August 12, 2023 - Save the Alewife Brook Petition Email (numerous copies received)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · from the EPA · 1 page · 83 KB
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Dear EPA NPDES Wastewater Permitting Scientist Michele Barden, 
RE: NPDES MA0103284, Part I. B. 2. b.(8) You can't dump untreated sewage into Alewife 
Brook without telling us. There are too many of us living too close to it. The Alewife 
Greenway Bike path is a vital community transportation corridor. The Alewife Brook flooded 
over its bank and into the path after the downpour on August 8th, 2023. No one using the path 
knew that millions of gallons of untreated sewage had been discharged into the water they 
were walking, jogging, and pushing baby carriages through. The existing public Combined 
Sewer Overflow notification system is a failure. People using the Alewife Greenway path need 
to know whether a particular CSO is discharging. They need to know immediately if the 
discharge has made using the Alewife path unsafe. They also need to know when an elevated 
level of risk has passed. Technology has matured enough to allow an enhanced public 
notification system that operates in real-time. As an example, CSO Event Indicator Lights are 
required on the Potomac River. See: NPDES Permit No. DC002l 199 Part B, Sec.III, (h) 
Public Notification (1). A similar system should be required along the Alewife. Our 
experience is that Massachusetts' Sewage Notification Law is inadequate to protect us. EPA 
must expand on the public notification requirements in the Draft Permit to offer our 
community real protection. Thank you. 
https://savethealewifebrook.org/2023/08/12/send-a-public-comment-to-epa/