March 2017

Awash in Microfibers Page 10

A Park Grows in Brooklyn Page 5

Ronald Poltak: A Life of Service Page 8

Estuary Knowledge Page 12

CONNECTICUT • MAINE • MASSACHUSETTS • NEW HAMPSHIRE • NEW YORK • RHODE ISLAND • VERMONT From the Executive Director

Pride and Appreciation

Chair: Michael Kuhns Vice Chair: Douglas Fine • Treasurer: Richard Kotelly hirty-four years ago i joined the staff Connecticut: Environmental Protection Commissioner Robert of a quiet but energetic organization called the Klee, Public Health Commissioner Raul Pino, Arnold Bevins, New England Interstate Water Pollution Con­ Suzanne Blancaflor, Yvonne Bolton, Denise Ruzicka, Mark T trol Commission. As 2017 begins, NEIWPCC ap­ Zessin proaches its seventh decade of service to the people, Maine: Environmental Protection Commissioner Paul Mercer, programs, and partners of the six New England States Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew, Nancy Beardsley, Michael Kuhns, Jane Sexton, Brian Tarbuck, and New York—its member states. David Van Slyke As I reflect upon the many years of serving as Exec­ Massachusetts: Environmental Protection Commissioner utive Director of this great organization, I do so with a Martin Suuberg, Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, sense of pride and a depth of appreciation in what we Michael Celona, Douglas Fine, Paul Hogan, John Sullivan, have accomplished together. F. Adam Yanulis I now prepare myself to, in four months, step down and pursue new chal­ New Hampshire: Environmental Services Assistant lenges after having had the privilege of working together with all of you: my Commissioner Clark Freise, Thomas Ballestero, Gene Forbes, Fred McNeill, Nelson Thibault, Robert Varney friends, colleagues, and fellow water quality professionals. NEIWPCC has certainly taken seriously its role and bold mission, which simply is to help New York: Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos, Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, Robert Breault, and assist working with the states and water environmental community to Mark Klotz, Richard Lyons, Roger Sokol ensure the success of the Clean Water Act. By doing so, we have brought Rhode Island: Environmental Management Director Janet about extensive benefit to the economies, environment, and public health Coit, Health Director Nicole Alexander-Scott, Janine Burke- of our region. Wells, Russell Chateauneuf, Alicia Good, June Swallow This October, shortly after my departure, marks the forty-fifth anniver­ Vermont: Environment Conservation Commissioner Emily sary of the Clean Water Act. There is no doubt it has been the premier Boedecker, Health Commissioner Mark Levine, Peter successful­ environmental statute in American history. Significant progress LaFlamme, David Deen, James Ehlers, Dennis Lutz has been made under this law. Water quality has improved enormously, re­ Executive Director: Ronald Poltak ductions in pollution from point source discharges abound, and important Deputy Director: Susan Sullivan investments in infrastructure continue to be made (albeit too slowly). The Established by an Act of Congress in 1947, the New England Act has worked well. Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission is a not-for- But progress has stalled. The Act is showing its age, modern complex profit interstate agency that meets the water-related needs of our member states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New challenges exist, and new approaches are required that take into account Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The thirty- the issues and needs of those present-day water quality challenges. These five NEIWPCC Commissioners, five from each member state, challenges are multi-dimensional and they involve the subjects of emerging are appointed by their state governors. contaminants, nutrient pollution, climate change, research and develop­ ment of new treatment technologies, and the continued failings of aging infrastructure. The time has come to modernize the Act. It has served us well, but is no longer achieving the water quality improvements it once did. A Clean Volume 1, Number 1 • March 2017 Water Act must build upon its predecessor’s success but create the new Editor: Adam Auster Managing Editor: Anna Meyer tools, mechanisms, and resources to eliminate the water quality problems of Graphic Design: Newcomb Studios today and future decades. While it might be too much to hope for now with Staff for this issue: Jaclyn Harrison, Samantha James, Washington priorities being what they are, I am confident the clean water and Michelle St. John community will be positioned to advance this effort when the time is right. Interstate Waters is published by NEIWPCC. It is fund­ Consequently, as I enter the last phase of my professional career here ed by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection at the Commission, I am confident that NEIWPCC is well placed and Agency and distributed free of charge to subscribers. well equipped to address the challenges before all of us. We together have To subscribe to Interstate Waters, email us at iwr@ worked very hard and have been a strong force for clean water and I have neiwpcc.org. Type “Subscribe” in the subject field and provide your full mailing address. In the body of your enjoyed my role. It has been a deep honor to play a part and I thank all of email, please indicate whether you also wish to receive you for the support and contributions you afforded me. I wish you all the our quarterly email newsletter, iWR. best in your continuing efforts!

The opinions and information stated in Interstate Waters are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions Sincerely, of NEIWPCC. Articles in Interstate Waters may be copied and distributed. Please give credit to NEIWPCC. New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission 650 Suffolk Street, Suite 410, Lowell, MA 01854 Tel: 978-323-7929 Ronald Poltak www.neiwpcc.org NEIWPCC Executive Director

2 Interstate Waters • March 2017 Spotlight

ongratulations to Kerry Strout, Program, Alison Branco of the Peconic Estuary plays an integral role in the certification a former NEIWPCC environment- Program, James Vasslides of the Barnegat Bay and renewal of Massachusetts Title 5 sys­ Cal analyst who is the new sustain­ ­­­ Partnership, and Mark Tedesco of the EPA. tem inspectors and soil evaluators and of ability coordinator for the Town of Scar­ Our congratulations to David Gray, Nan­ Massachusetts wastewater-treatment plant borough, Maine. Strout worked in NEIW­ tucket’s new Director of Wastewa­ operators. PCC’s Low­ell office from 2006 to 2011. In ter Projects­ and Operations. Gray The Commission staff is pleased addition to traditional municipal sustain­ is a graduate of many NEIWP­ to welcome Cambria Happ, NEIW­ ability responsibilities such as energy effi­ CC-sponsored waste­water train­ PCC’s new Business Operations ciency, her porfolio includes watershed ing sessions. manager. She brings to NEIWP­ management and other environmental NEIWPCC staff member Paul CC more than ten years of expe­ pro­grams. Spina has been reelected to the rience in nonprofit operations and The NEIWPCC staff was saddened to Board of Directors of the Associ­ management, event planning, and learn of the passing of Carmine Goneconte, ation of Boards of Certification. office administration. Happ will superintendent of the Narragansett Bay The ABC promotes and coordi­ direct the Business Operations Com­mission’s Field’s Point Wastewater nates environmental certification Cambria Happ Division. She joined the staff in Plant in East Providence, Rhode Island. programs. At NEIWPCC, Spina February. Goneconte was also an adjunct trainer for NEIWPCC’s wastewater program in the Ocean State. NEIWPCC’s Jim Ammerman, the science coordinator for the Long Island Sound Study, Welcome New Commissioners led a panel on nitrogen reduction strategies at the 8th National Summit on Coastal and Estuarine Restoration held in New Orleans ince the last is­ dean for graduate medi­ last December by Restore America’s Estuar­ sue of NEIWPCC’s­ cal education at the Lar­ ies. Also on the panel: Joseph Costa of the Sprint publi­cation ner College of Medicine Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program, Court­ went to press in August and at the UVM Medi­ ney Schmidt of the Narragansett Bay Estuary of 2016, there have cal Center. been a few changes to At press time, Levine the roster of our gov­ was due to take office Our New Look erning Commission. in March. Harry Chen, he neiwpcc staff is pleased After serving as Com­- the incumbent Health Tto introduce a new design for its missioner of New Hamp­ Commissioner who has flagship publication, including­ a new shire’s Department of Clark Freise served since 2011, will Dr. Mark Levine name. What had been the Interstate Environmental­ Services stay on until then. Chen Water Report is now Interstate Waters, since 2006, Thomas Burack resigned in De­ was also acting secretary of Vermont’s Agen­ a magazine rather than a tabloid. cember of 2016. Burack has returned to cy of Human Services from August 2014 to The new design should do a better Sheehan Phinney, where he practiced law January 2015. job of delivering the feature stories we for many years earlier in his career. Assistant Boedecker is a former member of the write and publish. These include in- Commissioner Clark Freise is acting in the staff of the Nature Conservancy of Ver­ depth reports on topics like emerging role of Commissioner. mont. She comes directly from the lead­ contaminants and algal blooms as well NEIWPCC welcomes Dr. Mark Levine, ership of Local Motion, a Vermont-wide as stories about water-related projects Vermont’s new Commissioner of Health, group that advocates for cyclists and pe­ and events in the Northeast. and also Emily Boedecker as Commissioner of destrians and promotes inclusive transpor­ Various editorial departments will the Department of tation planning. continue to bring you news of the Environmental­ Conser­ Boedecker is scheduled to succeed Alys­ work of the Commission, its work­ vation. By virtue of sa Schuren, who had been DEC Commis­ groups, and its staff. those offices, both sit on sioner since 2015. Schuren is now a senior Like its predecessor, Interstate NEIWPCC’s­ governing policy advisor in the Office of the Vermont Waters will be published twice a year. Commission. Both were State Treasurer. We hope you like the new design. scheduled to take office In February of this year, Donald Pryor of Please tell us what you think at iwr@ soon as this issue of In­ Rhode Island resigned from the Commis­ neiwpcc.org. terstate Waters was go­ sion. Pryor, who is a physical scientist and ing to press. senior policy advisor, served as a NEIWP­ Prior to his February Emily Boedecker CC Commissioner for ten years. appointment by Gover­ NEIWPCC is grateful for the service nor Phil Scott, Levine was a professor of rendered by departing Commissioners, and health medicine at the University of Ver­ looks forward to working with new Com­ mont, where he also served as the associate mission members.

