CLF Lauds EPA Action to Reduce Nitrogen Pollution in Great Bay
Sewage Treatment Discharge Permit Would Be First to Control Harmful Pollutant
CONTACT:
Claire Morgenstern: (617) 850-1743 or cmorgenstern@clf.org
Tom Irwin: (603) 225-3060 or tirwin@clf.org
CONCORD, NH March 25, 2011 – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a draft permit for the Exeter sewage treatment plant establishing—for the first time—limits on nitrogen pollution discharges from the facility. CLF praised the EPA’s action as an essential first step in protecting the health of the Squamscott River and Great Bay.
“With pollution levels rising in the Great Bay Estuary and troubling signs of ecological distress, it’s critical that we clean up discharges from sewage treatment plants and other sources of pollution,” said Tom Irwin, director of CLF New Hampshire. “This is a first and much-needed step to putting Great Bay on a path to recovery.”
EPA first proposed a new permit for the Exeter sewage treatment plant in 2007. However, in response to CLF’s comments that the 2007 draft permit improperly failed to limit nitrogen discharges and therefore would violate the Clean Water Act, EPA revisited the issue. Today’s release by EPA specifically addresses the problem of nitrogen pollution and proposes the addition of specific limits to control nitrogen pollution from the facility.
The Exeter sewage treatment plant discharges directly into the Squamscott River, which is experiencing significant problems as a result of nitrogen pollution. The Squamscott River flows directly into Great Bay which, in turn, also is suffering significant problems, including the loss of critically important seagrass habitat. The Exeter facility is one of 18 publicly owned treatment works that discharges treated wastewater effluent into the Great Bay Estuary. The Exeter sewage treatment plant will be the first facility required to limit its discharges of nitrogen pollution.
The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) protects New England’s environment for the benefit of all people. Using the law, science and the market, CLF creates solutions that preserve natural resources, build healthy communities, and sustain a vibrant economy region-wide. Founded in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization with offices in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
