ARTICLE 13:  SEWER COMMISSION ADOPTION OF MGL CH. 40N, 80 AND 83 SPONSORED BY:  Select Board   

To see if the Town will vote to adopt the provisions of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40N, Model Water and Sewer Commission, Chapter 80, Betterments and Chapter 83, Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks, for the purpose of establishing a sewer commission and a municipal sewer system; and to take any other action relative thereto.  

SELECT BOARD COMMISSION COMMENTS:  Through funding provided to the Town from the “American Recovery Plan Act” (ARPA) and Article 22 of October 2022 Fall Town Meeting, the Town engaged a consultant (Lombardo Associates) to first make improvements to the existing Wastewater Treatment Plant on Linden Street and then perform a Feasibility Study to determine if the Plant could be scaled up to take private wastewater flow from the Downtown Area – specifically looking within the Village Commercial Zoning District. The Feasibility Study was published in 2022 with updates to the Select Board throughout 2023.  

As a Sewer District for the Village Commercial area was determined to be feasible, the Town engaged MassDEP (the regulatory authority for wastewater disposal), and in September 2024 MassDEP approved the Town’s Scope of Work (SOW), while the final disposal capacity is expected to be approved in December 2024.  

Additionally, the Town provided the Feasibility Study to our State Legislators as well as Senators Markey and Warren and Congressman McGovern, and Congressionally Directed Spending will be announced in early 2025, with $1.1 million currently being considered for this project.  

By establishing a Sewer Commission in October of 2024 the Town will create a new body to be the primary contact with regulatory agencies (MassDEP) on the development of a Sewer District and who can focus on the financial components of the project, including Federal/State funding and sewer rate methodology. MGL c. 40N, s. 4 defines a Sewer Commission as a three (3) member Commission, each a resident of the municipality, appointed by the Select Board and including one (1) member with extensive experience in the field of administration or business, and one (1) with extensive experience in the field of finance or accounting, with three (3) year staggered terms.  

If the Sewer Commission is established by Town Meeting vote, it would then be tasked with developing a General By-Law in order to establish the bounds of the Sewer District, which would include a map of the proposed Sewer District. Whereas the Town is also reviewing potential phases to a Sewer District (with approx. 50,000 gallons per day capacity to start a Phase I and efforts to increase capacity for a Phase II) it should be noted that Town Meeting would be required to approve any changes to a District Map, once approved.  

All Wastewater Treatment Plant and Downtown Sewer materials are consolidated here:  https://www.townofholliston.us/select-board/pages/proposed-downtown-sewer-district