Abstracts from Environment Cape Cod Volume 1 Number 3, 1998

---

MWRA's Massachusetts Bay Outfall

Abstract
Since its inception in 1986, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) has been working to bring its wastewater treatment into compliance with the Clean Water Act. The elimination of sludge discharges into Boston Harbor, prevention of floatable pollution, and system improvements that culminated in the completion of the new primary treatment plant in 1995 and the start-up of secondary treatment in 1997 have visibly improved the Harbor's environment. At the end of 1998, a 9.5-mile outfall will be opened that will discharge the secondary effluent into Massachusetts Bay instead of into the shallower waters of the Harbor. This outfall relocation will be protective of the health of the Harbor and the Bay for three reasons:
(1) Cleaner Effluent: The secondary effluent that will be discharged to the Bay will be much cleaner than the past Harbor discharges through source reduction and improved treatment.
(2) Better Dilution: The outfall, equipped with 55 sprinkler-like outlets over the last 1.25 miles, will provide about ten times more dilution than the existing discharge.
(3) Constant Monitoring and Contingency Planning: MWRA is conducting an outfall monitoring program that is linked to its Contingency Plan, an action plan that incorporates decision rules for further MWRA actions.

Executive Summary
In two years, an estimated 1,710 pairs of nesting Herring and Great Black-backed gulls were removed from 29.9 hectares (74.7 acres) on South Monomoy Island, Chatham MA, using the avicide DRC 1339, selective shooting, and non-lethal harassment during 1996; and non-lethal harassment, selective shooting and nest-trapping during 1997. Common Terns increased in the project area on South Monomoy from an estimated 51 pairs in 1995 to approximately 1,400 pairs total in 1997. Most terns did not nest on the open beach and dune line along the east side of South Monomoy where they have nested since 1993; instead, they occupied an area in the interior of the island, where large gulls had nested in 1996. Terns on North Monomoy, where suitable nesting habitat has degraded since 1978, have declined from a high of 3,400 pairs in 1980 to 22 pairs in 1997. Common Tern productivity was 1.7 chicks per pair. Prior to removal of 4 Black-crowned Night-Herons in the colony, Common Terns nesting in the interior had fewer depredated nests than those nesting on the outer beach and consequently had higher hatching success (82.3% vs 68.9%). After 26 June, when the last heron was culled, no evidence of predation or predatory herons was seen in either the Inner or Outer Beach colonies. A pair of Roseate Terns nested in the Inner Colony and raised 1 chick. Least Terns hatched 62.7% of eggs laid; productivity was most likely high based on numerous observations of chicks > 20 d of age, though chicks were not individually marked and actual fledging success is unknown. Black Skimmers arrived later to the island in 1997 than in 1996, and 1 pair fledged 3 chicks. A variety of factors contributed to these successes, including availability of nesting sites in densely vegetated areas free of nesting gulls, abundant food supply, favorable weather for chick hatching and rearing, and removal of depredating Black-crowned Night-Herons in the tern colony. Piping Plovers increased in the gull-free area more than at any other location on the refuge. Piping Plover productivity on Monomoy continued to be among the highest on Outer Cape Cod since 1995 (1.65 chicks fledged per pair) and exceeded the state average of 1.4 chicks per pair. Territorial grassland nesting birds, including Savannah Sparrows and Horned Larks, were observed in the gull-free area, where none had been found in 1996.

Introduction
Shoreline development in Massachusetts has evolved within a system of overlapping but diverse private and public ownership, superimposed on a shifting and disappearing geographic area. The degree of ownership, and the nature of associated rights to the lands, waters and resources located within the coastal zone is a contentious subject. In Massachusetts, the early colonial administration gave private shorefront landowners title to tidelands adjacent to their property, seaward to the low water line, as an incentive to develop maritime commerce economies. Such development was perceived as an important, if not critical, and expensive "public" improvement. With this extension of private property, the colonial government did, however, reserve the public's rights to fishing, fowling and navigation in the intertidal zone. Today this easement remains in effect over the area between the high and low water marks. Seaward of the low water line, to a distance of three nautical miles (the seaward boundary of the old territorial sea), lands, waters and resources are owned by the Commonwealth. The seeds for present conflicts between the rights of private property owners and the interests of the public in the coastal zone were, therefore, sown early in the settling of Massachusetts. Once such conflict facing contemporary coastal managers is initiated as coastal upland is threatened by the advancing waters of the adjacent sea. The continuous migration, or erosion, of shorelines is a necessary and natural process responsible for preserving the dynamic equilibrium of our coasts. Casual comparisons of local shorelines do not generally reveal the ongoing physical processes working to sustain a static appearance. When viewed over time, however, changes in the spatial orientation of frequently visited beaches become pronounced. Our shorelines are moving and as a result adjacent uplands, previously unaffected, are continuously being introduced to this dynamic process. Erosion becomes a significant problem when viewed from the human perspective, as shorefront landowners are faced with the prospect of losing their land to the sea. Indeed, until human investment is placed at risk coastal erosion proceeds quietly and with little acclaim. One current example of the conflict of local public and private interests generated by coastal erosion is found along Cape Cod Bay shores in the town of Eastham between private landowners actively seeking to prevent property loss through the construction of seawalls, and a public concerned with the resulting long-term and cumulative environmental impacts associated with coastal armoring. While Massachusetts regulations currently prohibit the use of seawalls as a means of confronting the effects of coastal erosion, except where they are used on "coastal banks" to protect structures constructed prior to August 10, 1978, a majority of the development along this westerly shore was completed prior to this date. Consequently, although the town has recognized that the quality of its coastal resources is presently endangered from a proliferation of 1960's seawall construction, the Eastham Conservation Commission has had limited success prohibiting new seawall construction relying solely on its police power authority. With its roots in English common law, and its subsequent modifications through the Colonial Ordinances of 1641-47, this article argues that the Public Trust Doctrine offers coastal managers an additional source of authority for implementing an affirmative and ecosystemic approach to coastal management. The effects associated with seawalls constructed along the sea-land interface are cumulative and magnify with time. Clearly, in addition to restricting access along the beach, these effects can also contribute to the subtle but invidious destruction of downdrift public trust areas and fishery and shellfish resources. Significantly, where the effects of seawalls impact negatively recognized public trust interests, the Massachusetts Public Trust Doctrine can be a powerful tool to protect coastal resources at risk, and in the present case of Eastham to prevent the construction of seawalls, as set forth below.

