2026-09-24 - CSO Control Plan Public Hearing 2

00:02Hi everyone, welcome.

00:06We are going to give another minute or

00:08two for people to join us here on this

00:11sunny Thursday afternoon. Thanks for

00:14logging on to the the second public

00:16hearing on the draft updated combined

00:19sewer overflow control plan. Again,

00:22we'll just give a minute or two here as

00:24people as people join.

00:55Hello to those just joining us. We're

00:57just waiting a moment longer for others

01:01to to enter this Zoom space. Thanks for

01:03being here. start sharing my screen in

01:06the meantime.

01:25All right, I'm seeing our numbers

01:28plateau a bit, so I think we're okay to

01:30go ahead and get started. So, hello

01:32everyone. Welcome to the second of three

01:35public hearings on the draft updated

01:37combined sewer overflow control plan. Um

01:40it's great to be with you in this Zoom

01:43world. Um my name is Abby Fulham. I am a

01:46facilitator at the Consensus Building

01:47Institute. I'll be facilitating the

01:50public hearing this afternoon. Um I'm

01:52joined by my colleagues Ona Ferguson and

01:54Micah Seagull. We're based here in

01:56Porter Square.

01:59So how we will approach this public

02:02hearing? Um so first the objective of

02:05this session is for people who are

02:08interested to share verbal comment on

02:10this draft plan that will be entered

02:13into the public record. Um so we're

02:16going to start this afternoon with a

02:17little bit of information just where we

02:19are in the process. If you're interested

02:21in learning more about the draft plan,

02:23how to do that and then how to comment

02:25on it. This is one, this public hearing

02:27is one of many ways to comment on the

02:29draft plan. And so we want you to um

02:31know the other options. Then we'll give

02:33a little bit of instruction um for

02:35today, how to get how to get in the

02:37queue, etc. And then we'll open for

02:39public comment. Um we will adjourn the

02:43meeting once everyone who wants to share

02:46has had two minutes to speak.

02:49Um so there's not a formal end time for

02:52this public hearing. We will end once

02:53everyone who wants has had the

02:55opportunity. We will not be taking

02:57formal breaks. So if you ever need to,

02:59you know, stretch, go to the restroom,

03:01get some food, please do that. This is

03:02being recorded. Um it will be posted on

03:05the project website if you want to watch

03:07any of the public comments that you

03:09missed. Um, and then from there the

03:12recording will be transcribed and then

03:14again those comments will be entered

03:16into the public record on this draft

03:19plan and then they'll be considered by

03:21the project team as they develop the

03:23final version of the plan.

03:26Um, I'll say just briefly here, this is

03:29clearly not an information sharing

03:31meeting. If you want to learn more,

03:33we're about to hear different ways, but

03:34there are a lot of resources on the

03:36website. So encourage you to to check

03:38them out.

03:39All right, I'm going to turn now to

03:41Brian Kubaska from MWR who's the chief

03:44engineer. Brian, over to you.

03:48>> Welcome everyone. Thank you for joining

03:51us today. Um, [clears throat] this uh

03:54draft updated Cso control plan uh was

03:58developed by the project partners uh the

04:01MWR, the city of Cambridge, and the city

04:04of Somerville.

04:05The partners were supported by several

04:07consultant teams in the draft plans

04:09development. Um representing uh the MWRA

04:15um Cambridge and Somerville. Um people

04:18here today include Jeremy Hall. He's

04:22he's joining me from the MWRA. Jeremy is

04:24the MW Cso program manager.

04:28uh Luchica Hiller uh cso program manager

04:33with Cambridge and Katherine Woodbury

04:36the uh city consultant uh also from

04:40Cambridge. And we also have Rich Re the

04:44director of infrastructure and asset

04:46management from the city of Somerville

04:48as well as Gina Cortez,

04:51deputy director of engineering

04:54uh at the city of Somerville as well. U

04:57members of the project team uh the

05:01you can jump to the next slide.

05:05The updated Cso control plan has been

05:08developed

05:11since has been underdeveloped since uh

05:132022.

05:15Uh its purpose is to identify projects

05:18and strategies sub to substantially

05:20reduce or eliminate combined sewer

05:23overflow in the Alway

05:26Mystic and the Charles River in

05:28accordance with Mass D's

05:31issued variances for these water bodies.

05:34The plan has included extensive

05:36technical work and public engagement

05:38including multiple public meetings. I

05:41believe we had seven to date. Uh the

05:44draft plan

05:46uh was released on April 30th, 2026

05:53um [clears throat] by the partners and

05:56uh we are currently in the sixmonth

05:58public comment period. Written comments

06:02uh are due by the end of October,

06:04October 30th, 2026.

06:07So following the public comment period,

06:10the comments will re be reviewed by the

06:13project partners with additional review

06:15by mass D and EPA. Uh the final updated

06:19CSO control plan is anticipated in May

06:22of 2027

06:24following further state review.

06:28Next slide.

06:31We encourage members of the public to

06:34review the draft plan and the

06:36information from previous public

06:38meetings as they develop their comments.

06:42You can find this information on our

06:44project website. Next slide.

