State Gives Green Light to Pollute Charles River, Mystic River and Alewife Brook (PRESS RELEASE)
MassDEP permits MWRA, Cambridge and Somerville to continue discharging sewage into rivers and streams
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 30, 2024
Contact: Stefan Geller, Charles River Watershed Association
Phone: 781-572-9341
Email: sgeller@crwa.org
BOSTON, MA -The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) today issued a water quality standards Variance that allows the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the cities of Cambridge and Somerville to continue discharging raw and partially-treated sewage into the Charles River, Mystic River and Alewife Brook during rain storms, delaying long overdue water quality improvements.
A key source of contamination in the Charles River, Mystic River and Alewife Brook is pollution from combined sewer overflows (CSOs), which occur during heavy rain storms. In these outdated systems, stormwater and household/industrial wastewater are collected in the same pipes to be conveyed to a wastewater treatment plant, but during heavy rainstorms the combined system cannot handle the excess stormwater and wastewater and releases it into the closest water body to avoid sewage backups onto streets or into basements.
Despite the fact that The Clean Water Act of 1972 established water pollution limits and made states set water quality standards (WQS) to meet them, for the past 27 years MassDEP has repeatedly given MWRA and the cities of Cambridge and Somerville a “variance” from meeting Massachusetts standards. Today, climate change is bringing more heavy and intense rain events to our area, making CSOs a more common occurrence.
Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) and Save the Alewife Brook charge that the continued issuance of these variances is not in line with the intent of this process and is delaying investment in necessary water quality improvements, subjecting residents to harmful pollution for decades with no end in sight.
CRWA, MyRWA and Save the Alewife Brook also charge that, in continuing to issue Variances, MassDEP is ignoring the Healey Administration’s stated commitment to environmental justice. In Massachusetts, watersheds with socially-vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected by the occurrence of CSOs. When comparing any two watersheds, on average, a watershed with twice the percentage of non-white residents will receive three times the CSO volume.
“A variance is supposed to be a tool to help us get into compliance with The Clean Water Act, not to continue to allow pollution for decades. We are very disappointed with the Commonwealth’s dereliction of duty when it comes to protecting the Charles River. Yet again our state regulators are choosing inaction and delay over clean, healthy, swimmable rivers. This dance has been going on for 27 years and it’s simply unacceptable that we are allowing sewage to continue to be discharged into the Charles River,” said Emily Norton, Executive Director of the Charles River Watershed Association.
"Raw sewage flooding into Alewife Brook Reservation (a state park) and neighboring yards and homes may be an abstraction to some, but for those of us living within smelling distance, the situation is very real. The Alewife community, including our significant Environmental Justice populations, expect our environmental health to be protected. My neighbors and I became sick after having untreated sewage floodwater in our homes. We need overflows of untreated sewage to stop," said Kristin Anderson, Save the Alewife Brook Steering Committee Member and former Alewife Brook abutter.
“The next couple of years will be crucial in determining whether our area will fulfill the promise of The Clean Water Act, and finally solve the problem of the remaining CSOs in greater Boston,” said Patrick Herron, Executive Director of the Mystic River Watershed Association. “The Mystic River and Alewife Brook flow through the most densely populated watershed in New England. We owe it to the people of these communities to find the will to make the long-term investments in infrastructure we need to protect public health and restore our rivers.”
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CONTACTS:
Emily Norton – Executive Director, Charles River Watershed Association – enorton@crwa.org
Patrick Herron – Executive Director, Mystic River Watershed Association – patrick.herron@mysticriver.org
Kristin Anderson – Steering Committee Member, Save the Alewife Brook – arlington@savethealewifebrook.org
Charles River Watershed Association’s mission is to protect, restore, and enhance the Charles River and its watershed through science, advocacy, and the law. CRWA develops science-based strategies to increase resilience, protect public health, and promote environmental equity as we confront a changing climate.