Volume 1, Number 1 • Interstate Waters 3 Workgroup Roundup

Joint Meetings and More

eiwpcc convenes standing els. Some states use exam questions written working with small businesses that need to work­groups where state-agency by the Association of Boards of Certifica­ comply with a new regulation that requires Nstaff members sit down with tion, an international body, which simp­ the closure of some single-walled tanks in­ their peers from other states in the region lifies operator reciprocity. stalled prior to mid-1985. and with federal officials, NEIWPCC During the December 6 conference call, Group member Sofia Kaczor, of the staff members, and other practitioners to members discussed updates to state regula­ Rhode Island Department of Environmen­ grapple with the ongoing and latest issues tions, wastewater management school pro­ tal Management, told how a contaminated and trends in the field. The below meetings grams, and a grant opportunity for develop­ former Sunoco gas station was remediated took place at NEIWPCC’s main office in ing wastewater curriculum in New England for benzene, toluene, and other contami­ Lowell, Massachusetts, unless otherwise community colleges. nants. The site was purchased by the neigh­ noted. On September 14, the Wetlands Work­ boring International Tennis Hall of Fame for Nutrient pollution took center stage at group convened in Lowell to hear Tina a major expansion of its campus. a joint meeting of NEIWPCC’s Nonpoint Heath of the Vermont Agency of Natural On December 9, Allison Forrest-Laiuppa, Source and Onsite Wastewater workgroups. Resources describe an initiative to synchro­ of Connecticut’s Department of Energy On August 31, the two groups met to nize the agency’s monitoring of Vermont’s and Environmental Protection, told how a discuss efforts being made around the re­ lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Staff members rapid response to the detection of a pinhole gion to mitigate nonpoint source pollution of the Udall Foundation described a medi­ leak at a service station prevented contami­ from failing and outdated onsite wastewater ation effort and some research by the Foun­ nation of nearby drinking-water wells. treat­ment systems. dation about state general permits and joint At an October 27 meeting of NEIWP­ Each group met separately earlier that processing of applications by the Army CC’s Water Quality Standards Workgroup, per­ day. The Onsite Wastewater Workgroup re­ Corps of Engineers, states, and the EPA. sonnel from EPA Headquarters described viewed such state-level developments as Members of the Climate Change Work­ a new tool for determining copper criteria a new point-of-sale cesspool-elimination group gathered on September 26. One for estuarine waters. The tool is one of three rule in Rhode Island, and regulations relat­ highlight from the discussion concerned “biotic ligand models” from the EPA. State ed to the design of onsite systems for assist­ the need to bridge the gap between state personnel in the workgroup learned about ed living facilities in Massachusetts. and local government on climate-change the model and the monitoring data that Meanwhile, at the Nonpoint Source Work­ issues. At this stage, state resources to help states can plug into it to find water-quality group meeting, personnel from New Hamp­ municipalities respond to and plan for cli­ criteria for copper. shire described the Granite State’s Soak Up mate change are limited, while cities and In addition, workgroup members from the Rain initiative. The program had a busy towns often lack the expertise to respond each state gave updates about the integrated summer helping to install stormwater best to climate-change matters. reports on the quality of each state’s waters. management practices, including a rain NEIWPCC’s Underground Storage Tanks The federal Clean Water Act requires states garden and infiltration trenches at Phillips Workgroup met on October 13 and De­ to submit these reports to the EPA every two Exeter Academy. cember 9. Some workgroup members are continued on page 14 Many members of the Nonpoint Source Workgroup attended the National Non­ point Source Training Workshop that took place in Boston October 31–November 3. Some workgroup members also helped NEIWPCC and EPA to plan the event. The NPS Workgroup also convened by conference call on January 31, 2017. State personnel provided brief updates of proj­ ects funded through the federal Clean Wa­ ter Act Section 319 Program, under which states use federal grants to support local nonpoint-source-management activities. NEIWPCC’s Wastewater Certification Work­ group convened by conference call on Au­ gust 3 and December 6. One of the main discussion topics in August was certifica­ tion reciprocity: How can a person who is a certified wastewater operator in one state NEIWPCC’s New England Biological Assessment of Wetlands Workgroup held a joint meeting become certified in others? States have dif­ with the Mid-Atlantic Wetland Workgroup in November. Above, members of the two groups visit fering systems of certification grades or lev­ the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve to view unique plant communities and other features.