06:49So there are four ways to submit public

06:52comments uh through the online public

06:56comment portal. Uh that's shown by the

06:59uh the section in the upper right of

07:01this this slide. You have a URL there as

07:04well as as a web link. um by email. Uh

07:10there's also a URL the next one down for

07:12that and as well as by mail written

07:16comments to the MWR at two Griffin Way

07:20in Chelsea and and lastly by providing

07:24verbal comments during this public

07:26meeting today.

07:28Um so you know this is our second of

07:32three hearings.

07:35Uh

07:37the third and final public hearing will

07:40be held on Octo October 28th uh from

07:446:00 to 8.

07:46That will be a uh inperson at Somerville

07:50City Hall as well as virtual. Next

07:52slide.

07:57And lastly, uh, questions or requests

08:00for information outside of the formal

08:03public comments can be directed to our

08:06project team by email. Uh, we appreciate

08:10everyone taking the time to participate

08:12and provide input today. Uh, your

08:14comments will be documented and will be

08:17considered as the Enter Cambridge and

08:19Somerville moves towards completion of

08:22our updated Cso control plan.

08:25Uh believe Abby will now explain uh how

08:29the public comment process will work at

08:31today's hearings.

08:33>> Yeah, thanks Brian. Uh so hi everyone

08:36and for those that are just tuning in,

08:38my name is Abby Fulham. I'm a

08:40facilitator from the Consensus Building

08:41Institute joined here by my colleagues

08:43Ona Ferguson and Micah Seagull and we'll

08:45be facilitating uh this afternoon. So

08:48first of all, thank you for being here.

08:50We have about let's see about 55 people

08:54on Zoom at this hearing. Um which is

08:56fantastic and we hope to see you at a um

08:59potentially the in-person one as well.

09:02Um the point of today's session again is

09:04a public hearing, an opportunity to

09:06share verbal comment that will be

09:08transcribed and then entered into the

09:11public record um and then considered by

09:13the project partners and regulators as

09:15they put together the final plan. Um,

09:18and it is not a we're not presenting

09:20anything this e this afternoon, nor is

09:22this like a question and answer

09:24opportunity. And if you if you are

09:26interested in learning more about what's

09:28in the plan, again, please look at the

09:29project website. Maybe Ona, would you

09:31mind putting that in the chat for

09:33people? Um, and then also there is the

09:37the final of eight office hours will be

09:40on October 6th. So if you have questions

09:42about the plan, we encourage you to

09:44attend the office hours and you can ask

09:47those questions of the project team. The

09:49information on that is also on the

09:51project website.

09:53Um so how we're going to run this

09:56session is everyone who wants to speak

09:59will have up to two minutes to share. Um

10:03we'll have a big timer on the screen. We

10:05ask that you please be respectful of

10:06this. We're going to be pretty firm. We

10:08want to be fair across commenters and

10:10across public hearings. So, we're going

10:12to be pretty tight with that twominut

10:14deadline. Um, as we said at the top,

10:17there's no there's not a fixed end time.

10:19We will adjourn rather when everyone

10:21who's interested has had an opportunity

10:24to comment and we imagine that you have

10:26a lot to say about this plan. It's very

10:28long. It's very detailed. Um, and so if

10:30you have more than two minutes of

10:31comments to share, please please do

10:33submit them in writing. Um, and Brian

10:36articulated the different ways to do

10:38that. Okay. So, how this is going to

10:41work, um, if you want to join the queue,

10:44please raise your hand in Zoom. Keep

10:47that hand up throughout the entire

10:49afternoon session until you speak.

10:51Otherwise, you'll lose your place in

10:52line. We're just going to go

10:53chronologically there. Um, once Ona will

10:57do the first batch, she's going to call

10:58on people. And once you're you'll get a

11:01we'll promote you to panelist. You'll

11:03have to click on a little window that

11:05says move into panelist role or

11:08something like that. And then you'll be

11:09able to unmute yourself and turn on your

11:12camera and then share your public

11:14comment. Um right now though we can't

11:16see or hear you.

11:19Um on Zoom there should be a raise hand

11:21button at the bottom of your of your

11:24screen. If it's not right there,

11:25sometimes it lives in a reactions um

11:28button. So, just click there if you

11:30can't find it. If you're calling in on

11:32the phone, um you can hit star 9, which

11:36will raise your hand. And then if you

11:38change your mind and you want to lower

11:39your hand, you can hit star 9 again. Um

11:42and then once you're promoted, you'll

11:43hit star six to unmute yourself. We can

11:46remind you of that. Um but star 9 is

11:48going to be how you get in the in the

11:50queue. For everyone, if you change your

11:52mind about speaking tonight, just lower

11:53your hand so we know not to call on you.

11:56Um, and maybe public speaking is not for

11:59you, but you really want to comment.

12:01Again, you do not have to share public

12:03comment verbally. You can do it in

12:05writing. Uh, this QR code will take you

12:07directly to the comment page or you can

12:10go through the the project team website.

12:14Okay. So, just lastly before we move

12:16here into public comment, again, 2

12:18minutes. We're going to be firm. What

12:20would that limit? You will see a timer.

