Reminder: 5pm today (January 30, 2023) is the deadline to submit comments to MassDEP.
Update on January 11, 2023: Please see the attached letter that the Marion Select Board and Marion Board of Health sent to MassDEP, Rep. Bill Straus and Sen. Marc Pacheco.
The Marion Select Board and Board of Health met December 20, 2022 to discuss the proposed amendments detailed in the attached letter and the links below. The Boards are concerned about the potential costs associated with the proposed amendments and how they would affect homeowners and the Town.
MassDEP will be holding public hearings and is asking for public comment. The Select Board and Board of Health encourage all residents to review the information in the letter and the links below. They also encourage residents to attend the public hearings and to submit all comments to MassDEP before the deadline on January 30, 2023 at 5pm.
Please se the attached letter from MassDEP regarding proposed amendments to the State Environmental Code, Title 5, 310 CMR 15.000 and promulgate new regulations, titled Watershed Permit Regulations, at 314 CMR 21.00. As stated on the MassDEP website, "MassDEP is proposing two regulatory initiatives that would work in tandem to reduce nitrogen loads in the Commonwealth's estuaries and embayments."
For more details please visit the following links that are listed in the attached letters:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massdep-public-hearings-comment-opportunities
https://www.mass.gov/regulations/310-CMR-15000-septic-systems-title-5
https://www.mass.gov/regulations/314-CMR-2100-watershed-permit-regulations
MassDEP has held three public hearings so far. The recordings are available here: https://www.mass.gov/regulations/310-CMR-15000-septic-systems-title-5
MassDEP will be holding two additional public Information Sessions as follows:
Remote Only, January 17, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. Register in advance at:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_N_uqjwyuTYStvyKhHkAU5Q
In-person & Remote, January 18, 2023, at 6:00 p.m., at The Marketplace (second floor), UMass Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, Dartmouth, MA, 02747 Register for remote session in advance at (it is not necessary to register if you will be attending in-person): https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9hhEmYWWTSqq_UZf8suOgQ
MassDEP is holding two additional remote public hearings. You must register in order to attend. Oral comments will be excepted at these hearings:
January 24, 2023 at 6pm - Link to register for this public hearing: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_veLVS545RCqGZhI6tuN2rQ
January 25, 2023 at 6pm - Link to register for this public hearing: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Is2pAS_cR_uXvNhhs5r3oQ
As stated in the attached letter, all submitted written comments must include the name and contact information of the person providing the comments. Please submit comments by e-mail to dep.talks@mass.gov and include Title 5 & Watershed Permit in the subject line. Written comments may also be submitted by mail and should be sent to MassDEP, Bureau of Water Resources – Division of Watershed Management, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114, Attention: Title 5 & Watershed Permit. Again, their deadline is January 30, 2023 at 5pm.
The Marion Select Board and Board of Health encourage all residents to click on the above links for more information, attend the information sessions and public hearings, and encourage all residents to submit comments to MassDEP by the 5:00pm January 30, 2023 deadline.
