EPA's Permit for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) Deer Island Treatment Plant Outfall and CSOs
- Overview
- 2023 Draft Permit
- 2023 Fact Sheet
- 2023 Public Notice
- 2023 Public Comments Received
- 2023 Press Releases
- 2023 Draft Permit Public Information Sheet (in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Chinese, Vietnamese and Arabic)
- 1999 Final Permit (as modified in 2000)
Overview
In fall 2000, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) completed construction of a multibillion dollar sewage treatment facility on Deer Island in Boston Harbor. This facility provides secondary treatment to wastewater from 43 cities and towns in the Greater Boston area. The NPDES permit currently in effect for the facility's discharge was issued on May 20, 1999 and a modification issued on August 10, 2000 (2000 permit). This permit is now up for renewal and a revised draft permit and fact sheet has been developed to explain the new requirements and the basis for these requirements.
The 2023 draft permit imposes rigorous conditions to ensure the protection of Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays. Each requirement is detailed in the 2023 draft permit and explained in the accompanying fact sheet.
Key permit conditions in the 2023 draft permit include:
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Effluent Limits
The 2023 draft permit includes numeric limits for suspended solids; bacteria; pH; chlorine; "CBOD" (oxygen-demanding material), oil and grease, and whole effluent toxicity. Some limits are new or revised from the 2000 permit based on new Massachusetts Water Quality Standards or new data. -
Monitoring
The 2023 draft permit requires the MWRA to monitor its discharge for a wide range of pollutants. There are monitoring requirements for all pollutants for which there is an effluent limit. In addition, the 2023 draft permit includes monitoring requirements for other pollutants in order to make permitting decisions in the next permitting cycle, such as for priority pollutants and per- and polyflouroalkyl substances (PFAS). Monitoring data submitted electronically to EPA in accordance with the reporting requirements in the permit will be publicly available via EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) website.In addition to requiring the MWRA to monitor the discharge itself, the 2023 draft permit continues to require that MWRA monitor the water quality in Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays. Known as the "Ambient Monitoring Plan", these requirements have been updated to focus on new or remaining questions related to the potential impact of the discharge on Massachusetts Bay.
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Pretreatment
The 2023 draft permit requires that the MWRA continue to implement an industrial pretreatment program to control the discharge of pollution into the MWRA sewer system. The 2023 draft permit includes annual sampling for per- and polyflouroalkyl substances (PFAS) for selected industrial dischargers. -
Operation and Maintenance
The 2023 draft permit includes updated operation and maintenance requirements, consistent with state regulations, in order to ensure that sewer system infrastructure, such as sewer pipes and pump stations, and the treatment facilities are properly operated, maintained and resilient. These include contingency measures, such as maintaining alternative power systems in case of power outages, preventing groundwater and rainwater from entering the sewer system, and evaluating and implementing measures to maintain system operation in the event of major storm and flood events.The 2023 draft permit applies the operation and maintenance requirements to the 43 satellite communities that contribute wastewater to the MWRA Deer Island Treatment Plant. These communities are included in the permit as "co-permittees" and are only responsible for the operation and maintenance of the collection systems that they own and operate. Co-permittees are not responsible for operation of the treatment facility or for meeting Deer Island effluent limits. The 2023 draft permit includes annual reporting requirements for co-permittees.
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Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs)
The permit includes conditions related to combined sewer overflows, such as a requirement that any discharges from such overflows must not contribute to the exceedance of water quality standards. The 2023 draft permit also incorporates CSO requirements for the four satellite collection systems (Boston Water and Sewer Commission, Cambridge, Chelsea and Somerville) that were previously regulated in separate permits.