12:22Please be mindful of it. Please be

12:24respectful. Um, and then importantly, we

12:26ask that you share your name, your town,

12:29and your affiliation if it's relevant,

12:31and that will get entered into the

12:33public record along with your comment.

12:36Okay, I'm going to stop sharing.

12:40>> Thank you, Abby.

12:41>> Turn it to Ona. Thanks. Great. Um, one

12:44other thing as we get into hearing from

12:47all of you is when you start seeing um,

12:52the people who are sharing comments,

12:54there will be a timer and there will be

12:56their window and each of you can adjust

13:00how big and how small you want those.

13:02Sadly, we couldn't preset it. So, at the

13:05beginning, you might see the clock

13:06really big. If you're on a computer,

13:08there's a little slider. You can just

13:10slide that window over so it gets little

13:12and the person gets big, which you

13:13should do to see everyone's faces. And

13:17yeah, you'll see it now. I know it's

13:19very big on where I am. Um, and then if

13:22you're on a phone, you similarly will

13:24see the clock as like the primary

13:26window, but if you tap on the speaker's

13:29face, they will become the big window

13:32you see. So you can see people instead

13:34of um just the timer. So with that we

13:38are going to get started. Again please

13:40raise your virtual hand if you would

13:42like to share comments. We will start um

13:45with Dave Rogers and then go to Beth

13:48Malofchek.

13:49So Dave, please go ahead. We are going

13:51to promote you um and you'll have to

13:54accept that promotion and then unmute

13:56yourself and turn on your camera.

14:03Representative Rogers should be in

14:06process of being promoted.

14:10>> Go ahead and try it. Representative

14:14>> I did. Um,

14:17>> yep.

14:19>> There you are. Perfect.

14:20>> Working. Okay.

14:22>> Yes. Please go ahead.

14:23>> Okay. Well, first, thank you very much

14:26for this opportunity to comment on the

14:28draft updated combined sewer overflow

14:30control plan. I genuinely appreciate the

14:33great deal of time, effort, and

14:35commitment uh it has taken for the MWR,

14:39the city of Cambridge, and the city of

14:40Somerville to present such a detailed,

14:42comprehensive plan. Uh no doubt many

14:45contributed, and we appreciate it. I

14:47represent the people of Arlington,

14:49Belmont, and Cambridge as I have for a

14:51fair number of years now. And many of

14:53them are deeply concerned about the

14:54health of the ale wife, the Charles, and

14:56the Mystic Rivers. They themselves have

14:58been deeply committed to advocating for

15:01improvements to the local ecosystem. And

15:03for many years in my role as a

15:05representative, I have done that to help

15:07protect the natural world around the

15:09Charles, the Elwife, the mystic. I

15:12myself live just a couple blocks from uh

15:14the Elwife Brook. In the original

15:16presentation of the plan, uh uh the mass

15:19D expressed concerns about the direction

15:22of the plan. So a state agency uh said

15:25that they identified uh alternatives

15:28identified may be insufficient to

15:30address cso discharges and associated

15:33impacts and appear to be inconsistent

15:36with the clean water act and the mass

15:38surface water quality standards. After

15:40being granted this extension, the final

15:42draft control plans only make relatively

15:46modest improvements. Uh, and the plans

15:49for the alwife remain largely the same.

15:52The main point I want to convey is while

15:54there's a lot of different strategies to

15:56control and to mitigate environmental

15:58contamin contaminants, the ultimate gold

16:02standard is sewer separation. and um uh

16:06all other measures while uh helpful do

16:09not have that same impact. So I want to

16:12encourage additional sewer separation

16:14particularly in the alewife area. Uh I

16:17also want to uh [clears throat]

16:18>> have seconds

16:19>> stress that um u I appreciate the time

16:24and um

16:27um I'll I'll honor the the time limit

16:29here but I think I've made my point and

16:32and thank you. Thank you. Um, Beth

16:35Molofchic, you are next. We'll promote

16:37you and let you unmute and turn on your

16:41camera. And then Ariana Puya will be

16:44next.

16:57>> Beth Malof check. My affiliation. I

17:01belong to voters who know the draft plan

17:04is crap. Governor Healey's plan to

17:07continue sewage dumping to continue the

17:09status quo using East Arlington as the

17:11raw sewage overflow basin for Somerville

17:14and Cambridge is not a vote getter.

17:17Governor Healey suspended the gas tax.

17:19She needs to end sewage in the alew wife

17:21Charles and Mystic. Tannery Rose Cso and

17:24CAM 401A have got to go. We want sewer

17:28separation.

17:31The draft plan leaves ale wife receiving

17:33nearly 50% more cso volume in a common

17:36future 5-year storm than it receives

17:39today. This defies common sense as well

17:43as I think several legal things you're

17:45supposed to be adhering to um namely

17:49ending csos. So, I'm here again to say

17:54that uh Governor Healey's draft plan is

17:58not a solution. It is the illusion of a

18:01solution. It is a multiplier

18:05specifically in East Arlington. East

18:08Arlington should not be used as the open

18:12sewer of convenience for the wealthier

18:15communities of Cambridge and Somerville.

