Background on Case Studies - Environmental Impact Analysis: Process and Methods - page 360

wastewater treatment plants. The solids removed from the process (sewage
sludge or preferably referred to as “residuals”) were stabilized by anaerobic
digestion and then discharged to Boston Harbor. The design was to only dis-
charge the residuals on the outgoing tide, similar to the Moon Island system,
and thus flushing them out into Massachusetts Bay where dilution and dis-
persion would transport them away from shore and render them harmless.
But the operators of the system were not always able to adhere to limiting the
sludge discharge to the ebb tide.
The wastewater treatment system was eventually turned over to the
Massachusetts Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) as part of the mid-
20th century regionalization trend in municipal government. The MDC oper-
ated not only the regional wastewater system but also water supply, major
highways, parks, recreational facilities, and other infrastructure for the cities
and towns surrounding Boston (up to 42 for at least some of these services).
They even had their own police department and were a major state entity and
source of patronage jobs. The system worked well for a while, but during the
late 1960s and early 1970s, similar to many other U.S. cities, Boston experienced
urban flight and an associated decay of the urban environment, including the
infrastructure. With this decay came a severe financial stress similar to, but less
extreme than, that seen during the period when New York City had to be bailed
out financially. Thus the MDC budget was severely stretched, and wastewater
treatment took the brunt of the budget cuts because of its public standing com-
pared with the high-profile water supply, parks, roadways, and police.
With the budget cuts the MDC could not keep up with the operation and
maintenance of the wastewater system and it deteriorated. The collection of raw
wastewater became an issue and there were numerous and large “overflows” to
the surface waters in and around Boston. Also the operation and maintenance
of the two wastewater treatment plants declined and there were times when all
of the pumps conveying wastewater to the Deer Island treatment plant were
inoperable and raw sewage was discharged to surface waters throughout the
system. The MDC could not adequately keep up with day-to-day needs; much
less prepare for the much more stringent municipal wastewater management
requirements of the 1972 Clean Water Act. As a result, the Boston Metropolitan
Area fell behind most of the rest of the country as other municipalities were
taking advantage of Clean Water Act funding to plan, design, and construct
upgraded collection systems and secondary wastewater treatment plants.
In the late 1970s, MDC grasped at a final straw as they applied for a waiver
of secondary treatment requirement under Section 301h of the Clean Water
Act. After several years, engineering studies, and scientific investigation of
environmental conditions, the MDC was denied the waiver of secondary
treatment because among other factors they could not convincingly demon-
strate, even with an extended discharge 15 km offshore, that continuation of
primary treatment would meet all water quality standards (particularly dis-
solved oxygen concentration) and support a balanced indigenous population
of marine organisms. As a result, MDC was behind the curve and had not