Our View: Progress Needed On Nauset Estuary

Orleans voters on Nov. 16 will be asked to support spending $300,000 in free cash for studies and other expenses necessary to establish a total maximum daily load (TMDL) of nitrogen for the Nauset Estuary, including Mill Pond. The request comes by way of a citizen petition from three residents who see the article as a way to move efforts to improve the estuary’s water quality forward, citing a lack of progress on behalf of the town.

 The article is well intentioned, and the effort that the petitioners have put into bringing it to the special town meeting for a vote should be commended. But even if approved, there is no guarantee that the article, or the funding attached to it, will in fact result in any headway on addressing water quality in the estuary. Whether or not it does depends not only on the will of the town of Orleans, but also the town of Eastham and the state Department of Environmental Protection. 

 Petitioners say they have had communications with staff at Mass DEP indicating that the state would support a TMDL determination for the estuary. But Eastham is another story. Orleans and Eastham together entered into an intermunicipal agreement in 2023 to work together toward securing a watershed permit for the estuary, but that work has not gotten off the ground, save for some general conversation. George Meservey, the town’s director of planning and community development, told the select board earlier this fall that Eastham’s priority at present is launching its own municipal sewering efforts. Meanwhile, requests for comment from Eastham Town Manager Rich Bienvenue on the state of conversations between the two towns have not been returned. 

 So we remain somewhat skeptical, not because of the article, but rather whether all the necessary parties are on board and ready to commit to the effort necessary to make headway in the estuary. There are also some procedural questions from Orleans staff about whether or not portions of the article as worded are actionable, as well as how exploring a TMDL for the estuary will interfere with the town’s existing wastewater planning for Pleasant Bay. The petitioners are confident that one project can be done without affecting the other.

 But the petition aside, what the petitioners have successfully done through this effort is expose the lack of progress that has been made regarding protecting the estuary. It’s been three years since the intermunicipal agreement was signed, but so far there’s been little to show for it. We’d be happy to see the petition pass with voters on Nov. 16, if perhaps for no other reason than it would show some urgency on Orleans’ part. But should it not, town officials should take it as a reminder that progress should be made one way or another.