2023 Draft Permit
- Draft Permit
- Draft Permit Attachments
- Attachment A (Authorized CSO Outfalls and Responsible Parties) (pdf)
- Attachment B (MWRA Member Communities named as Co-permittees) (pdf)
- Attachment C (Marine Acute Toxicity Test Procedure and Protocol, July 2012) (pdf)
- Attachment D (Marine Chronic Toxicity Test Procedure and Protocol, November 2013) (pdf)
- Attachment E (Freshwater Acute Toxicity Test Procedure and Protocol, February 2011) (pdf)
- Attachment F (Reassessment of Technically Based Industrial Discharge Limits) (pdf)
- Attachment G (NPDES Permit Requirement for Industrial Pretreatment Program Annual Report) (pdf)
- Attachment H (PFAS Analyte List) (pdf)
- Attachment I (MWRA Authorized Typical Year CSO Discharge Activation and Volume) (pdf)
- Attachment J (Charles River Basin CSO Variance Determination, August 2019) (pdf)
- Attachment K (Alewife Brook/Upper Mystic River Basin CSO Variance Determination, August 2019) (pdf)
2023 Fact Sheet
- Fact sheet (pdf)
- Fact Sheet Appendices
- Appendix A - MWRA Member Communities named as Co-permittees (pdf)
- Appendix B - Authorized CSO Outfalls and Responsible Party (pdf)
- Appendix C - Deer Island Treatment Plant Effluent Data Summary (pdf)
- Appendix D - Permitting Approach for POTWs with Co-permittees (pdf)
- Appendix E - Ambient Data Summary (pdf)
- Appendix F - Additional MWRA Data, Effluent Pollutant Data (pdf)
- Appendix G - Reasonable Potential and Limits Calculations (pdf)
- Appendix H - CSO Treatment Facility Effluent Data Summary (pdf)
- Appendix I - Summary of CSO Activations and Volumes (pdf)
2023 Public Notice
- 2023 Public Notice (pdf)
- August 7, 2023 Public Notice Extension (pdf)
- June 6, 2023 Public Notice Extension (pdf)
- July 12, 2023 Virtual Public Meeting and Public Hearing
- Slide deck for Public Meeting on July 12, 2023 (pdf)
2023 Public Comments Received
- July 12, 2023 - Transcript of Public Hearing including comments from Kristin Anderson, Susan Herman, Alyson Dossett and Cate Fox (pdf)
- August 12, 2023 - Save the Alewife Brook Petition Email (numerous copies received) (pdf)
- August 27, 2023 - Michael DelNegro (pdf)
- August 29, 2023 - Barbara Passero (pdf)
- November 8, 2023 - Doris Cellarius (pdf)
- November 9, 2023 - Massachusetts Rivers Alliance (pdf)
- November 20, 2023 - Stephen Perkins (pdf)
- November 20, 2023 - Brewster Board of Health (pdf)
- November 20, 2023 - Wastewater Advisory Committee to the MWRA (pdf)
- November 22, 2023 - Chris Powicki, Cape Cod & Islands Group of the Sierra Club (pdf)
- November 22, 2023 - David Stoff (pdf)
- November 26, 2023 - Patrick Herron, Mystic River Watershed Association (pdf)
- November 27, 2023 - Town of Burlington (pdf)
- November 27, 2023 - Judith Pederson, OMSAP (pdf)
- November 27, 2023 - Town of Lexington (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Town of Braintree (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - City of Medford (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Greater Lawrence Sanitary District (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Upper Blackstone Clean Water (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Town of Needham (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - City of Somerville (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Bruce Berman, Chair, Public Interest Advisory Committee (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - MWRA Advisory Board (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Brewster Natural Resources Advisory Commission (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - City of Cambridge (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - City of Newton (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - MA Coalition for Water Resources Stewardship (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - City of Melrose (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Boston Water and Sewer Commission (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Town of Wellesley (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - City of Haverhill (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Gwendolyn Speeth (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Conservation Law Foundation (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Just Zero, et. al. (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - City of Chelsea (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Daniel L. Codiga, PhD (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Eugene B. Benson (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Save Alewife Brook (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Charles River Watershed Association (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Center for Coastal Studies (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Town of Milton (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Save the Harbor/Save the Bay (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 - Town of Arlington (pdf)
- November 28, 2023 – Cape Cod Commission (pdf)
2023 Press Releases
2023 Draft Permit Public Information Sheet
- English (pdf)
- Spanish (pdf)
- Portuguese (pdf)
- Haitian Creole (pdf)
- Chinese (pdf)
- Vietnamese (pdf)
- Arabic (pdf)
1999 Final Permit (as modified in 2000)
- 2000 Final Permit (pdf)
- Response to Comments (pdf)
- Permit Attachments
- A: Off-Shore Discharge Tunnel Outfall (pdf)
- B: Combined Sewer Overflow Discharge Outfalls (pdf)
- C: Flow Schematic (pdf) Reprint from Boston Globe
- D: Communities within the MWRA Conveyance System (pdf)
- E: Marine Acute Toxicity Test Procedure and Protocol (pdf)
- F: Marine Chronic Toxicity Test Procedure and Protocol (pdf)
- G: Industrial Pretreatment Program Annual Report (pdf)
- H: Total Residual Chlorine Discharge Limit Calculation (pdf)
- I: Sludge Applier's Responsibilities (pdf)
- J: Pathogens (pdf)
- K: Vector Attraction Reduction (pdf)
- L: Sampling and Analysis (pdf)
- M: Nine Minimum Controls Documentation and Implementation Guidance (pdf)
- N: Ambient Monitoring Plan (pdf)
- O: Contingency Plan (pdf)
- P: Pollution Prevention (pdf)
- Q: Marine Acute Toxicity Test Procedure and Protocol (pdf)
- R: Fresh Water Acute Toxicity Test Procedure and Protocol (pdf)
- S: Sample Calculations (pdf)
- T: Outfall Monitoring Science Advisory Panel Charter (pdf)
- U: Total Residual Chlorine Limit Sample Calculation - for Combined Sewer Overflows (pdf)
- V: Agreement of NMFS, EPA, and MWRA Concerning Implementation of Conservation Recommendations (pdf)
- Outfall Monitoring Science Advisory Panel (OMSAP) Web Page
You may contact:
Michele Cobban Barden ([email protected])
Environmental Scientist
EPA Region 1
5 Post Office Square, Suite 100 (Mail Code 06-1)
Boston, MA 02109-3912
617-918-1539