are progressing. It is anticipated that there will be a workshop on June 24, 2002 to discuss the results of each company’s efforts. The time and place will be announced later.
March 30, 2002 Several of the Committee
members, a Town Selectman, the Town Assistant Administrator and several
interested
At the last Committee meeting, we were briefed by O’Sullivan Communications on the preliminary results of the survey taken earlier. Plans are being made to have a roll-out of the program during the second or third week of April. At that time the official results will be released along with the announcement of the winner of the radio. The roll-out will be announced on this website and in the local media.
March 16, 2002 The town has received the requested funds
from the U. S. Air Force so contracts with Lombardo Associate,
The Fertilizer Program survey results are still coming in
with over 1100 responses received to date.
It is anticipated that O’Sullivan Communications will brief the
Committee on the results at their March 28th meeting. The Brochure has been developed and will be
mailed to all
An informative workshop on Wastewater Management Districts
will be held on March 21 (
March 4, 2002 The Town has a contract with O’Sullivan Communications and they are proceeding quickly with the Fertilizer Education Program in order to take advantage of the upcoming growing season. A survey has been developed and mailed to approximately 6,000 homeowners in the watersheds of Bournes, Green and Great Ponds. The main goals of the survey are to assess the awareness and concern of the citizens in regards to fertilizer being a contributor to the nitrogen overloading problems of the ponds. I n addition, the survey wants to learn what kinds of fertilizers and how often they are being used on the lawns. At the end of the season, a follow-up survey will be issued to ascertain any changes that the education program has made. Also, a brochure is being developed which describes How to Grow a Falmouth Friendly Lawn. This brochure should be issued in April. O’Sullivan Communications has been contacting fertilizer retailers and lawn service providers to gain their support for this education program. Hopefully we will see new banners in the retail/nursery stores soon.
The Town has been told that the AFCEE funds for the Wetlands Feasibility Study should arrive mid March and then the three selected experts can begin their work on the study.
Members of the Committee will be attending a one-day
workshop, Wastewater Management Districts, which is being held in
January 25, 2002 The Town is waiting for AFCC funds which are promised in the next couple of weeks. All the required paperwork has been submitted and is working its way through the US Air Force system. As soon as funds are received the contracts with O’Sullivan Communications and the three-wetland feasibility study contractors will be signed. We will then publish a schedule for each program. One target that is trying to be met is a short questionnaire concerning the publics’ knowledge/feelings towards the use of fertilizers. This we hope to mail during February to all homeowners in the Bournes, Green and Great Ponds watersheds.
December 11, 2001 The Committee Chairman, Jack Barnes, briefed the Selectman at their weekly meeting (December 10th) on three aspects of the program. The first was the Fertilizer Education Program, which included a synopsis of the competitive process to select a public relations/management firm to lead the Town education process. Jack then introduced Meghan O’Sullivan, President, O’Sullivan Communications who outlined the program her firm has put together for the Town. After discussion, the Selectmen approved the Committee’s recommendation with the anticipation that the program will be launched the first of the year. An early objective will be a short survey of the residents of the three watersheds about their knowledge of fertilizer’s impact on the three ponds. A follow-up survey to measure the effectiveness of the Program will be conducted in the fall.
It was requested and subsequently approved that Hila Lyman become a member of the Ashumet Plume Citizens Committee (APCC). This is addition to her role as Chairperson of APCC’s Fertilizer Sub-committee. This sub-committee will work closely with O’Sullivan Communications as they develop the Town’s education program.
The second program discussed was the wetland feasibility
study program. Jack briefed the
selectman on the process to arrive at selecting three companies and their
associated “experts” to prepare, independently, a relatively brief
technical feasibility analysis whether constructed wetlands will work using
some of the cranberry bogs on Bournes Brook,
The last discussion dealt with the Committee’s
recommendation that the Town start efforts towards purchasing land for nitrogen
removal purposes in
December 8, 2001 The Falmouth Enterprise has published an article concerning the launching of the fertilizer that was supposed to have taken place at the recent cancelled Selectmen’s meeting. The article can be viewed at fertilizer article.
November 21, 2001 The Committee has recommended that the Town enter a one-year contract with one of the aspirants to launch a fertilizer conservation program with a long-term objective of reducing the use of chemical nitrogen by 50% or more. The Town will announce the winner shortly and hopes to launch the program after the first of the year.
Responses to the constructed wetlands program have been received and are being evaluated.
November 1, 2001 On October 11, 2001, the Committee interviewed representatives from O’Sullivan Communications, Inc and Spotlight Communications LLC concerning their proposals for the fertilizer program. Both companies were responsive to the RFP and were thanked by the Chairman for their professional presentations. Subsequently the Chairman and the Town opened the price proposals and they are being evaluated at this time. It is the Committee’s intention to conclude deliberations at their regular meeting on November 8, 2001. The responses to the Constructed Wetlands e-mail request is due to the Town on November 2, 2001.
