SWAMPSCOTT — A long-running, federally mandated sewer cleanup effort came before the Select Board on Wednesday, as members debated whether residents whose private sewer laterals were repaired as part of that cleanup work should help cover some of the cost.
The discussion stems from a 2015 consent decree between Swampscott and the federal government following the town’s violation of the Clean Water Act, tied to bacteria contamination affecting Stacey’s Brook and King’s Beach. Under that agreement, the town has spent years identifying and eliminating illicit discharges — sewage or other non-stormwater flows entering the drainage system — through testing, inspections, and sewer rehabilitation.
Department of Public Works Director Gino Cresta said the town’s decision to line private sewer laterals alongside public sewer mains was made early in that process as a way to improve results.
“On Nov. 23, 2015, a consent decree between the United States and the town of Swampscott was entered into U.S. District Court with the intention of identifying and eliminating non-stormwater discharges to the sewer system as required by the Clean Water Act,” Cresta said. “I met with the EPA. They told us we’re in violation of the Clean Water Act.”
Cresta said that the town negotiated an initial penalty for the violation down to $65,000. He then met with the DPW Director in Norwood, a town that faced similar challenges. There, he learned that the Norwood project initially only included lining sewer mains, not laterals, and did not get the desired results until they went back into those neighborhoods a second time.
That experience shaped Swampscott’s approach, leading the town to line both sewer mains and laterals at the same time rather than risk having to return later at a higher cost.
According to Cresta, the town has invested about $9.8 million in sewer main and lateral work through the current phase, including roughly $2.9 million on lateral lining alone.
The question now, board members said, is whether that cost should continue to fall almost entirely on the town — particularly as Swampscott faces broader financial pressures and rising water and sewer rates.
Town Treasurer Patrick Luddy said there is no legal path to retroactively charge homeowners for work already completed, but said the town could consider using a betterment process for future projects — something that would need to be approved at Town Meeting.
“There’s nothing that would enable us to reach back and assess individual property owners for work that was done,” Luddy said. “Going forward, there’s a mechanism in state law called the betterment … to pass on costs proportionally to owners benefitted from these types of improvements.”
Board member David Grishman raised the possibility of asking residents to contribute voluntarily or structuring future work so homeowners share a part of the cost.
“I just have the best interest of the taxpayers, and ratepayers at heart,” he said. “Is there anything that we can do, even on a voluntary basis to say ‘hey … you know, we took care of this. Is there any way that you can write a check to the town of Swampscott to reimburse these costs?’”
Town Administrator Nick Connors said that the town could likely request voluntary payments, though some board members questioned whether that would be appropriate for a public project.
“There is a private benefit … but the public purpose overpowers the private benefit,” Select Board Chair Katie Phelan said. “Which is to get out of the consent decree, to get the beach clean, and to be on the right track with how we maintain our sewer water and infrastructure.”
Some members said it would be difficult to justify asking residents to pay for work they did not request, and, in many cases, did not know what was happening.
“I just find it difficult to tell people who are going to raise their taxes and increase their water bills, and then we’re going to ask them to give us a couple thousand dollars for something we did without their consent or authorization,” Select Board member Danielle Leonard said.
Cresta said many of the lateral repairs were completed from the main line, meaning crews did not need to enter homes and residents were often unaware their lines had been lined. In most cases, he said, the town targeted laterals that crossed under drainage infrastructure, where leaks could contribute to contamination.
The board did not take a vote Tuesday, but directed staff to return with more detail on how a betterment approach could work, including how costs would be shared and how residents would be notified.
Cresta said the town is still aiming to wrap up the remaining work under the consent decree in a final contract, but still has hundreds of laterals left to address.
