APPENDIX L 



CAPE COD AQUIFER MANAGEMENT PROJECT (CCAMP) RECOMMENDATIONS 



SEPTAGE AND SLUDGE MANAGEMENT 



December, 1987 



Introduction 



Cape Cod has a very serious septage management problem that is jeopar- 

 dizing water supplies from one end of the peninsula to the other. 

 Progress toward establishing long-term treatment solutions has vacillated 

 between slow, erratic and nonexistent for over a decade, and with the 

 growth rate soaring Capewide, time is running out. 



Very little of Cape Cod (less than 10%) is sewered, relying instead on 

 septic systems or cesspools. Approximately 63.8 million gallons of sep- 

 tage is generated from these on-site systems every year. More important- 

 ly, only 31% of the volume is treated effectively through co- treatment 

 processes at publicly- owned wastewater facilities in Barnstable, Chatham 

 and Falmouth. The remaining 44 million gallons is discharged to pits and 

 lagoons that provide no treatment prior to returning it to the water table 

 as a highly contaminated organic waste. 



There are four major reasons why so little progress has been made in 

 septage management on Cape Cod: (1) The State DEQE has historically given 

 septage management a very low priority resulting in a lack of resources to 

 conduct an active regulatory program; (2) The towns of Cape Cod have gener- 

 ally ignored the obvious threats to their water supplies from pits and 

 lagoons, and have not generated the necessary leadership to confront their 

 problems directly; (3) The inherent controversies and environmental consid- 

 erations in siting septage treatment facilities; (4) The facilities plan- 

 ning process conducted by town officials, DEQE staff and consulting engi- 

 neers has in several cases not provided acceptable projects that would 

 result in the construction of public wastewater treatment plants. One 

 outstanding success is the approval of a regional septage facility to 

 serve Orleans, Brewster and Eastham that is presently under construction. 



The overall situation has improved lately with the DEQE initiating a 

 stronger enforcement presence geared toward more effective regulation of 

 septage disposal statewide. On Cape Cod, DEQE has been issuing orders for 

 the closure of several illegal pits and lagoons. This in turn is having a 

 salutary effect on town government by forcing increased attention to the 

 matter, and attitudes appear to be changing. Unfortunately, facilities 