18:18This defies

18:20basic precepts of humanity and decency.

18:25So get back to the drawing board. Start

18:28over. You have not done enough work.

18:31Your work product fails miserably.

18:35Please. We want a solution, not the

18:37illusion of a solution. We do not want

18:40Governor Healey's multiplier.

18:42We want a workable plan with

18:44comprehensive sewer separation. We want

18:47a fishable and swimmable ale wife brook

18:51ASAP. Thank you very much.

18:53>> Thank you, Beth. Are you an Arlington

18:55resident?

18:56>> I'm an Arlington resident.

18:58>> Thank you.

18:58>> Voters against crap in our rivers.

19:01>> Thank you, Beth. Um, next up is Ariana

19:05Pa. And as we are promoting Ariana, um,

19:09that is the only other hand that is up.

19:11So, if you are one of the 47 attendees

19:15here today and you think you might want

19:17to say something, you should put up your

19:20hand so we can hear from you or you

19:22should think about it some and come to

19:24our next hearing and or write your

19:27comments in. But we will end the hearing

19:29when we have no more people to call on.

19:32So, Ariana um please go ahead.

19:36>> Thank you. My name is Ariana Puya. I

19:39live in Newton and I'm speaking today as

19:41the senior community organizer for the

19:43Charles River Wershed Association.

19:45Ending combined sewer overflows in the

19:47Charles River um is a top priority for

19:50CRWA. Our detailed comments on the plan

19:52and the analysis will be submitted in

19:54written form, but I am here today simply

19:56to ask that the parties recommend

19:58virtual elimination of CSOS in the final

20:02plan. The current draft plan does not

20:04eliminate CSOS. Instead, it ensures that

20:07they will continue during heavy or high

20:09intensity

20:10rainfall events. Storms like the one

20:13predicted for this weekend would still

20:15discharge raw sewage into the river even

20:18after implementing the this $ 1.3

20:20billion plan. Severe weather events like

20:23this are already happening and will only

20:26become more frequent due to climate

20:27change. Raw or untreated raw or

20:30untreated sewage will flow into the

20:32Charles and contaminate it for at least

20:34the following two days. This is one of

20:36the busiest times of the years on the

20:38river as people are training for the

20:40head of the Charles regata. Rorers with

20:42chronic health issues or who are immuno

20:44compromised will have to make the

20:46difficult decision about whether to

20:48pause their training or potentially get

20:50sick. We can and must end this problem.

20:53But it's not just about those who

20:54recreate on the river. A study on the

20:56Marramac River demonstrated a connection

20:58between increased emergency room visits

21:00from gas gastrointestinal issues and cso

21:04of discharge events. The disease-causing

21:06agents and sewage are likely getting

21:08into the air and making those who enjoy

21:10the beautiful Charles River parks and

21:12pathways or even just who live nearby

21:15causing them to be sick. We can and must

21:17end this problem. Um, in my role at

21:20CRWA, I have the chance to speak to a

21:23lot of people about the river. People

21:24feel deeply connected to the Charles

21:26River. When they learn that the in 2026

21:29that there is still raw sewage going

21:30into the river, they are outraged. They

21:33are making their voices heard. And as of

21:35September 16th, we see 285 comments have

21:38been submitted on this draft plan. The

21:40vast majority calling like we are for an

21:42end to CSOS. We can and must end this

21:45problem. And thank you for your time.

21:47>> Thank you. Um and thanks to those of you

21:50who got inspired to raise your hands. We

21:52now have um some more hands in the

21:54queue. Next up are Chris Styver and then

21:58John Dort Tortelli. Chris, he will be

22:01promoted now.

22:09Hey there. Thanks for the promotion.

22:11>> Perfect.

22:12>> Ready to go.

22:13>> Yep.

22:15>> Uh screen's moving around. There we go.

22:19All right. Well, first off, thanks for

22:20the time to speak here. My name is Chris

22:21Styver. I live in Medford. Um about a

22:235-minute walk to the Mystic River. Uh

22:25we've got two small kids and we're

22:27active family. So we spend a lot of time

22:28outdoors enjoying uh many of the

22:30beautiful resources of this area. And

22:32that includes the Mystic River and the

22:33Mystic Lakes. So we take our kids to

22:36Shannon Beach to go swimming. Uh that is

22:38when there isn't uh a CSO event. Um we

22:42go canoeing in the Mystic Pond and

22:44Shell. Uh and I'm a runner, so we we're

22:46always running and along the shores of

22:48the Mystic River Lakes. Uh we really

22:50love the natural beauty of our region

22:52and I in particular want to preserve it

22:54for our kids to enjoy as they grow. Um

22:56so first off thanks for all the hard

22:58work. Clearly there's a lot of time and

22:59effort that went into this plan. Um it's

23:01really well thought out. Um and overall

23:03I think it puts us in the right

23:04direction of trying to reduce CSOS. Um

23:06however I'm concerned that the control

23:08measures and activities um are not

23:10designed around the right scenarios. the

23:13the sort of typical year analysis um is

23:16really designing for it's not quite an

23:19average rainfall. It's a little above

23:21that but um and I do appreciate that

23:23there is some um allowance for increased

23:26rainfall that is certainly going to

23:28happen with with climate change. Um but

23:30it still means that non-typical years uh

23:33years where there's excessive rainfall

23:36um we're going to continue to allow

23:37CISOs into our our wersheds. Uh and so I

23:40urge the uh the group here to uh

23:43reconsider um a different definition of

23:45how we plan for and design um the

23:48structures and facilities. For example,

23:51uh some standard deviation above the

23:54mean, two standard deviation, two

23:56standard deviations, three standard

23:57deviations above the mean, I think would

23:58be a more appropriate way to help

24:00prevent uh CSOS in non-typical or higher

24:04failures.

