Commission wastewater planning approach in demand

Water quality organizations around the state and country want to hear about the Cape Cod Commission’s innovative work developing locally-driven approaches to wastewater management.

On Nov. 19, Executive Director Paul Niedzwiecki will be in Vineyard Haven at the request of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission to speak on smart wastewater management and the Section 208 Water Quality Management Plan Update.

“Sooner or later, the nitrogen pollution threatening the health of Martha’s Vineyard coastal ponds will affect us all,” MVC Executive Director Mark London wrote in a recent opinion piece published by both island papers. “In the next couple of years, discussion about this issue will be transitioning from concern and analysis, to making some pretty momentous decisions about what to do… Fortunately for us, the Cape Cod Commission just completed the first phase of a multi-million dollar water quality initiative.”

On Nov. 4, Niedzwiecki was in Washington D.C., serving as a panelist at the “Inspiring Action, Creating Resilience” national summit, jointly sponsored by Restore America’s Estuaries and The Coastal Society. The panel was facilitated by Curt Spalding, EPA Region I administrator, and included Curt Johnson of Save The Sound (Long Island) and Jonathan Stone of Save The Bay (Narragansett).

Entitled “Breaking Barriers to Regional Estuarine Restoration From the Bronx to the Cape,” the panel reflected on common threats and opportunities and the imperative for regional action.

In September, Niedzwiecki, Commission deputy directors Patty Daley and Kristy Senatori, and Section 208 Plan Consultant Scott Horsley served on a spotlight panel at the U.S. Water Alliance’s One Water Conference in Kansas City, Mo.

The team gave presentations on Cape Cod’s watershed-based approach to updating the Section 208 Plan.

Ben Grumbles, president of U.S. Water Alliance, was keynote speaker at the Commission’s Wastewater Summit in February 2014.

Niedzwiecki was also a speaker at the September Executive Committee and full Commission meeting of the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission in Avon, Conn.