MassDEP Issues Permit for Wayland Town Center Sewer Connection

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has approved the sewer connection permit Twenty Wayland requested in order to move forward with the Wayland Town Center project.

The permit allows for a total discharge from the Town Center of 45,000 gallons per day to Wayland’s wastewater treatment plant, which is permitted to treat 52,000 gpd. Phase I of construction is permitted at 28,000 gpd, and the additional 17,000 gallons are part of Phase II. As part of the Town Center project, Twenty Wayland will construct a sewage pump station, which will eventually be owned and operated by the Town of Wayland, to move the sewage to the treatment plant.

The permit approval comes nearly seven months after Twenty Wayland first applied for the permit and follows two separate sessions of public comment, the second of which included a .

According to the permit documentation sent to Twenty Wayland project manager Frank Dougherty and Wayland town officials, the May 19 public forum did lead to MassDEP making changes to the draft permit it issued in February.

Among the changes is a requirement for a specifically defined plan for operation and maintenance of the proposed pump station since Wayland’s Wastewater Management District Commission has not formerly accepted responsibility for operation, maintenance and ownership.

The permit requires that 60 days prior to the startup of the to-be-constructed pump station, MassDEP receive a detailed plan for operation and maintenance that includes a written agreement between Twenty Wayland and Wayland’s Wastewater Management District Commission to transfer ownership and operation to the WWMDC.

In addition, because there were objections to the permit, the permit will not take effect until 30 days from approval, July 7, 2011.

“This permit clears the way for Twenty Wayland to start the demolition of the Raytheon building and begin to build the Town Center project,” Wayland Board of Selectmen Chair Tom Fay said via email. “Twenty Wayland has indicated its desire to begin the project in July.”

This approved permit also includes a requirement that grease traps be included at all restaurant sites and features imperative language under Special Conditions 3-7, which outline requirements for separating drinking water from wastewater and protect wetlands from pollutants. Resident Annete Lewis pointed out that the February draft permit featured language that appeared to recommend, rather than require, these protections. MassDEP responded to her comment by updating the language.

The permit does not, as requested by Mike Lowery at the May 19 forum, go into great detail regarding water reuse requirements. Lowery said at the forum he would like to see wastewater used for irrigation, toilets and other appropriate purposes. The approved permit does address some water conservation requirements, stating that “This project will employ several on-site water conservation techniques … Some of these techniques include use of low consumption showerheads, 1.6 gallon water closets, and 1.5 gallon per minute flow controllers on faucets.”

In a separate document MassDEP responded to residents’ questions, and to Lowery’s question stated, “Under the present regulatory framework, MassDEP cannot require reuse for this project and, as such, cannot impose it as a condition of the sewer connection permit.”

A PDF of the final permit and the responses to public comment are available with this article.