4 Interstate Waters • March 2017 NYC Department of Environmental Protection Soaking It Up Innovative Park Prototype Tackles Runoff in Brooklyn

By Anna Meyer

egacy industrial pollution, Parker, the Conservancy’s current execu­ Recreation, Transportation, City Planning, combined­­ sewer overflows, and storm­ tive director, says it was the group’s “first and Design and Construction, and the New L­water runoff plague the Go­wa­nus large grant.” York State Department of Environmental Canal in Brooklyn, New York. The canal Drake realized that publically owned Conservation. Since the canal is a Super­ and its environs,­ designated a superfund site street ends abutting the 1.8-mile-long ca­ fund site, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps in 2010, may seem a hopeless case. Yet as nal could be transformed into working of Engineers had regulatory jurisdiction as land use near the canal shifts from heavy landscapes that absorb and filter stormwa­ well. industrial to a mix of light industrial, com­ ter runoff. That idea, which she dubbed a “It is important to understand the rules mercial, and residential, more people—and “sponge park,” appears multiple times in and understand who has jurisdiction,” agencies—are growing interested in clean­ the master plan. Drake says of the labyrinthine permitting ing up the canal and minimizing­ fur­ther dlandstudio’s vision was to connect process. “Visualization of territory…stops pollution, such as from combined sewer twelve street-end sponge parks and other some of the churning that can happen over­flows. community-recreation areas with an espla­ when it’s not clear who is the responsible The canal’s champions include the Gow­­ nade along the canal. The firm has received party.” anus Canal Conservancy and Brooklyn-based multiple awards for the 2008 master plan, The pilot project cost a total of design firm dlandstudio. Su­sannah Drake, including honors from the American Soci­ $1.5 million, but Drake credits the grant a landscape architect and founding princi­ ety of Landscape Architects and the Amer­ from NEIWPCC not only as critical to pal of the firm, says the fledgling Conser­ ican Institute of Architects. The sponge moving the pilot-project forward but also vancy approached her newly formed firm park design, in particular, is lauded for its helping establish the firm, since it was “the in 2008 to develop a master vision for add­ two simultaneous identities: green infra­ first big grant” for the project. ing 5.5 acres of open space to the densely structure and public park. populated Gowanus Canal watershed. In 2010, NEIWPCC awarded dland- Two Benefits, One Park The staff at the Conservancy had liked studio an EPA grant of $184,995 to design The Gowanus Canal Sponge Park officially an earlier proposal from the studio to build a pilot sponge park. Over the next six years, opened in October of 2016. On the sur­ a public green space over part of the Brook­ the firm not only devised the pilot project face, the park is geometrically simple. Twin lyn Queens Expressway as a means of re­ but also raised funds for construction and bioremediation basins flank a central walk­ connecting neighborhoods. Drake says she worked with city, state, and federal agencies way that connects the street to the water’s helped the Conservancy to procure a grant to see the project through to installation. edge. The basins include a mix of green from the New York State Council on the To develop the project plan, the firm vegetation. Arts to create the master plan. Andrea worked closely with neighborhood resi­ The park is designed to work against two dents, community groups, and numerous major sources of pollution to the Gowanus Anna Meyer is an environmental analyst in gov­ernment agencies whose jurisdictions Canal: street runoff and combined sewer the Communications Division at NEIWPCC. the small park intersects. These authorities overflows. According to the design firm, the Above: A view of the Gowanus Canal Sponge included the New York City Departments park will capture some one million gallons Park. of Environmental Protection, Parks and of stormwater annually that would have

Volume 1, Number 1 • Interstate Waters 5 The park is designed to DLANDstudio work against two major sources of pollution to the Gowanus Canal: street runoff and combined sewer overflows.

Stormwater from 2nd Street in Brooklyn flows into Sponge Park’s bio- retention system, which is made of multiple cells containing soil, sand, and native woody plants.

otherwise drained directly into the canal or the canal. In 2005, the U.S. entered the sewer system. Army Corps of Engineers esti­ Instead, stormwater from the street per­ mated that the eight combined sew­ pendicular to the park is directed to the er overflow outfalls along the canal dis­ bio­retention basins, which contain native charge more than 300 million gallons of woody plants, soil, and sand. The plants untreated waste into the canal every year. chosen­ absorb, accumulate, or metabolize pollutants that stormwater picks up on road­ The Bigger Picture the Northeast and beyond, Gowanus Canal ways, including oil and heavy metals. They Residents and officials have different rea­ served as a place to dump waste for more include beach rose, bay laurel, iris, summer­ sons for supporting Sponge Park, but a com­ than a century. sweet, and a grass-like plant in the sedge pelling one is how the park complements The canal was a major industrial ship­ family. The plants are native to the region, the cleanup that will happen as a result of ping route, and received waste from paper salt tolerant, and able to withstand various the EPA’s 2010 designation of the canal as a mills, tanneries, and chemical plants. Fac­ levels of inundation. Superfund site. Like so many waterways in tories that manufactured gas from coal for Sponge Park uses mostly woody plants instead of the herbaceous plants typically found in bioremediation basins. Drake said she wanted Sponge Park to be easy to main­ tain and to feel like a park, even in the New York winter. “Woody plants are used more in park landscapes,” she said. “In the winter, it looks like there’s something there.” Some of the water infiltrates into ground­ water. The remainder flows into the canal, but only after being filtered by the basins. The system also diverts some of the rain­ water from entering the sewer during small and large storms. In this way, the park helps prevent the Red Hook wastewater treat­ ment plant in Brooklyn—which receives both domestic wastewater and stormwa­ ter—from reaching its maximum capacity and discharging untreated wastewater into

The plants, soil, and sand in Sponge Park filter pollutants out of stormwater. Near the Gowanus Canal, a walkway and boat ramp echo the park’s intended use as a recreational space. NYC Department of Environmental Protection

6 Interstate Waters • March 2017 lighting, cooking, and heating added their effluents to the mix. High concentrations of more than a dozen contaminants, in­ cluding polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls and heavy met­ als, including mercury, lead, and copper, have been found in canal sediment. The EPA also recognizes combined sew­ er overflows as part of the problem. Con­ sequently, the remedy plan for the site in­ cludes not only removal of contaminated material but also the construction of two large storage tanks that will hold waste­ water from the combine sewer until treat­ Arranged by DLANDstudio. Public Library. Source: New York ment plants can handle it.

Modular Cells 1766 1855 Another notable aspect of Sponge Park is its modular construction. The bioretention basins are made up of prefabricated per­ forated concrete cells. The whole park is about 2,500 square feet (about the size of a singles tennis court). Offsite construction offered multiple be­ nefits, according to Drake. Fabricating the cells in a controlled environment, and not onsite, meant the concrete curing process was not disrupted by tidal changes in the water table. (The Gowanus Canal was built in the ninteenth century in a wetland con­ nected to the New York Harbor.) Offsite­ construction also gave the firm more con­ trol over construction quality. The fact that the cells are identical to 1891 2007 one another is economical. Perhaps most significantly, the pattern is now on hand, Maps and satellite imagery show how Brooklyn grew near Gowanus Bay from 1766 to the present ready to cast any number of modules. era. The canal was built in the nineteenth century in a wetland connected to New York Harbor. It Drake’s firm is currently working with runs through Brooklyn and was a major industrial shipping route. Today, land use near the canal New York City’s Departments of Transpor­ has shifted from heavy industry to a mix of light industrial, commercial, and residential uses. tation and Environmental Protection on a few projects that use the technology devel­ oped for Sponge Park. However, she has set the water if a barge comes along. will include measurements of the volume her sights even higher, hoping that the mod­ Susannah Drake said public access to the of runoff entering Sponge Park and the ular basins will become “the Jersey barriers­ canal was one of the main concerns raised amounts of pollutants removed. It is likely of stormwater management”: inexpensive, when dlandstudio solicited public com­ that the results of the monitoring will give simple, and easy to deploy widely. ments about the master plan for the water­ confidence to those considering installing a shed in 2008. In 2016, when Sponge Park sponge park or similar green infrastructure Accent on Access officially opened, New York City Council system. In a relatively recent change to City zon­ Member Stephen Levin said, “This project Meanwhile, the Gowanus Canal Con­ ing, every time a parcel changes use (from proves that taking care of our environment servancy, which was one of many partners industrial to residential, for example), the and providing amenities to the public are in the design process of the pilot project, property owner is required to provide a for­ not mutually exclusive—in fact, quite the is looking at the big picture. Andrea Park­ ty-foot setback from any waterfronts. Sub­ opposite is true. The more green infrastruc­ er, executive director of the Gowanus Ca­ sequent regulation applied this standard ture and open space we create, the greater nal Conservancy, says the group is seeking to the canal. In a few places on the canal, the public’s stewardship.” “a community vision plan for Gowanus including a parcel adjacent to Sponge Park, Greenscape, the network of parks and the setback has made room for a section Looking Ahead public spaces centered on the Canal.” The of an esplanade—a public walkway dot­ The plan includes provisions for Manhat­ Conservancy plans to post a request for ted with benches. Lightstone Group, the tan College to monitor the park’s effective­ proposals this spring. developer of a high-rise near Sponge Park, ness at removing pollutants. NEIWPCC’s Parker says the plan “will build on” the installed a small boat ramp on the espla­ 2010 grant to dlandstudio covered the 2008 master plan “and take into account the nade so that boaters, such as members of development of a quality assurance proj­ canal’s 2010 designation as a Superfund site the local canoeing group, can easily leave ect plan for the monitoring work, which as well as expected zoning changes.”

