BOSTON HARBOR

 

Southie Blog

As a youngster I spent a great deal of my summers swimming off the coast at Carson Beach. In my teen years after my family moved to City Point I used the beaches more at M street and at the L St. Bath House.  Little did I know at that time I would play a major role in the cleanup of Boston Harbor. In the early 1960’s the country became fed up with its polluted rivers and lakes and its unhealthy air. Citizens demanded from the Government a plan to clean up the mess. In April of 1969 the first Earth Day was celebrated worldwide to move all Nations to improve the environment. In the U.S. President Nixon reacted and by Executive Order created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Agency was made up of all the existing agencies dealing with the environment. At the time I was employed by the Federal Water Quality Administration and as a result began with the new Agency on day one.

Unfortunately at the beginning we only had weak legislation on the books so we were not too helpful. That all changed with passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 and its subsequent amendments. The major components of the Act provided substantial construction grants to Municipalities to help defray the expensive costs of new waste water treatment plants. It established a national permit system (NPDS) to ensure that discharges met water quality standards. It also gave EPA enforcement capabilities to certify all conditions were met.

The states were to set the priority for construction. Unfortunately upgrade of the treatment plants at Deer and Nut Island were low on the list. This was about to change when the City of Quincy sued the Commonwealth ( MDC )  because of the frequent impacts of closures at Wollaston Beach. The Regional office in Boston joined suit. Things were about to move at a much faster pace. I was chosen by the Regional Administrator to be the focal point as Chief Engineer to oversee and coordinate with the newly formed Massachusetts Water Resource Agency ( MWRA ) on all planning, design and construction activities. I had to also coordinate with our own lawyers and the Department of Justice on matters dealing with the Court. This all happened in 1985. To be continued.