On October 20, 2017, EPA entered into an Administrative Order on Consent (Order) with the Town of Marion, MA, in which the Town agreed to implement measures to meet its copper, nitrogen and phosphorus limits in its NPDES permit and conform with certain permit requirements related to operation of its treatment lagoons. On April 13, 2017, Region 1 issued a NPDES permit to the Town of Marion that authorized it to discharge pollutants from its wastewater treatment plant subject to the effluent limitations, monitoring requirements and other conditions specified in the NPDES Permit. Both the Town and the Buzzard?s Bay Coalition, an environmental organization, filed petitions for review with the Environmental Appeals Board seeking review of the Permit?s effluent limits for nitrogen, as well as requirements related to operation of its lagoons. This Order resolves that appeal. EPA implements the NPDES program in Massachusetts, but has worked in coordination with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in this matter.
Town will implement measures to comply with permit limits while continuing to look into regionalization.