ABSTRACT
Mummichogs, soft shell clams, and blue mussels from some or all of 10 sites in Boston Harbor and Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays were examined histologically: a suite of pathological changes previously known to be associated with chemical contamination were found in animals from the more contaminated sites. In particular, liver tumors were evident in 14% of the adult mummichogs from the Island End River, a tributary of the Mystic River in Boston Harbor. Additionally, a number of pathologies previously shown to be associated with chemical exposure were seen in the two bivalve species at a number of contaminated sites. Induction of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) was also seen in mummichogs from the more contaminated sites: CYP1A induction is a biochemical change associated with exposure to dioxin and other planar halogenated and aromatic hydrocarbons. These findings suggest that there are measurable biochemical and pathological changes in intertidal fish and shellfish from the more contaminated parts of the Massachusetts Bays system. These types of changes were less evident in the two reference sites in Cape Cod Bay.

Introduction
In March of 1995, revisions to Massachusetts onsite septic system regulations facilitated the increased use of alternative septic systems to address onsite wastewater treatment and facility siting issues. In Barnstable County (Cape Cod), Massachusetts, it was hoped that these regulatory changes would help address issues of groundwater contamination of its shallow sandy-soil aquifer and reduce the nutrient loading to its marine embayments. The present study is part of an overall assessment of alternative onsite septic systems in Barnstable County that focuses on the efficacy of certain technologies in reducing nutrients and pathogens. This paper investigates the virus-removal efficiencies of three newly-started septic systems. This particular focus was chosen to gain information on the start-up efficiency of these systems. The high percentage of seasonal homes on Cape Cod, it is hypothesized, would induce annual start-up conditions that would offer less treatment than mature biologically-active systems that do not experience annual interruption of wastewater flow.

Introduction
Shellfish aquaculture has a long history on Cape Cod as a successful method for sustaining a fishery which has been subject to the vagaries of natural phenomena as well as politics and human exploitation. Scientific methods applied to the practice of shellfish management have resulted in development of various techniques and strategies for successful implementation of experimental methods in less than ideally controlled habitats. Both local and state governmental agencies together with private investors have worked to define a broad range of parameters which are important if not essential to the successful implementation of shellfish aquaculture projects. Many conditions which are favorable to success are site specific however, and frequently results which are observed at one site are not necessarily transferable to other areas. Recent developments in techniques for field growout of hatchery reared mollusks have focused on maximizing growth rates while attempting to sustain both high densities and high survival rates. The species which is most commonly reared under these conditions is the hard shell clam or quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria. This species lends itself to such ventures due to its ability to tolerate handling and shipping as juveniles as well as a broad range of environmental parameters. Hatchery rearing methods for this species are well established and several commercial hatcheries are currently providing seed stock in various sizes. Municipal aquaculture projects which are designed to enhance the public fishery follow the same protocols for successful implementation as do commercial ventures -- maximized growth with minimal mortality are desirable in order to be able to introduce significant numbers of stock to the wild fishery. The methods which have been developed at Salt Pond in Eastham, MA take advantage of high phytoplankton densities and warm water conditions together with good tidal exchange in one specific area. Post set (25 mesh) seed Mercenaria are raised over a period of two growing seasons to an average size of 20-25 mm shell width for broadcast into various areas of the public fishery. A tidal upwelling device modeled after the design suggested by Mook et al (1988 ) and Baldwin and others (1995) has been used successfully for several growing seasons. Good growth and low mortalities have been observed but the method has been limited by capacity restrictions on the total number of animals and aesthetic considerations of raft type structures. A variation on the design to increase the carrying capacity of the system and reduce the profile was undertaken under the Shellfish Restoration Project. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the survival and growth rates of Mercenaria raised in the redesigned tidal upweller as well as the conventional design while using growth characteristics of seed growing in bottom pens located in the same general geographic area as a control.