24:06Thank you.

24:07>> Thank you.

24:10John Tortelli, you are next. And then it

24:13will be Caroline Meeks.

24:16John, you should be promoted.

24:20>> John, you declined. I'm going to try

24:22that again.

24:23>> You need to sort of accept the panelist

24:26promotion.

24:30>> Yep, there we go. Joining.

24:35>> Great. So, John, you can unmute and turn

24:37on your camera when you're ready.

24:41>> I think we're there.

24:42>> There you are.

24:44>> I live on Sunnyside Avenue, Arlington

24:46along the Wife Brook, and it's time for

24:51separation of sewage and the storm water

24:55overflow. It distresses me that in 2026,

25:00we're still talking about raw sewage

25:02discharges into the Elwife. I have

25:05personal experience with the sewage

25:08overflow onto my property and it's not a

25:12nice thing. There are economic time and

25:15health costs to this. I hate it also

25:19when friends and family members,

25:21grandchildren come over and I have to

25:24tell them stay away from the water.

25:26Nobody can believe it when I tell them

25:29there's raw sewage out back here. Uh,

25:32waterways should be clean and they

25:34should be clear and be able to use by

25:38all. It's basically, as Beth summed it

25:42up, time to cut the crap and it's time

25:44to eliminate CSOS. Thank you.

25:50>> Thank you.

25:52Next up is Caroline Meeks and then after

25:56Caroline will be Lori Rogers Stokes.

26:00Caroline [clears throat]

26:10unmute. Let me start over. And I guess

26:14my video is on. I can turn that on.

26:16There we go. Perfect. Um, thank you for

26:20this opportunity to comment. I My name

26:23is Caroline Meeks. I am an East

26:25Arlington resident. I um am went to

26:29Somerville High. I have an elder who

26:33lives in Somerville. She used to live in

26:35the VNA, which is right across the

26:36street um from the Mystic River um very

26:41close to the ill wife. And I want to

26:44reiterate that I think it's very

26:45important, the time has come to separate

26:48our sewage from our waterways. Our

26:52waterways are so important uh especially

26:55as we go into this period of climate

26:58change.

27:00Not only are we going to get storms like

27:02we're getting this weekend repeatedly

27:04and we just can't assume, oh, it's only

27:07going to happen occasionally with the

27:09system can handle it. We're going to

27:10have more more storms causing more of an

27:13impact. We're also having more warm

27:15weather and our waterways are very

27:18important for people in the heat. We see

27:22that at Shannon Beach and we could be

27:24using the Elwife could be a beautiful

27:27kayakable

27:29fishable um stream. Uh we have such an

27:33amazing resource here with all of these

27:36waterways. It's just not right that the

27:40sewage from Cambridge and Somerville

27:42should be polluting these waterways

27:44which are a regional asset.

27:47Thank you.

27:48>> Thank you.

27:50Next up is Kristen Anderson and then

27:53Rajes Moan.

27:55>> Oh no, I think you skipped

27:57>> Lori. Sorry there. Please Lori. Sorry,

28:00it' be Lori and then Kristen.

28:04>> Hello. I've put my video on. I don't

28:07know if you see me. Oh, you do see me.

28:09Oh, great.

28:10>> Um, I think that everybody on both sides

28:13of this issue knows that there shouldn't

28:14be raw sewage flowing into any waterway.

28:18It is, as someone pointed out, 2026. So,

28:22it just becomes this war of attrition.

28:24the timeline shown earlier like since

28:262023. It's just a constant battle by

28:30people who know that it's not right but

28:32just are driven by other motivations to

28:34see how much they can just wear people

28:36down and drag it out until people forget

28:39about it or give up. And I'm glad to see

28:41so many people here not giving up. It's

28:44irrational to even have an argument

28:46about whether there should be raw sewage

28:49flooded into a river or a stream or any

28:53body of water. And the money that is

28:55spent for other things that are not as

28:58important is just a sign that this is an

29:03issue where people know what the right

29:04thing to do is, but there are other

29:05reasons why they don't want to do it for

29:08profit or who knows what. But I just

29:10want to add my voice to those people

29:11making the rational argument that it's

29:14not our burden to prove that it's a bad

29:16thing. It's not our burden to sort

29:18through constant uh reiterations of the

29:22same plan and say no no no over and over

29:24again. But for as long as being made our

29:26burden, I'm here to help carry part of

29:29that. Thank you.

29:31>> Can you also Lori say where you live?

