Saugus River Watershed Council to benefit from Suffolk Downs’ EPA fine

SAUGUS – The Saugus River Watershed Council is hoping to benefit from the Environmental Protection Agency’s $1.25 million fine of Suffolk Downs racetrack, as the local non-profit group was selected to receive money from the settlement for water testing.The EPA announced last week that it was fining Suffolk Downs for “discharging pollutants (e.g., manure, urine and bedding materials)” into area waterways, according EPA documents.In addition to the fine, Suffolk Downs must spend $742,000 on three supplemental environmental projects (SEPS), one of which includes water quality monitoring of the Saugus River watershed.”Protecting and restoring water quality conditions is a top priority for the Saugus River Watershed Council,” said Joan LeBlanc, Executive Director of the Saugus River Watershed Council, in a press release. “This new source of funding will enable us to create and operate a multi-year water quality monitoring program in the Saugus River watershed.”In a phone interview Tuesday, LeBlanc said she requested $90,000 for the four-year project, which could begin next spring if all goes according to plan.LeBlanc said there will be a 30-day public comment period before a judge could formally approve the project, followed by about 60 days to start planning the project.”It’s very exciting ?” said LeBlanc. “It was one of the basic programs we had for many years to track conditions of the watershed, and identify and resolve various problems. Because of the limits in funding we haven’t done any sampling for at least three years.”According to the SRWC website, a watershed is an area of land that all drains into one river system, which in this case, is the Saugus River. The watershed is 47 square miles and includes all of Saugus along with 10 other towns.LeBlanc said the money will allow the SRWC to launch an entirely new sampling program, which will focus on the 11 communities within the watershed, including Saugus, Revere and Lynn.”It allows us to track conditions in the river and its tributaries, and allows us to track hot spots of pollution and then work with property owners and communities to address them,” said LeBlanc. “We know we’ll be testing for bacteria and there will be a number of other parameters as well, but those haven’t been finalized at this point.”LeBlanc said the major effect of not sampling over the last several years has been a “lack of knowledge.””Some of that is not knowing good news,” said LeBlanc. “Many communities have been spending funds to address storm water and sewage problems. So there may be some improvements going on that we’re not able to identify. But at the same time, you don’t get to identify when there’s a problem.”LeBlanc said testing season runs from late spring to early fall, and anticipated plenty of time to get “up and running” by next season.”It’s a really great opportunity for us to reestablish an important project in the watershed, and give us some valuable knowledge and improve our ability to address problems,” said LeBlanc.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].