Buzzards Bay Project Receives $459,000 to Test and Promote Innovative Septic Systems

October 16, 1995
Contact: Joseph E. Costa
(508) 748-3600

The Buzzards Bay Project National Estuary Program announced today that it received a $459,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test and promote innovative septic system technology in Massachusetts. The grant, funded through EPA's Environmental Technology Initiative, will enable the Buzzards Bay Project to set up an Alternative Septic System Test Center to evaluate new residential wastewater treatment technologies. The Test Center will provide free testing and technical assistance to proprietors of alternative septic system technologies, which are meant to more effectively protect the environment in areas where traditional septic systems are inadequate.

Trudy Coxe, Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, stated, "We are extremely excited about this win-win project. The Test Center will help green businesses who are trying to develop the 'better mousetrap' of septic systems, while providing more choices to homeowners whose existing septic systems have problems."

The Buzzards Bay Project prepared the grant application with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and investigators at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Barnstable County and the Woods Hole laboratory will also assist with the project by analyzing the effluent water released from these systems.

DEP is currently streamlining the process for approving alternative septic system technologies. To date, DEP has certified seven alternative technologies for general use, including recirculating sand filters and composting toilets. To help test additional alternative systems so that they can be approved by DEP and introduced to the market as soon as possible, the Buzzards Bay Project, Barnstable County, and DEP teamed up to develop the Alternative Septic System Test Center concept. Their focus was to provide financial and regulatory assistance to the green businesses developing these new technologies.

Dr. Joseph Costa, Executive Director of the Buzzards Bay Project, said the facility will also address the needs of municipal Boards of Health. He noted, "A lot of new systems are in the ground already, and many more are coming. Town officials are looking for technologies that provide better treatment in removing nitrogen and other pollutants than conventional septic systems, but are uncertain about manufacturer claims. This test center will publish pollutant removal ratings for innovative technology so that local boards can use this information to implement strategies to better protect drinking water supplies, nitrogen sensitive areas, and other special districts. We will also conduct training sessions for system installers and health agents wishing to better understand special installation requirements of the new septic system designs."

The Alternative Septic System Test Center will be located at an existing municipal sewage treatment plant. According to Costa, a site has not been selected, but several locations around Buzzard Bay and the upper Cape are under consideration.