On July 19, 2021, EPA issued an administrative order to the Town of Braintree, Massachusetts to address violations of the Clean Water Act and the General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4). The Town does not have a wastewater treatment plant and is a customer of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), which operates a regional wastewater treatment plant on Deer Island in Boston Harbor. An EPA audit of the Town identified significant issues with Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs), with some overflow events in the range of 1-5 million gallons, which Braintree pumps into local water bodies to avoid basement and street flooding. The order requires that the Town complete evaluations of its sewer system to identify short- and long-term steps to prevent and mitigate SSOs. In addition, the Town must develop an SSO emergency response plan and a Capacity Management Operations and Maintenance manual. In addition, the Town must take certain actions to fully comply with the MS4 Permit. EPA implements the NPDES program in Massachusetts and has worked in coordination with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in this matter.
The EPA and City of Quincy recently resolved a judicial action intended to improve water quality at beaches on Boston Harbor. Braintree is upstream of Quincy on the MWRA system. This Order should reduce flows to that system easing any flow restrictions contributing to use impairment on