September 28, 2001 Two qualified firms have
responded to the town’s fertilizer RFP: O’Sullivan Communications,
Inc., of Acton and Spotlight Communications, LLC of
The Committee is interested in determining the feasibility of using constructed wetlands to filter out nitrogen from the three rivers immediately before they empty into the coastal ponds, but the nitrogen concentrations there are much lower than most such wetlands treat. To learn more, the committee sought some advice from a number of firms with wetlands experience via an e-mail circular in July. Several firms responded and some of them provided further information in follow-up telephone and e-mail discussions. Those exchanges were sufficiently promising to prompt the committee to ask five firms to propose, by November 2, a budget to develop a white paper evaluation of design approach, size and location of likely sites, and to assess significant issues wetlandltr.
September 17, 2001 Due to the events of last week, the Town has delayed the due date for receipt of the Fertilizer RFP proposals until September 20, 2001.
August 29, 2001 The Town has issued an addenda to the fertilizer RFP to clarify some points in the original document. The addenda can be viewed at addenda.
August 13, 2001 The fertilizer RFP was issued by the Town on
July 24th. For an official
copy contact Ms. Heather B. Harper, Assistant Town Administrator at
July 19, 2001 The Constructed Wetland e-mail may be viewed at constructed wetlands.
July 9, 2001 At their regularly scheduled meeting, Chairman Jack Barnes briefed Falmouth Selectmen on the three-pronged remedy the Committee has been developing to improve water quality in the coastal ponds. The three prongs are: (1) a program to curb use of fertilizers that cause more than 20% of the nitrogen loading; (2) constructed wetlands above the coastal ponds to remove nitrogen coming from the upper watershed that cause 20% to 40% of the nitrogen loading; and (3) a management district to construct, manage and finance a cost-effective wastewater treatment system for the entire watershed area in order to sharply curtail the 50% share of nitrogen loading caused by on-site septic systems. Selectmen endorsed the three-pronged approach, as discussed below, and took under advisement the question of how best to organize the increasingly complex effort to develop each element of the comprehensive remedy.
A request for proposals [RFP] has been prepared for a multi-year program aimed at reducing use of nitrogen fertilizers by at least 50%. The program would focus on marketing and public relations effort to encourage voluntary action by homeowners. Also included is an optional consumer survey to develop baseline data on consumer awareness of degraded water quality, sources of nitrogen pollution, the impact of nitrogen in lawn fertilizers, and present fertilizing and lawn-care practices. Selectmen warmly endorsed the program and asked that the coverage be town-wide to obtain maximum impact. The final RFP should be released before the end of July, and will be posted on this site with contact information.
The potential use of constructed wetlands garnered considerable discussion, mainly because a relatively novel application is being considered for a widely used technology [to remove low concentrations of nitrogen in freshwater streams rather than treating wastewater effluent high in nitrogen content]. Reflecting that novelty, the Committee is looking for some expert advice about the practicalities of such an application with a view to funding a demonstration project if the application seems feasible. To obtain that advice, and to identify firms that might be candidates to design, construct and monitor such a demonstration, Selectmen agreed to send an e-mail circular to experienced engineering and wetland consultants requesting their advice about whether or not this application may have potential. A copy of the e-mail circular will be posted on this site for those who are interested in this phase of the program.
The largest challenge is wastewater treatment. Unless virtually all the nitrogen generated by home septic systems can be eliminated, there is absolutely no prospect for restoring reasonable water quality in the ponds. None of the home systems installed today, which range from cesspools to various versions of Title V, is designed to remove nitrogen. To install nitrogen-removing systems, there are two models that could be followed. One is a traditional sewer district with a central treatment plant for some homes, and a regulatory mandate to install nitrogen-removing on-site systems everywhere else in the watershed. The second model is a nitrogen management district wherein an autonomous local body designs and operates an optimum system for the watershed as a whole, using a mixture of central plant, neighborhood plants and on-site systems, which can take advantage of scale cost efficiencies, maximum nitrogen removal capabilities, and the natural removal properties of freshwater bodies and tidal flushing.
In concept, the nitrogen management district should remove more nitrogen for less cost than the traditional model, and also appears to offer more financing flexibility to pay for the system. As Selectmen Chairman Mary “Pat” Flynn pointed out, we really don’t have any choice about having to remove septic-sourced nitrogen loading, the only question is how best to do that. Selectmen recognized that innovating a nitrogen management district would represent a major challenge, but endorsed the idea of taking the necessary steps to develop the concept to the point of defining the essential parameters of such a district. That will require identifying potential contractors and issuing an RFP by early fall.
The entire End of Term Report to Selectman can be viewed
as End of Term Report.
June 15, 2001 As the Committee completes its first term, an end-of-term report is being reviewed with each Selectmen before presenting the final report. The draft report discusses approaches to developing the three pronged approach outlined in the October 2000 report, that is; a nitrogen management district for waste treatment, a town-wide program to curb use of nitrogen fertilizers, and potential use of constructed wetlands to intercept nitrogen entering the coastal ponds from freshwater rivers and streams.