Volume 1, Number 1 • Interstate Waters 7 A Life of Public Service Ron Poltak’s career is the story of water quality efforts in the Northeast and nationally

By Adam Auster

onald poltak, who joined nei­ Management Officials’ Association (solid WPCC’s governing Commis­sion waste). It was a time, he recalls, when Rin 1979 and went on to become environmental issues left their discrete the organization’s first executive di­ cubbyholes and demanded a com­ rector four years later, will depart prehensive approach. During this from that role in July. A search for period, he remembers, the states his successor is in the planning consolidated their individual en­ phase. vironmental bureaus into “com­ When hired in 1983, Poltak prehensive resource-management was one of the new breed of en­ agencies,” each a single coordinat­ vironmental policy makers who ed organization dealing with envi­ rose to professional maturity im­ ronmental issues statewide. plementing the Clean Water Act, Poltak became the face of the which Congress adopted in 1972. Commission in statehouses and in Poltak steered what had been a Washington, and helped to craft im­ small, technically oriented group through portant legislation. He served as president decades of sweeping changes in the envi­ of the national organization now known as ronmental field. Under his direction, the the Association of Clean Water Adminis­ Commission added training programs and trators. Poltak came on board as executive forged partnerships with the EPA and with Poltak steered what director at a time when the EPA’s budget regional and national organizations. His un­ had been a small, had been slashed by 30 percent. Within a wavering goal was always to support state few years, Congress replaced the federal and local efforts to resolve difficult water technically oriented wastewater grants program with the State issues, including appropriate standards, group through decades of Revolving Fund, a loan program. plan­ning, and funding decisions. sweeping changes in the The EPA eventually recovered, Poltak environmental field. said, but the switch to loans has “slowed Decades of Service the pace of progress” in controlling water Poltak entered public service in New pollution. The change has contributed to Hamp­shire as an intern in the state plan­ served under the title of executive secre­ “a funding gap between need and appropri­ ning department in 1968 while still an tary. When Al Peloquin retired from that ation.” With less funding, state and local under­graduate at the University of New position in 1983 after sixteen years, fol­ gov­ernments are no longer able to replace Hampshire. He returned to that depart­ lowing a fruitful decade of implementing and improve wastewater facilities in a time­ ment following active duty in the Air Force, the priorities of the Clean Water Act, the ly way. Another consequence has been eventually becoming the director of the Commission made a deliberate break with steady increases in water and sewer bills to state’s Office of Comprehensive Planning the past, hiring a policy professional rather users over time. and advisor to New Hampshire governors than an engineer. Poltak also led the organization in an ex­ on environmental issues. “It was unheard of that you would have pansion of its training program for waste­ In that capacity, it was inevitable that some kind of generalist environmentalist in water and drinking water plant operators. Poltak would work with NEIWPCC. this role,” Poltak said. “Today our advocacy Training “was implicit” in the push to build Then-Governor Hugh Gallen appointed is so diverse that a big-picture focus is re­ new wastewater facilities per the Clean Poltak to the Commission in 1979. The de­ quired,” he said. In 1983, it was a break Water Act, backed up by federal funding cision to hire Poltak as NEIWPCC’s first with the past. in the 1970s. “It was clear from inception,” executive director in 1983 marked a new Poltak said, “that we would have to train direction for the organization. New Directions people to operate these facilities.” Starting in 1948, NEIWPCC’s staff had Under Poltak’s leadership, NEIWPCC Training for wastewater professionals been led by a succession of engineers who turned outwards, reaching out to younger was under way before the Clean Water Act. sister organizations such as the Northeast By the late 60s, NEIWPCC had created the Adam Auster is the Director of NEIWPCC’s States for Coordinated Air Use Manage­ New England Regional Wastewater Insti­ Communications Division. ment (air quality) and the Northeast Waste tute (NERWI), a training school for waste­

8 Interstate Waters • March 2017 water-treatment-plant operators, located on the campus of what is now the Southern Maine Commu­ ­nity College in South Port­ land, Maine. When the relationship with the school ended in 1998, Poltak moved the training Hannah Mellman/NACWA effort to NEIWPCC’s headquarters, where the program took the general form that it has kept to this day. NEIWPCC still staffs a South Portland office that houses Maine’s Joint Environmental Training Coordinating Committee and other Maine-based NEIW­ PCC initiatives. By the 1990s, the Commission’s work ranged far beyond the end of the wastewa­ ter pipe. It had calculated the cost per house­ hold of new water infrastructure. The Com­mission had published a comprehen­ sive design guide for wastewater facilities, which would be revised several times, and NEIWPCC had become a source of infor­ mation about a broad range of water issues Ron Poltak testifies at a hearing of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s to policy makers and the public. Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee on July 24, 2014. Also under Poltak’s leadership, the Com­ mission developed deep relationships with The success of the original Clean Water Modern Challenges place-based programs such as the Hudson Act in regulating discharges from pipes A provision of the 1980s-era reauthoriza­ River Estuary Program, the Lake Cham­ has left nonpoint source pollution, such as tion of the Act requiring states to establish p­lain Basin Program, and the Long Island runoff from farms and roads, as the most science-based management plans for water Sound Study. These partnerships endure to stubborn challenge for water-quality pro­ bodies is the lynchpin of state efforts to the present day. fessionals and policy makers. continued on page 14

The Long View

visit with ron poltak, neiwpcc’s ex­ emerging contaminants.” Aecutive director since 1983, is a tour of From that perspective, the Clean Water Act the nation’s response to environmental issues of 1972 is, in Poltak’s view, “the most suc­cessful for the last four decades. environmental legislation of our time.” It led Starting with the creation of the EPA and directly to the cleanup and control of signif­ the passage of the Clean Water Act in the early icant point-source pollution that was fouling 1970s, government has sought to identify and the waters of the United States. Forty-five years deploy the smartest, most cost-effective ways later, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio no longer to fix acute environmental problems and pro­ catches fire, and the question “Who killed Lake tect water quality. Erie?”—the title of a Peabody-award-winning Poltak advised several New Hampshire gov­ documentary in 1969—seems to belong to a ernors on environmental issues in the 1970s dystopian parallel universe. and 80s and served as a member of NEIWP­ Yet today, he said, the provisions of the CC’s Commission before signing on as execu­ Clean Water Act are proving to be poor instru­ tive director in 1983. He says the story of clean ments to answer current “trends and problems water in the northeast and the nation has been that were never contemplated by the authors” a progression from clear-cut technical issues Fresh out of the Air Force in 1970, of the Act, such as nutrients and climate focusing on “the end of the wastewater pipe” Ron Poltak sits at his desk in New change. The next step, he says, must be to “cre­ to a more policy-oriented focus on nonpoint Hampshire’s Office of Comprehen­ ate new tools to address today’s water-quality source pollution. sive Planning. issues and those of the future.” In the first decade following the adoption of Looking ahead and beyond the current tur­ the Clean Water Act, he said, the commission moil in Washington, Poltak sees water quan­ developed standards “based on the best technology available” to tity as the next big issue for the Northeast. Already, he says, reduce discharge “at the pipe.” It was a technically challenging “providing and maintaining adequate water supply for public problem, but one that seems simple compared to today’s. “Our use is as essential as maintaining water quality” as a matter of challenges are nonpoint source-related, not through pipes,” concern, and it is an issue that will demand “substantial ener­ he said, citing “climate change, superstorms and runoff, and gies from policy makers” in the water-rich region.