29:32>> Oh yes. I'm from Arlington. I'm in

29:34Arlington Heights.

29:35>> Thank you. Um okay. I think I thought I

29:40had next Kristen. I seem to have got

29:43tangled between these three. Kristen,

29:44why don't you go Kristen Anderson and

29:46then we'll go to Rajes Moan.

29:56>> Working. Kristen, you should be able to

29:57unmute and turn on your camera.

29:59>> Thank you. Uh,

30:02I think I got it. Thank you.

30:06Um, and you can hear me now. Um, so, um,

30:11uh, my name is Kristen Anderson. I'm

30:12from Saveale Wifebrook. I'm an Arlington

30:14Town meeting member, and I, um,

30:17testified for two minutes, um, last

30:20week, and I just wanted to, um,

30:23uh, fix something. I I misspoke, um, and

30:27I just wanted to fix what I said last

30:29week. Um, so I'm involved in this

30:32because I've had um the cso flood water

30:35in my house and I've gotten sick from

30:36the sewage and my neighbors got sick

30:38from the sewage and I don't want it to

30:39happen to anybody else. Um, and um what

30:44I had said last week is that the draft

30:46plan is designed to allow sewage

30:49discharge volumes that are 50% worse in

30:53um future 5-year storm events than they

30:56are in today's 5-year storm events. So

30:58conditions in the future will be much

31:00worse than they are today because the

31:01draft plan was not engineered uh to keep

31:05up with climate change impacts. Um the

31:09draft plan is designed to discharge more

31:11sewage

31:13um in the exact frequency of storms that

31:17are most likely to result in ill wife

31:20flooding. And last week I had said that

31:22it was the exact same size um storm, but

31:25what I meant to say is it's the same

31:27frequency of storm because in the future

31:30uh these storms are going to be um much

31:32larger um uh more common. Um and Elwife

31:38Brook floods um over its bank um and it

31:42sends sewage discharge into

31:46um the ill wife path. We've seen um

31:49parents pushing baby strollers through

31:52the raw sewage there. And we've seen um

31:55older folks um walking through it. Uh

31:58children riding bikes through it. It's

32:00absolutely horrifying. Um in 2023, the

32:04ill wife flooded over its bank five

32:06times. Um and so we really need

32:08[clears throat and music]

32:10>> Okay. Thank you.

32:11>> Thank you, Chris.

32:13>> You can say your sent you want to say

32:14the second half of the sentence. Oh no.

32:16Okay. Let's go to Rajes. And I would

32:20like to say we have no more hands in the

32:22queue after Rajes. So if you are here

32:26thinking you would like to make verbal

32:28public comment, now is your chance to

32:30raise your Zoom hand and let us know um

32:34because we will close when the last

32:36comment has been given um today knowing

32:39we have another uh hearing in a month.

32:42Um so okay, I see a couple more hands

32:44going up. Thank you, Rajes, please. you.

32:46>> Yeah. Can you see me or hear me?

32:48>> Yes. Yep.

32:49>> Okay. [laughter] I cannot. So, anyway,

32:52um I'm my name is Rajes. I'm I I live in

32:55Wuburn and I have kayaked and enjoyed

32:58the water in various places in Charles

33:01River. And I also made a film last year

33:05uh on the alewife run basically the

33:08elwife migration and how important it is

33:11for both um the wildlife and the natural

33:14resources not only in in in the river

33:16waters but also the ocean. uh so I find

33:20it very disturbing to see that sewage

33:23will be dumped and you know it impacts

33:26um the people people's health and the

33:29wildlife local wildlife all these are

33:32precious and it's very important for us

33:34to conserve and I myself come from um

33:38working at Harvard uh to know that there

33:40is absolutely brilliant minds and

33:43brilliant institutions in this area uh

33:46we cannot have a solution for this uh to

33:49me is um difficult to digest. So I want

33:52to go on record saying uh we should not

33:55be dumping cso into these rivers and

33:58these rivers are precious both in

34:00short-term and long-term uh health of

34:03the community as well as the wildlife.

34:05Thank you.

34:07>> Thank you.

34:09Next up um Elena Proacus Ellis and then

34:12Rachel Ducas.

34:15So Elena, you'll be promoted.

34:22There. You should be able to unmute and

34:24turn on your camera.

34:33There you are.

34:37Sorry, I was just having some trouble

34:38unmuting. Um, just have to get my

34:40comments up here. I was taking some time

34:43to try to consolidate to less than two

34:44minutes, but I'm just going to have to

34:46read really fast.

34:48Can you hear me? Okay.

34:49>> Yes. Yep.

34:50>> Okay.

34:51>> Um, the city of Melrose is a fully

34:53served MWR water and sewer community.

34:56Melrose staff, including myself and the

34:58DPW director, have been leaders in

35:00sustainability and environmental

35:01initiatives. It is through this lens

35:03that we provide comments on this plan.

35:05The MW's proposed CSO plan is projected

35:07to increase Melrose's sewer assessment

35:09by approximately $1 million per year

35:11once the full debt service repayment is

35:13in effect as compared to our current

35:15assessment for all of our MW sewer

35:17services of 6.8 million per year. This

35:20will add approximately $100 $120 per

35:23year to each household in Melrose.

