Town officials: New stormwater regs could be costly

The Neponset River Watershed Association, the town of Canton, and several other communities in greater Boston will send representatives to an information meeting on October 19 at Canton Town Hall to discuss the impacts of new and potentially burdensome federal storm water regulations.

Several communities, including Canton, have joined a consortium to oppose the regulations, which will be administered in Massachusetts by the Department of Environmental Protection.

Town Administrator Bill Friel said he has reviewed the regulations and believes the costs to the town will be substantial. He also warned that the regulations could impact residential and commercial property owners as well.

Ian Cooke, executive director of the Neponset River Watershed Association, recently sent a letter to local officials urging each town in the association to attend the training and education meeting on the EPA’s new MS4 storm water regulations. The meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 19, beginning at 7 p.m. “These rules are going to affect multiple departments in every town,” Cooke wrote.

Friel said the EPA may implement the rule changes regarding storm water collection by December 31. He noted that Canton is ahead of many towns and has taken some early measures, such as additional street sweeping, catch basin collections, and stricter permit regulations for new developments.

“But from what I am reading,” he said, “the new rules are not practical and won’t be implemented easily.”

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Posted by Mike Berger on Oct 8 2015. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.