Volume 1, Number 1 • Interstate Waters 9 Microfibers in the Freshwater Environment Plastic Fibers Emerge as a Contaminant of Concern

By Jaclyn Harrison

t seems almost unfair. light- These plastic microfibers (magnified) were found weight, warm, and economical poly­ in the esophagus of a double-crested cormorant. I­ester fleece, often made in Ameri­ Rachel Ricotta took this photo through a micro- ca from recycled plastics, is the source scope while assisting with a study of microplas- of a stealth contaminant that is pol­ tics in the Great Lakes. luting our waterways and food chain on a massive scale, especially in areas near dense human populations. The consequences to aquatic organisms Pervasiveness and to humans are not known. Ecologist Mark Browne was one of the first Among the various types of mi­ researchers to study microfibers in marine croplastics that have been found in environments. In 2011, Browne published a the aquatic environment, plastic mi­ study in which he sampled eighteen shore­ crobeads are better known. Congress lines around the world and found that 85 banned microbeads in 2016 in the percent of the synthetic materials at those U.S. However, recent studies have sites were microfibers, especially at sites near found microfibers to be even more wastewater treatment plants. pervasive. Microfibers are also found in the fresh­ Polyester fleece is nearly ubiqui­ water environment. On the surface of tous today but was unknown before Lake Michigan, researchers found 19,000 the late 1970s. An early commercial strands of microfibers per square kilometer, fleece product, Polartec, originated in 16 percent of the total plastic recovered. the old mill city of Lawrence on the It is important to note that in this study Merrimack River in Massachusetts. On average, synthetic fleece the samples were collected by skimming a There the Malden Mills company jackets release 1.7 grams of fine-mesh net along the surface of the lake. created Polartec in 1979, and would That sampling method did not account for microfibers each wash, which grow to 3,000 employees. any fibers that may be present throughout Microfibers are small plastic parti­ equates to an average of the water column or that may have settled cles, less than 5 millimeters long and 80,000 microfibers. at the lake bottom. To date, researchers fibrous in shape. Polyester, acrylic, ny­ have sampled twenty-nine tributaries of lon, and rayon are the most common types synthetic fiber, was two to three times that the Great Lakes using same surface-only of microfibers now being found in water of all other fibers combined. Its production bodies and in the food chain. Researchers will likely reach 84 million metric tons per Jaclyn Harrison is an Environmental Analyst are finding the fibers incorporated into fish year by 2025. As demand for polyester for NEIWPCC’s Water Resource Protection Di- tissue. Over the past five years, the pro­ grows, its life-cycle impacts should be of vision. She coordinates the Commission’s Con­ duction of polyester, the most common increasing concern. taminants of Emerging Concern Workgroup.

10 Interstate Waters • March 2017 technique. Microfibers account for 71 per­ removal stage. human carcinogen. Flame retardants have cent of microplastics found in these smaller Due to high capital costs, however, up­ been linked to thyroid disruption, memory bodies of water, measured in particles per grading WWTPs is not a feasible solution and learning problems, delayed mental and cubic centimeter. to microfiber pollution in the short term. physical development, lower IQ, early pu­ Even if the removal efficiency were to im­ berty, and reduced fertility. Some perfluo­ Patagonia Study prove, the fibers would be retained in the rinated chemicals, such as Teflon (which is Apparel seems to be the obvious and log­ sewage sludge. Microfibers can still en­ sometimes added to clothing to make it ical source of the microfibers being found ter the environment from sewage sludge, waterproof) disrupt normal endocrine ac­ in our waterways. A study released by re­ which is increasingly being applied to farm­ tivity, reduce immune function, cause ad­ searchers at the University of California at land as fertilizer. verse effects on multiple organs, and cause Santa Barbara, and funded by the outdoor developmental problems. (Perfluorinated clothing manufacturer Patagonia, found com­pounds are another class of emerging that, on average, synthetic fleece jack­ contaminants; see “Perfluorinated Com­ ets release 1.7 grams of microfibers pounds: Emerging Challenge for each wash, which equates to an States, Communities” in the Sep­ average of 80,000 microfibers. tember 2016 issue of the Inter- Clothing age, washing ma­ state Water Report, this publi­ chine type, and clothing con­ cation’s predecessor.) struction significantly alter Plasticizers are additives shed­ding characteristics. Old­ that enhance the plasticity or er jackets shed almost twice as fluidity of a material. As plas­ many fibers as new ones. Greater­ tics degrade, they may release shedding in older jackets is most these additives. These substances likely due to the weakening of fibers include phthalates, alkyl phenols, as a result of wear. Top-load washing bisphenol A (BPA), heavy metals, and machine trials had over five times the aver­ polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs). age microfiber shedding of the front-load These chemicals are known to disrupt en­ Fibers can also harm fish machine trials because of the agitator used docrine functions and cause harmful repro­ in top-loading machines to wash clothes. by leaching toxic chemicals ductive and developmental effects in aqua­ Finally, shedding from a budget jacket was into their bodies. tic animals. The chemicals have the consistently higher than its Patagonia coun­ potential to bioaccumulate, becoming terpart, which could indicate the impor­ more concentrated as they move up the tance of textile composition and garment Impact food chain. The size of microplastics and microfibers construction. Of even greater concern is the ability of allow them to be easily consumed by fish the microfibers to act as a vector for con­ Wastewater Plants and other wildlife. These particles have been taminants because they can absorb per­ found to cause physical and chemical im­ Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) sistent organic pollutants and bioaccumu­ pacts on aquatic organisms. play a critical role in the fate and transport late in animal tissues. These pollutants Microfibers in particular are not as eas­ of microfibers in the environment. WWTPs include dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane ily excreted as other plastic fragments due receive large amounts of microfibers daily (DDT), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), to their shape. Ingestion of microplastics and while most microfibers are removed, and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins. may cause internal bleeding, abrasion, and a significant amount are still released into Reproductive effects from microplas­ ulcers, as well as blockage of the digestive the local environment. The Patagonia re­ tics have been found in filter feeders, such tract. In a 2014 study from the University searchers calculated that a city of 100,000 as mussels and oysters, which filter large of Exeter, crabs were given food contam­ people could send anywhere from 20 to volumes of water and thereby ingest sus­ inated with microfibers. The crabs subse­ 240 pounds of microfibers into local water­ pended plastics. Studies of oysters that con­ quently ate less food overall due to the feel­ bodies daily, which averages out to around sumed microplastics found that the oysters ing of being full. This could stunt growth 15,000 plastic bags. produce fewer and smaller egg cells and over time or lead to starvation. Researchers at SUNY Fredonia found slower sperm, which results in fewer larvae. Fibers can also harm fish by leaching microfibers­ accounted for 85 percent of the toxic chemicals into their bodies. These plastic in effluent at treatment plants they Health Risks chem­icals include fabric finishes, plasticiz­ examined. There is a greater proportion of Microplastics and microfibers have been ers, and adhered organic pollutants. While smaller microfibers in plant effluent, which found in marine species consumed by hu­ the data are still limited at this point, it is indicates that smaller fibers are more likely mans. A 2014 study estimated that regu­ safe to assume that the longer these fibers to make it through the WWTP process. lar consumers of European shellfish may stay inside a fish, the more likely they are The influent and effluent of numerous ingest up to 11,000 microplastic particles to leach chemicals into its body. WWTPs has been sampled and analyzed per year. A 2015 study found microplastics Finished apparel products contain large for microfiber and microplastic particles. in the stomachs of swordfish, bluefin tuna, quantities of chemical substances. These Sampling methods vary between studies, and albacore tuna. A recent study on fish chemicals may include formaldehyde, but removal efficiency ranges from 65 purchased at markets in California found flame retardants, and perfluorinated chem­ to 99.9 percent based on influent versus that 25 percent of fish and 33 percent of icals. Some anti-wrinkle finishes in new effluent concentrations. Most of the fibers shellfish contained plastic and natural mi­ clothing release formaldehyde, which is a appear to be removed during the grease- continued on page 14