The Committee, with Town consent, intends to publish a request for proposals to design and implement a multi-year program to curb fertilizer use, and is in process of qualifying potential contractors for a constructed wetlands demonstration. Individuals or firms interested in either of those projects, or in helping to define the charter for a nitrogen management district, should contact Jack Barnes, Committee chair [[email protected]] or Heather Harper, Assistant Town Administrator [[email protected] or (508) 495-7320].
April 1, 2001 The Final Report, which includes the Task 4, 5, & 6 Reports as well as the Task 1, 2, & 3 Reports, have been received and may be viewed at the Falmouth Main Library and East Falmouth Library.
October 15, 2000 The October 2000 Committee Report entitled “Water Quality Assessment, Conclusions and Program Options” summarizes the conditions of the three ponds, present and future, and provides some alternatives for remediation action. Subsequently, the Fall 2000 Town Meeting approved a resolution asking the Selectmen to “pursue solutions to nitrogen pollution in the Three Ponds to the extent required to achieve meaningful improvements in water quality, recognizing that such solutions will require expenditures substantially in excess of U.S. Air Force funding”.
The alternatives for remediation include a fertilizer program, demonstration of the effect of a constructed wetland and a wastewater treatment facility; the size and coverage being investigated.
Future Plans
The focus of wastewater treatment will be to establish the feasibility of adopting a model nitrogen [or nutrient] management district utilizing a central treatment and de-nitrifying plant with sewers for densely-developed areas of the lower areas of the watershed, cluster-type de-nitrifying systems for larger upper watershed subdivisions, and Title V systems where there is sufficient natural attenuation or flushing. The model will include the form of organization to manage the district and equitable procedures to raise capital and operate the district. If voters approve, all property owners in the district would be required to join and, in return, the district would assume responsibility for all wastewater treatment wherever sited.
Reports and Articles
The consultants’, Horsley and Witten, Inc., Applied Coastal Research and Engineering, Inc, and Center for Marine Science and Technology, submitted reports in two sections. All Task Reports can be found at the Falmouth Main Library and East Falmouth Library. The first section deals with the scientific aspects of the investigation, summarizes Tasks 1, 2, & 3 and is entitled Science Summary.
The Task 1 Report;
“Evaluation of Nutrient Loadings to Great, Green and Bournes Ponds,
The Task 2 Report,
“Two-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Modeling of Great, Green and Bournes Ponds,
The Task 3 Report,
“Water Quality Analysis of Great, Green, and Bournes Ponds,
The
next section contains an Engineering and Management Feasibility Study Summary summarizing the
subsequent tasks (4, 5 & 6).
Task
4 “Īnitial Screening of Alternatives” is a compilation of
corrective actions, which could mitigate the nitrogen overloading
problems. These actions range from
management/regulatory options, wastewater treatment, large and small, storm
water runoff controls, and wetland treatment systems to coastal engineering
alternatives.
Task
5 and 6 “Detailed Analysis of Feasible Corrective Actions” contains
a detailed analysis of the feasible corrective actions, both within the $8.5
million earmarked by the U.S. Air Force and without any fiscal restraints. The Committee has developed a three-pronged
approach to remediation:
Relevant Articles by Greg Peterson, MBL Biologist, published in Falmouth Enterprise:
“Water Quality of East Falmouth’s Coastal Ponds: Past, Present, and Future”
“Water Quality Problems Can Not Be Washed Out to Sea”
“Sources of Nitrogen
Polluting East Falmouth Coastal Ponds”
“Sewer Treatment Is Key to Restoring Health to East Falmouth Ponds”
“What's the Cost of NOT Cleaning up East Falmouth's Coastal Ponds”
Making Your
Lawn "Falmouth Friendly" Will Help Save Our Coastal Ponds
Future of
Ponds Brightens as Organic Fertilizers Become Popular
Calendar of events
Regular Committee meetings are scheduled for the third Thursday of each month, starting at 7 PM. Thanks to the generosity of the Falmouth Hospital Board, meetings are held in the boardroom. If you would like to attend, you should verify the meeting by checking with Town Hall (508 548-7611) or Mary Little, secretary to the Committee (508 548-3883). The next scheduled meeting is February 19, 2004.
Questions/Comments
If you have questions or comments on this website, please contact Brad Stumcke at [email protected], our media contact or Jack Barnes at [email protected], our Chairman.
Committee Members
John E. Barnes, Chairman, [email protected]
Kenneth R. Cheney, [email protected]
Conservation Commission Representative
Kenneth Foreman (Planning Board Representative), [email protected]
Peter Gallerani, [email protected]
George Heufelder (Health Department Representative), [email protected]
Hila Lyman (Chair, Fertilizer Subcommittee), [email protected]
David R. Palmer (Chairman Emeritus), [email protected]
Lawrence J Poppe, [email protected] (Alternate Member)
F. Bradley Stumcke Jr., [email protected]
Oliver C.
Zafiriou, [email protected]
Jon Davis (AFCEE Advisor), [email protected]
