From the Mashpee Enterprise · April 1, 2022 · By Sam Drysdale
Select board members Andrew R. Gottlieb and John J. Cotton, Board of Health chairman Brian Baumgaertel and former sewer commission chairman Michael V. Rapacz proposed that Mashpee require innovative/alternative septic systems for new construction, teardowns and rebuilds, failed septic inspections at property transfer, and additions that increase occupancy, everywhere except the first sewer phase. Their letter also called for a path to replace septic systems outside sewer Phases 1 and 2 within 15 years, removing cesspools right away, annual pumping of failed systems in the Phase 1 area, and limits on fertilizer near water resources. Gottlieb said I/A systems alone are not good enough to meet the town’s goal but make sense in tandem with sewers.
Health Agent Glen E. Harrington estimated the rules would require about 800 upgrades a year, several times his department’s current septic workload, and said homeowners should not bear the full cost of systems priced at $20,000 to $40,000. The letter listed financing options, including the county’s septic loan program, which was being revised to drop interest for lower-income households, town betterments and state tax credits. Gottlieb said the town would have to provide the staff the rules require. The boards planned to meet to refine the regulations.
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