Volume 1, Number 1 • Interstate Waters 11 Estuary Knowledge Research Seminar Boosts Estuary Work

By Adam Auster Save The Bay

he fish were dying, and it took Continuous monitoring by the U.S. Geo­ Estuary scientists and administrators continuous monitoring to explain logical Survey told the real story, a daily across the Northeast engage in similar work, Tex­actly why. cycle in which levels of dissolved oxygen yet had never before come together at a Alison Branco, the program director of dipped well below the acute standard and single regional estuary-specific forum. A the Peconic Estuary Program, described the then rose again. The die-offs coincided with second research seminar planned for Sep­ problem at a gathering of estuary research­ especially lengthy nighttime periods of low tember 13 will focus on phosphorus in es­ ers last fall. There had been two major fish dissolved oxygen. The periodic sampling tuaries. NEIWPCC also sponsors an ongo­ kills in the tidal portion of the Peconic River had missed those events. Fortunately, re­ ing series of webinars on current research in late spring of 2015. Thousands of fish had searchers could draw on both sets of mon­ topics, some estuary related. died and the cleanup was “massive.” itoring data. In Staatsburg, the workshop began with The usual suspects were present at the Branco was one of thirty-five researchers, six presentations, including Branco’s, but sites of the die-offs: nutrient pollution, ris­ administrators, and advocates who shared then resolved into breakout sessions on ing water temperature, and algal blooms. stories and ideas at NEIWPCC’s first re­ topics generated by participants. Person­ However, the levels of dissolved oxygen, search workshop, held in Staatsburg, New nel from many different organizations sat though low, exceeded the 3-milligrams-per-li­ York, last September. Last year NEIWPCC down together to compare notes and per­ ter state standard for acute con­centrations funded thirty-three projects involving the spectives on such topics as behavior-change of oxygen. Suffolk County measured the collection or use of environmental data, campaigns, data quality, and the impact of dissolved oxygen level regularly. fourteen of them estuary related. science on public policy. They discussed equipment, calibration and maintenance protocols, open spaces as pollution vectors (think golf courses, crop lands), and parameters to monitor and track nutrient progress. Except for Branco’s, the morning pre­ sentations were all from NEIWPCC staff members working at regional organiza­ tions, as follows. • Daniel Miller, the habitat restoration co­ ordinator for the Hudson River Estuary Program, described four sustainable-shore­ lines demonstration projects along the Hudson River. Miller told the group “the most common methods of shoreline pres­ ervation” such as riprap (stone or concrete fortification) “are not good for the river.” “People don’t always want what’s good

Adam Auster is the Director of NEIWPCC’s Com- munications Division. Alison Branco, the Director of the Peconic Estuary Program, created and refined At the September 24 Estuary Research Workshop in Staatsburg, New York, Sean O’Neill of the graphic display (opposite) of dissolved oxygen Peconic Baykeeper pitches a topic for the afternoon session. levels in the Peconic River in late spring of 2015.

12 Interstate Waters • March 2017 for the river,” he cautioned. “They like through the water to sediment. It is also the monitoring system generates a text ‘clean’ shorelines devoid of important veg­ ex­amining how the movement of nutrients message whenever the oxygen level drops etation.” Outreach is critical, he said. into and out of the sediment may change below 3 milligrams per liter. • Sarah Fernald, the research coordinator in response to changes in the magnitude of for the Hudson River National Estuarine nutrient inputs. Experience and Humility Research Reserve, said she and her col­ • In Lake Champlain, the University of Ver­ Comments at the breakout sessions re­ leagues at the Reserve are contributing to mont has set up twenty-seven fixed-posi­ flected decades of experience, leavened with national long-term monitoring efforts coor­ tion acoustical receivers to monitor fish frustration and a good measure of humility: dinated by the National Estuarine Research move­ments. According to Eric Howe, the “It’s a shame” that data sources and pro­ Reserve System. This work monitors water director of the Lake Champlain Basin Pro­ grams come and go, because consistency quality, vegetation, surface elevation, water gram, “All the state has to do,” is to put and persistence are valuable. Data grow level, and other parameters in the Hudson trans­mitters in fish or other organisms, “and more valuable “when collected over time.” River Estuary. the monitoring stations will track them.” “It’s great if you have the data on a • Tom Borden, program director of the Nar­ Researchers are scrambling to keep up spreadsheet, but” you also need “the meta­ ra­gansett Bay Estuary Program, described with the volume of data generated by new data about how it was collected and the a multi-year effort to compile data on the technology and citizen-science programs. quality.” condition of Narragansett Bay and its wa­ One of the afternoon sessions was titled There’s a creek that goes “completely tershed. A forthcoming report will include “Keep collecting data! Now what to do with anoxic…every single year” due to lack of research about a wide range of topics in­ it?” Data quality, and ways to characterize funding to fix the problem (which involves cluding sea grass, salt marsh, benthic hab­ data from different sources to render them a wastewater treatment plant). itat, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, chloro­ useful, were recurring themes throughout “The kind of change we can get from” phyll, water clarity, and toxins. the day. So was the importance and difficul­ adaptive management techniques “is very • The Long Island Sound gets 70% of its ty of interpreting the results of monitoring small.” It can take “decades” to make a fresh water from the Connecticut River, ac­ to policy makers and the public. meaningful change “and by that time ev­ cording to Jim Ammerman, the science co­ The graphical representation of the dis­ erything’s changed.” ordinator for the Long Island Sound Study. solved-oxygen data from the Peconic River “You can’t move a seawall when there’s Ammerman described a biennial research fish kills paints a vivid picture of cause and a whole community on the other side of it grant competition that focuses on research effect. It was, Branco said, “especially use­ who pays a lot more in taxes.” to inform policy related to improving the ful to help the public understand what was “Laws and policies only happen when management of Long Island Sound. going on.” there is a demand by the public.” One recently funded project is quanti­ She added that the data are download­ “Wastewater plant operators say, ‘If you fying changes in organic matter as it falls able, free to use, and “available in real time”: want me to do something, tell me what it is now so that we can plan for it.’” Oxygen Levels and Fish Die-Offs “We tend to be weaker when it comes to integrating economic and social infor­ Continuous Monitoring Shows What Periodic Sampling Misses mation. We do a great job in struggling to understand natural systems, but we have a Continuous Monitoring Fish New York Chronic Standard harder time putting that in a social context Periodic Sampling Die-Off New York Acute Standard that drives decisions.” 12 “Our predictive capacity is pretty slim since we do not always know the direction of change or the pace of change” 10 The daylong workshop is part of a broader effort by NEIWPCC to share the research that it conducts or funds in the 8 Northeast. This work is not all about estu­ aries, but estuaries are important ecological resources and their health has broad impli­ 6 cations that extend beyond their physical boundaries. 4 Estuaries are sensitive to climate change

