There's a movement afoot among some Cape and Southcoast politicians to thwart the new DEP regulations on septic pollution. So we're all fighting back. If you get the Boston Sunday Globe, check out page A7 in today's paper to see the full-page ad demanding state and local officials commit to new septic rules to cut …
Continue reading A Plea to Local + State Lawmakers to Support New Septic Rules
Visually, the water is usually less than translucent, smells, and is clogged with a vast field of dying red and green algae,” said Gary Markowitz, co-founder of Cape Cod advocacy group Save Our Shoestring. “Visitors to our home note the contamination and the smell and have renamed the bay in conversation — of course, in …
Continue reading “Pooponesset Bay” Memorialized in Boston.Com Article!
Note: Today Gary read the following statement at the DEP public hearing regarding the proposed septic upgrade regulations. We encourage all of our Shoestring Bay neighbors to submit comments to the DEP. Feel free to borrow any content from our statement. My name is Gary Markowitz and I’m the co‐founder of SOS‐Save Our Shoestring Bay, …
Continue reading Our Comments Read at the DEP Public Hearing on December 1
Yesterday, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection [DEP] released its long-awaited draft regulations intended to fix the disaster that is Title 5. The release follows the DEP's preliminary announcement in June 2022 of pending changes to septic system siting in nitrogen sensitive areas. [See our post on the June announcement.] When implemented, the regs. will …
Continue reading Mass. DEP Releases Draft Plan to Clean Up Cape Waterways
So many readers have asked us what they can do directly to affect policy regarding the clean-up of Shoestring Bay. For starters, send Town Managers Mark Ells [Barnstable] or Rodney Collins [Mashpee] an email expressing your outrage at the continued decline of the Bay. Collective action yields results! Town of BarnstableMark Ells, Town ManagerTel: 508-862-4610mark.ells@town.barnstable.ma.us …
The common refrain we hear from state and local government officials every time we plead for a moratorium on Title 5 septic installations and the immediate approval of High Performance Innovative Alternative (HPIA) septic systems is, “It’s too soon. The data is inconclusive. And IA systems aren’t good enough.” Well, the State of Washington would …
On June 1, 2022 the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued the much-awaited draft of its "let's fix Title 5" Fact Sheet [download] entitled "MassDEP Regulatory Strategy for Estuaries Impaired by Nitrogen." The proposed rules could "require upgrades of all existing systems to add nitrogen removal technology within five years of the regulation’s approval …
Part 2 of a 2-Part Series on the Validity of the CLF Lawsuit In Part 1 [read], we considered the basis for the Conservation Law Foundation's lawsuit against Barnstable, Mashpee, and the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection [DEP] -- whether these entities have been violating Title 5 law by sanctioning septic systems that far exceed …
Continue reading Part 2: Are Barnstable + Mashpee Breaking the Law?
Part 1 of a 2-Part Series on the Validity of the CLF Lawsuit In June 2021, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) filed suit against the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Towns of Barnstable and Mashpee, charging them with violating the state’s Title 5 regulations, specifically targeting the passages on limiting nutrient discharge …
Our friends at Barnstable Clean Water Coalition alerted us to an opportunity for Cape Cod residents to have a say in how Barnstable County spends $41M in American Rescue Plan (ARPA)funding. Now's the time to use infrastructure dollars to reduce nitrogen pollution in our waterways. Please read below and take the following action: Complete the …
Save Our Shoestring 