35:25Melrose does not have combined sewers,

35:26but we recognize the importance of

35:28furthering efforts to minimize CSO

35:30discharges to our region's rivers. Much

35:32like the cleanup of Boston Harbor, we

35:34recognize the regional benefit and the

35:35need for this contribution from all rate

35:37paying communities.

35:39Um the currently proposed CSO plan

35:42reduces discharges in a typical year to

35:44zero by 2050 and retains substantial

35:47storage and treatment of wet weather

35:49flow while selectively using sewer

35:51separation, allowing large volumes of

35:52storm water to continue to flow to the

35:54Deer Island treatment plant from

35:56combined sewers except in extreme

35:58weather events. This provides a balanced

36:00approach to ensuring significant volumes

36:02of polluted storm water are not diverted

36:04to local waterways rather than their

36:06current destination of the Deer Island

36:08treatment plant, which could backslide

36:10environmental protection rather than

36:11enhancing it. Through the current plan,

36:13the first flush of storm water

36:15pollutants from areas proposed to keep

36:16combined sewers will continue to be

36:18diverted away from the Charles River,

36:20Mystic River, and Awife Brook and will

36:22receive full treatment before being

36:23discharged to Boston Harbor. This

36:25appears to be a prudent and balanced

36:27approach. Um, furthermore, the the

36:31higher control plans that have been

36:33suggested will uh triple the cost to

36:36Melrose rateayers, again with no direct

36:38benefit to Melrose other than uh a

36:41regional benefit. Um, I don't believe

36:44that sewer separation is the answer. I

36:47think it will result in more

36:49environmental uh detriment

36:52and we urge the Environmental Protection

36:54Agency and D to uh consider and pass uh

36:58MWR's proposed plan.

37:00>> Thank you, Elena. Rachel Ducas, you are

37:04up next and then we have no other hands.

37:06So again, if you want to speak today um

37:10and have not yet done so, please raise

37:13your Zoom hand.

37:15Rachel,

37:16>> hi. Um,

37:20the ongoing planned releases of raw

37:22sewage into the alewife brook um ensure

37:25that the waterway

37:27um is not uh conducive to the support of

37:31highquality nature creatures, habitat,

37:34any of that which includes humans that

37:36live nearby.

37:38uh the increase in certainty in weather

37:41and patterns moving forward and all of

37:43the modeling that's done with the

37:45engineering calculations that were

37:46presented in the various uh cso uh

37:50releases that are part of many of the

37:53current plans that don't include sewer

37:55separation. Um, I'm very skeptical about

37:58a lot of that simply because of this

38:01massive increase in uncertainty over

38:04time related to climate change and all

38:06the other good stuff that we've reviewed

38:09together. Uh, I just mistrust a lot of

38:12that. Um, how likely it is to truly

38:16happen that way.

38:18Um, and there's also the aspect that

38:20there's a lot of concerns about the

38:22stability of long-term governance and

38:24the way decisions are made and things

38:26like that. So, I think the time to act

38:28on this is now because otherwise it will

38:30be once again pushing this issue into

38:32the future um by not working on

38:35separating um the sewer systems. So I

38:38support any plans that includes full

38:41sewer separation, the renaturalization

38:44of particularly AWife Brook area which

38:46is next to my house, but any any spaces

38:50that um CSOS exists that are releasing

38:53sewage into the waterways and impacting

38:55the wildlife, I think we should do full

38:58sewer separation for those.

39:01>> Thank you, Rachel. Um, next up, Gwen

39:04Spie.

39:14There you are, Gwen. You should be able

39:16to turn on your camera and unmute now.

39:24>> Can you see me?

39:25>> We can. There you go.

39:27>> And you can hear me. Okay. I cannot see

39:29myself. Um

39:33but you can see me I see your face

39:37right. Um

39:39so um just a few quick comments. I

39:42wasn't planning to speak but um just uh

39:46this is a practical thing for the next

39:48meeting um and any other public

39:52um sessions you uh

39:55people keep in the doing the

39:56presentation keep saying that the

39:58comments are due by the end of October

40:00and then correcting themselves and

40:02saying October 30th. It would be great

40:03if you would put up a big red banner on

40:05the Cso page saying comments due and at

40:10what time if it's midnight or 5:00 p.m.

40:12on October 30th, not not end of October.

40:16Those are two different things. Um the

40:18map advocates have been asking for years

40:21that the map that you show I know this

40:24is not a presentation, it's a public

40:26comment, but you're still presenting

40:28information and it's very misleading.

40:30The map shows you cannot see uh six

40:35yellow dots which would signify six um

40:39cso outfalls

40:42um dumping millions of gallons of

40:45untreated completely untreated human

40:47waste and industrial waste into the tiny

40:50little awife brook because you are

40:52continuing to use the orange dots with

40:55the closed cso outfalls which are

40:58completely irrelevant to the new and

40:59updated plan. Um, it's important to

41:02actually represent the information for

41:04people when they're giving public

41:05comment. Uh, I have a question. Uh, this

41:08is I'm not expecting to be answers

41:10answered, but uh, whether Melrose and

41:13other towns will be weighing in for the

41:14EPA have any guarantees that their rates

41:17won't go up. This system is um, our

41:20system entire system is outdated. El

41:23Wifebrook is used as hydraulic relief

41:26for a system that does that is not

41:28adequate to the amount of of wastewater

41:31that is in the entire regional system

41:33and needs to be repaired for the entire

41:38[music]

41:39Thank you.