Bottom Water Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) Bottom Water and nutrient pollution, issues that can sim­ ilarly affect large water bodies. Accordingly, 2 at the workshop last September, discussion of monitoring and research on Lake Cham­ plain was a natural complement to conver­ 0 5/24/15 5/27/15 5/30/15 6/02/15 6/05/15 6/8/15 6/11/15 6/14/15 6/17/15 6/20/15 6/23/15 sations about monitoring and research on the Northeast’s estuaries. Periodic sampling (red dots) fails to capture critically low levels of dissolved oxygen revealed This workshop brought research person­ by continuous monitoring (blue). Low oxygen coincided with major fish die-offs in late spring nel from Lake Champlain, Long Island, New of 2015. Shading shows the approximate durations of two of the die-offs. (Sampling and moni- toring stations may have differed slightly in their depth and location in the channel.) Hampshire’s Great Bay, and Narragansett Bay areas to join Hudson Valley estuary Data: Suffolk County and USGS. Chart: Alison Branco/Peconic Estuary Program sci­entists and administrators.

Volume 1, Number 1 • Interstate Waters 13 Microfibers continued from page 11 crofibers. Microplastics have even been found in sea salt. The EPA is currently studying the hu­ man health impacts of microfiber consump­ tion. Although the effects of microfibers on hu­mans are unknown, studies of chemical com­pounds often found on microfibers are associated with alterations in normal microfibers reaching our waterbodies, reg­ The simplest solution might lie in the function of the human endocrine system, ulatory action will be difficult because it way we do laundry. Consumers can buy a impaired brain development, learning dis­ is hard to assign responsibility to a specific lint filter for their washing machine, switch abilities, and increased incidents of cancers. group and it is very expensive to upgrade to front-loading washing machines, use a WWTPs. nano­ball in the machine to attract and cap­ Next Steps The cosmetic industry was able to re­ ture fibers, wash their clothes less frequently, On December 28, 2015, President Obama place microbeads with natural alternatives, and/or buy clothing made out of natural fi­ signed into law the Microbead Free Wa­ such as sand and nut shells, that provide bers like cotton. As of this writing, a German ters Act, which bans the manufacture of the same function as their plastic counter­ firm is developing a wash bag designed to microbead products by July 2017 and the parts. The apparel industry, however, faces keep most of the fibers from entering the sale of microbead products by July 2018. a more difficult situation. Alternatives to wastewater system. However, solving the microfibers issue will synthetic textiles are limited and fall short Further studies are needed on the effects be more challenging than the banning of of the performance capabilities of materials of water temperature, cycle length, and microbeads. Despite the sheer volume of like polyester. other washing characteristics.

Ron Poltak Under the 1987 revisions to the Clean The watershed, the largest in the North­ continued from page 9 Water Act, federal grants support the im­ east, intersects six states. Consequently, a plementation of nonpoint-source-manage­ farmer in Vermont whose property falls control nonpoint pollution. To Poltak, the ment plans. Poltak and other Commission within the watershed may be one of the shift from pipes to water bodies describes members helped to design the formula for “players” with a stake in the process. the central theme of the Commission’s work the grants program, which grew from $38 The decades inform Poltak’s perspective over the past three decades. “Now,” he says, million nationally in 1990 to $238 million and activism beyond his long NEIWPCC “we gauge the health of our water in terms in 2003. Today after cutbacks the grants are career. Poltak chairs the elected planning of water quality in a more holistic way.” still funded at $161 million. board in his town of Auburn, New Hamp­ Ironically, he says, the effort that estab­ One far-reaching management project shire, and serves on state boards and com­ lished the nonpoint-source-management in the Northeast concerns nitrogen levels missions. He will tell you that he is not process was originally a pilot program. Since in Long Island Sound. The nitrogen caus­ leaving public life and that there is plenty then NEIWPCC has helped its member es hypoxia, low levels of dissolved oxygen of work to do in the meantime. states to use this process to the fullest, de­ in water. Consequently, parts of the Sound Poltak reflects on the rewards of a career signing detailed pollution budgets based on sometimes fail to meet water-quality stan­ of public service with pride and optimism. science and geography. It is a comprehen­ dards. The source of the nitrogen is run­ His advice to young people considering an sive approach to pollution control in which off, wastewater-plant discharge, and other environmental career is characteristically “you have to take all those players in the sources in the sprawling Long Island Sound upbeat: “Go for it!” watershed and divide up the pie,” he said. watershed.

Workgroup Roundup concern, such as methods for measuring ter quality, received the attention of the continued from page 4 climate-related changes in wetland health. Contaminants of Emerging Concern Workgroup The meeting included a tour of the New at its November 9 meeting. Members dis­ years. States list waters not meeting water- Jersey Pinelands National Reserve and a cussed state responses to recent research quality standards and prioritize those wa­ visit to a wetland outside of the reserve. and EPA guidance about the presence of ters for management by a total maximum NEIWPCC’s Stormwater Workgroup met PFCs in drinking-water supplies. By con­ daily load or other means. on November 2 and discussed new or trast, there is currently no public response On November 1–3, members of NEIW­ forthcoming statewide municipal separate to problems posed by microfibers, which PCC’s New England Biological Assessment of storm sewer system permits. The group are discharged into water bodies when Wetlands Workgroup (state and federal per­ also discussed revising NEIWPCC’s “Illicit households launder synthetic fabrics such sonnel who coordinate wetlands protection Discharge Detection and Elimination Man­ as polyester fleece. The workgroup re­ programs) convened in Galloway, New ual,” which helps municipalities identify viewed what is known about this contam­ Jersey, with their colleagues in the Mid-At­ sources of pollution that are entering the inant. lantic Wetlands Workgroup. Over three days, stormwater system. The Groundwater and Source Water Pro­ the fifty-five participants delivered and lis­ Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and tection Workgroup has been working on a tened to presentations on topics of shared microfibers, two developing threats to wa­ Source Water Protection Toolkit aimed at

