Proposed Massachusetts regulations to reduce nitrogen pollution on Cape Cod and in other coastal areas are stirring opposition among local governments and some state legislators.
To counter nitrogen pollution in state waters, the state Department of Environmental Protection proposes creating nitrogen-sensitive areas, which would cover watersheds draining into estuaries with a total maximum daily load for nitrogen. Towns in those areas would have to upgrade onsite systems to nitrogen-reducing systems within five years after the regulations are finalized. Towns would have to use the best available technology, but that could include non-traditional technologies such as permeable reactive barriers filled with wood