41:41>> Thank you, Gwen. Next up, Bob Donnelly.

41:47Bob, we will promote you.

42:01See, Bob Donnelly, you should be getting

42:02an invitation. Oh, good.

42:10So, you want to unmute and turn on your

42:12camera so we can see you.

42:24Oh, thank you.

42:25>> There you are.

42:26>> Hear me? All right. Thanks. Um, I'm

42:28speaking from a perspective of a

42:31community of Norwood, an MWA rate paying

42:33community and, uh, we are just now

42:37fielding some, I'm on the board of

42:39selectman. We are now fielding some

42:41inquiries and some questions from our

42:43own community. I think the information

42:45being put forward for the draft plan um

42:48is the one that if if it's the one

42:50that's uh on the table, I think we

42:52prefer that. Uh we're looking at in

42:54Norwood, we're looking at over that debt

42:57service period some $36 million more in

43:00rates from Norwood rateayers uh for this

43:03project and it moves to 109 million for

43:06the extreme uh weather plan. And those

43:09are very big numbers for a town that uh

43:12is financially struggling itself uh that

43:15has its own needs in storm water. We

43:18have separated our water uh waste water

43:20from our storm water. Um and we feel

43:22that the um cost of the particularly the

43:26um higher placed plan is just untenable.

43:30uh we in ran uh our neighboring towns in

43:32Randolph, Westwood, Canton, Denim,

43:35Walpole, and Norwood, we would all see

43:36about $150 million increase over that

43:39debt period in our rates. And that's

43:41going to put a real damper on our

43:42ability to address our own utility

43:45problems, our own storm water issues,

43:46and our own water issues. So, um I

43:49believe the rate the drought plan as

43:51presented is the one that I hope the D

43:53and EA do approve. And I also hope that

43:57there is a consideration given for the

43:59communities outside and south of this of

44:01the system who do um already separate

44:05water wastewater from their um um storm

44:08water that we are given a more of a

44:10break so that $36 million uh payment

44:12that we'll be paying for this debt can

44:15be reduced. So um I think that's been

44:18the consensus among community members

44:19I've spoken to and I will end there and

44:22I will thank you very much for taking my

44:24comment.

44:26Thank you so much.

44:31With that, we have reached the end of

44:34Oh, one more person who hasn't commented

44:37yet just raised your hand. Nick of time.

44:39Um, Andrea DS,

44:42please go ahead. And again, anybody who

44:44wants to speak today, it's easiest if

44:46you put your hand up early. You can take

44:48it down if you change your mind. But we

44:51keep almost being out of people.

44:54Hi, thanks. Yeah, and I know this is uh

44:56I thought give people a little more time

44:58to think about what they might want to

45:00say. Um, I have a question um that may

45:04not be that easy to answer, but for the

45:07um uh partnered folks, um

45:11we're on um you know, we're we're bound

45:15in this region and across the country by

45:18the Clean Water Act, which I thought

45:21required that, you know, we continually

45:24work to remove

45:26um combined sewer from the rivers and

45:29the brooks where where it's happening

45:31now. If we went with a lower

45:35um level plan uh for this round of

45:41long-term control um would that preclude

45:45future improvements?

45:47Thanks. I'll leave it right there.

45:50>> Thanks, Andrea. don't think the plan the

45:52team is prepared to answer questions

45:54here but there is an office hours

45:57session coming up where you can talk to

46:00some of the team members directly and I

46:02wanted to mention that anyway um to

46:04everybody

46:05>> just one more noa for the for the record

46:08can you share your town andor

46:10affiliation

46:11>> oh sorry

46:14>> sorry my town is um you know I live in

46:18Newton but I'm with the wastewater

46:19advisory committee

46:22Thank you. Um,

46:24office hours October 6th from 6:00 to

46:278:00 p.m. It's the 9th of 9 2-hour

46:30office hours that the project team has

46:33offered. That is at the Somerville

46:35Public Library on Highland Avenue. I

46:38will say I know there's another hand,

46:40but it's by someone who has spoken

46:41already. And at these sessions, we're

46:43just giving people two minutes, one

46:45two-minute period. So, everyone is

46:47welcome to come back for our third and

46:50final hearing if you would like to speak

46:52more in the record verbally. That is

46:54October 28th at 6 p.m. at Somerville

46:58City Hall. Um, and of course submit as

47:03much detail um in writing as you would

47:06like all the different ways that we

47:07shared at the beginning of this hour.

47:12So, with that, want to thank everyone

47:15for being here, for all of your

47:18thoughtful input, and for caring and

47:21tracking all of this work. We will see

47:26many of you back at the upcoming

47:28hearing, and hope everyone has a really

47:30nice rest of your day. Thank you all.