14 Interstate Waters • March 2017 Parting Shot A Towering Loss for the Clean Water Community

he tight-knit community of Point in compliance with (5S) back in 1989! Along Rhode Island wastewater operators the regulations. And, the way, he held many Twas devastated to learn that we lost unfortunately for him, I lead­ership positions, in­ Carmine Goneconte on October 28. His drove by it every day on cluding Rhode Island death at age sixty is difficult to come to my way to work. State Director. As an op­ terms with and we may never know the Being a regulator, I erator, he won numerous reason why he was taken from us so young. could have easily adopt­ awards such as Operator In our public profession, we don’t talk ed a cynical view of the of the Year, the Peloquin about our faith but I’m guessing it’s a big regulated­ community and Award, and the William reason why many of us do what we do. Af­ their compliance inten­ D. Hatfield Award. In ter reading his obituary, I now know that tions. I did find a few who 2006, Carmine joined the faith was something that defined Carmine. warranted my skepticism. Quarter Century Operat­ In addition to his faith in God, Carmine But Carmine bolstered ors Club. However, I sus­ demonstrated a more secular faith that my faith that people pect he was most proud we are probably more comfortable talking would do the right thing of all the awards be­ about: faith in his vocation, faith in his pro­ if they knew what they stowed on NBC and his fessional actions and decisions, and faith in were supposed to do and staff, to which he was de­ his team at the Narragansett Bay Commis­ were supported in their voted and dedicated. sion (NBC). efforts. Maybe it was his I never asked Carmine Over the course of his career at NBC, wastewater training but Carmine Goneconte how he came to be in the Carmine changed the culture from one sometimes I would get to “business,” but I’ll bet where mediocrity was the measure to one work in Boston and there chance played a big part where excellence is the norm. His faith would be a message waiting for me from in it, like it did for a lot of us. I really don’t surely made him strong and resilient in the Carmine letting me know he was having a believe in coincidence; I have faith that face of defeats; patient and persistent when bad incinerator day and what he was doing things happen for a reason even if that rea­ faced with roadblocks. He was a champion to turn it around. Carmine always did what son is not obvious at the time. However it for clean water and a teacher, mentor, and he said he was going to do; he was a man came about for Carmine, his decision to coach to those of us who work for it. of integrity. become a wastewater operator nearly forty Interestingly, I met Carmine many years Carmine’s contributions of late to the years ago had a profound impact on the before I joined the wastewater profession. I Narragansett Water Pollution Control As­ water environment in Rhode Island and started my career as an air pollution inspec­ sociation and previously to the New Eng­ water professionals throughout New En­ tor-enforcer for EPA during the time when land Water Environment Association war­ gland. He towered over all of us—literally Carmine had the difficult duty of keeping rant mention. He was inducted into the and figuratively—and was someone we the old sewage sludge incinerator at Field’s Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers deeply admired. Rest in peace, Rhode Island Wastewater Operator #131. I hope you knew the tre­ supporting the work of local officials. The NEIWPCC’s Residuals Workgroup, gener­ mendous contributions you have made to group met on November 10 and discussed ally concerned with treating and managing our profession. We cannot make sense of ongoing work on the project, providing the sludge that is left over from processes at your death but we find great purpose in the editorial direction to NEIWPCC staff wastewater plants and from septic systems, life you lived. Please watch over us and members. Group members also shared that had a teleconference meeting on December continue to guide us as we attempt to fol­ states are moving cautiously on requests to 15. Topics of discussion included bene­ low in your giant footsteps. site green-energy projects on lands con­ ficial reuse of residuals, issues related to — Janine Burke-Wells trolled by public water systems for the the EPA’s new electronic system for filing Rhode Island Wastewater Operator #988 benefit of water supplies. annual biosolids reports, and exploring the The Massachusetts Training Advisory Com­ project of creating a regional database of mittee met in Lowell on December 14. The septage chemical quality. This database, if Janine Burke-Wells is the Executive Director com­­mittee discussed the state’s manage­ realized, would provide states with infor­ of the City of Warwick (Rhode Island) Sewer ment training program and results from the mation about the chemical content of Authority. She has served as a member of most recent operator certification exams. septage residuals that are often used as NEIWPCC’s governing Commission since Members also brainstormed ideas for new fertilizer. 2014. classes. —Anna Meyer

Volume 1, Number 1 • Interstate Waters 15 Non-profit Org U. S. Postage PAID Manchester, NH Permit No. 724

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Events

March 27, Webinar—Submerged 1–5 p.m., Public Utilities Regula­ May 3, New Paltz, N.Y.—Chang- June 11–14, Philadelphia, Penn.— Aquatic Vegetation. How satel­ tory Authority. ct.gov/water/iCal ing Energy Landscapes in the American Water Works Association lite-based assessment of submerged Hudson Valley and Watershed Sym- Annual Conference: Uniting the April 26–27, Presque Isle, aquatic vegetation could be applied posium. This one-day symposium World of Water. Four-day confer­ Maine—North Country Conven- to the waters of New England and will explore the energy policies, ence, training, and networking tion. Two-day educational and New York. To participate, browse demand, and change affecting opportunity. Exposition hall will trade event that draws wastewater to neiwpccmeetings.webex.com, the Hudson River and watershed. host more than 500 exhibitors, and drinking water professionals register, and enter meeting number www.hres.org poster sessions, roundtables, com­ from around the state. jetcc.org/ 644 466 593. (2–3:00 p.m.) petitions and more. www.awwa. ncconvention.php May 11–12, Portsmouth, N.H.— org/conferences-education/confer­ April 5–6, Worcester, Mass.—New Spring meeting of NEIWPCC’s April 27, Hyde Park, N.Y.—Hud- ences/annual-conference.aspx England Water Works Association governing Commission son River on the Rise: Waterfront Spring Conference and Exhibition. September 13, Narragansett, Planning for Communities and June 4–7, North Falmouth, New England’s largest water event R.I.—Estuary Research Work- Nature Conference. Join Hudson Mass.—New England Water and with over 3000 water works pro­ shop. NEIWPCC’s 2017 Estuary Estuary riverfront stakeholders for Environment Association Spring fessionals attending technical ses­ Research Workshop, a full-day this daylong conference to advance Meeting and Exhibit. Three-day sions, water treatment plant tours, meeting about nutrients other resiliency planning in an age of technical meeting for wastewater exhibits, posters sessions, career than nitrogen that are potentially sea-level rise due to climate change. and water quality professionals. fair and networking opportunities. limiting in, and detrimental to, the cdrpc.org/news-events/news/ Technical sessions, new technol­ www.newwa.org. Northeast’s estuaries. neiwpcc.org/ ogy exhibits, facility tours, and May 2, Portsmouth, N.H.—Ex- research/erw.asp April 7, Webinar—Interoperable the event’s annual Operations treme Weather in the Forecast: Is Sensor Networks: Sharing Data Challenge. Participants may earn Ongoing,Various Locations— Your Facility Prepared? This course through Open Standards. Guest training contact hours. Courses and workshops around explores extreme weather plan­ presenter Dwane Young, EPA. To springmeeting.newea.org the region for wastewater and ning and preparedness, post-storm participate, browse to neiwpcc­ drinking water professionals. For assessments, repairs, and funding June 8, Providence, R.I.—Extreme meetings.webex.com, register, and the full course catalog and online resources. Also offered June 8 in Weather in the Forecast: Is Your enter meeting number 647 998 registration information visit nei­ Providence, Rhode Island. portal. Facility Prepared? See May 2 cal­ 953 (1–3:00 p.m.) wpcc.org/training/calendar.asp. neiwpcc.org endar listing for more information. April 12–13, Northampton, Mass.—28th Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference. th Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference Two-day conference centered 28 on lessons learned and future planning from nonpoint-source

professionals. Technical, general, Larry White Photography and concurrent sessions, plus an optional field trip. neiwpcc.org/ npsconference April 13, New Britain, Conn.— State Water Plan Phase II Public Meeting. Hosted by the Connecti­ cut Water Planning Council. 1–3 p.m., Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. ct.gov/water/iCal Hotel Northampton April 20, New Britain, Conn.— Northampton, Massachusetts Development of a Connecticut State April 12 & 13, 2017 Water Plan. Final public workshop.

16 Interstate Waters • March 2017