Sundays @the Barn: Upcoming Environmental Justice Meeting on Wastewater Expansion

May 13, 2026 Environmental, Wastewater Treatment Comments (1)

Your Voice Is Needed

On June 4th, (6-8 in the Great Hall at Town Hall) the Town of Plymouth will hold a mandatory Environmental Justice (EJ) meeting — a critical milestone (see chart below) in the state-mandated review process for expanding the Camelot Park wastewater facility. The town is currently seeking state approval to increase and redirect its groundwater discharge capacity to 3.0 Million Gallons per Day (MGD), effectively making the Eel River headwaters the primary destination for the town’s treated wastewater.

These EJ meetings are legally required to ensure “meaningful involvement” for our community. This is your opportunity to review how this expansion might affect our local environment and public health before the town submits its formal Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) to the state.

Join us for “Sundays @the Barn”

When: Sunday, May 31st from 3:45 – 5:15
Where: The Barn (click link for directions)
Why: To ask questions, weigh our options, and ensure our concerns about the Eel River watershed are heard loud and clear

Why this meeting matters

The Select Board recently voted 4-1 to move forward with this expansion, even after their own Citizens Advisory Committee recommended against it. The town’s current models suggest that while nitrogen in the harbor might go down, phosphorus and water levels near Warren Wells Brook could see significant changes.

Under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), we have a legal right to “meaningful involvement”. But that right only works if we show up. Please RSVP below:

Pro-Tip for Attendees:

Since the Camelot Park facility is located in an Environmental Justice area, the state is paying extra attention to whether the Town is actually listening to the neighborhood. The notes and concerns we gather this Sunday will be vital for the formal public record.

Critical Milestone in the MEPA process

I am Sandra Enos if Russell Mills Rd and was on the first sewer study committee in 1982 with Skip Nickerson of the Gilbert Trout Hatchery which is on Warrens Wells Brook.,My husband and I were also the owners of the riparian rights to Russell Mills Pond and My husband built and operated a hydroelectric plant in 1981 which is still operating today. It and the riparian rights are owned by Jan and Mike Goodman. (enclosure)
I spent a year researching and getting permits from FERG, EPA, MEPA, Army Corps of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife, Conservation Commission. To show that we would not endanger the environment. The first Engineering Company, C.E. Maguire, determined in 1982 that the headwaters of Eel River WAS NOT the best place to site a sewerage plant due to environmental damage. But the Town quietly got their ducks in a row and hired a new firm, Metcalf and Eddy and put in the plant in 2002. Lothrup “Cricket” Withington was Chair of that Committee and resigned over lies and gaslighting. His letter is illuminating. All these documents are available at the Plymouth Public Library
5.
1. The town of Plymouth is NOT in violation of its discharge permit of 2.5 MGD nor in violation of its outfall to the harbor.
2. We are so much under our capacity that the Town of Plymouth takes in sewerage from surrounding Towns not only human waste but medical and commercial waste without proper testing of each load, and we are still under capacity.
3. Contaminants such as insulin, FAS and other toxins have been detected in Warrens Wells Brook the headwater of Eel River, and documented fish kill in Gilbert Trout Hatchery the oldest continuously operating fish hatchery in the United States.
In fact, this statement from the book written by Skip Nickerson “The Gilbert Trout Hatchery”….”Warrens Wells Brooks water was pristine. So clean the Poland Springs Water Company wanted it for a water source. If you wanted a drink you dipped a cup.” You can’t do that today.
4
The Committee appointed by the Selectboard were made up of residents including one who was involved in cleaning up the groundwater contamination on the Base on Cape Cod and anoth member spent time in Boston studying their sewerage treatment facility. A selectman was put o the committee as chairman and cancelled many meetings at the last minute
5. This Committee found that this project SHOULD NOT proceed’
Why appoint a committee only to reject their findings that this project would further damage t environment and our aquifer
Why does the Town of Plymouth want to go into the sewer treatment business at the expense of the residents and the environment

1 thought on “Sundays @the Barn: Upcoming Environmental Justice Meeting on Wastewater Expansion”

Sandy Enos says:
May 13, 2026 at 9:51 am
I am Sandra Enos if Russell Mills Rd and was on the first sewer study committee in 1982 with Skip Nickerson of the Gilbert Trout Hatchery which is on Warrens Wells Brook.,My husband and I were also the owners of the riparian rights to Russell Mills Pond and My husband built and operated a hydroelectric plant in 1981 which is still operating today. It and the riparian rights are owned by Jan and Mike Goodman. (enclosure)
I spent a year researching and getting permits from FERG, EPA, MEPA, Army Corps of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife, Conservation Commission. To show that we would not endanger the environment. The first Engineering Company, C.E. Maguire, determined in 1982 that the headwaters of Eel River WAS NOT the best place to site a sewerage plant due to environmental damage. But the Town quietly got their ducks in a row and hired a new firm, Metcalf and Eddy and put in the plant in 2002. Lothrup “Cricket” Withington was Chair of that Committee and resigned over lies and gaslighting. His letter is illuminating. All these documents are available at the Plymouth Public Library
5.
1. The town of Plymouth is NOT in violation of its discharge permit of 2.5 MGD nor in violation of its outfall to the harbor.
2. We are so much under our capacity that the Town of Plymouth takes in sewerage from surrounding Towns not only human waste but medical and commercial waste without proper testing of each load, and we are still under capacity.
3. Contaminants such as insulin, FAS and other toxins have been detected in Warrens Wells Brook the headwater of Eel River, and documented fish kill in Gilbert Trout Hatchery the oldest continuously operating fish hatchery in the United States.
In fact, this statement from the book written by Skip Nickerson “The Gilbert Trout Hatchery”….”Warrens Wells Brooks water was pristine. So clean the Poland Springs Water Company wanted it for a water source. If you wanted a drink you dipped a cup.” You can’t do that today.
4
The Committee appointed by the Selectboard were made up of residents including one who was involved in cleaning up the groundwater contamination on the Base on Cape Cod and anoth member spent time in Boston studying their sewerage treatment facility. A selectman was put o the committee as chairman and cancelled many meetings at the last minute
5. This Committee found that this project SHOULD NOT proceed’
Why appoint a committee only to reject their findings that this project would further damage t environment and our aquifer
Why does the Town of Plymouth want to go into the sewer treatment business at the expense of the residents and the environment

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