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Great turnout, questions, and comments to the Environmental Justice meeting. For those who missed the meeting, you can watch it here.

Next Steps

Under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) regulations (301 CMR 11.00) and the MEPA Public Involvement Protocol, the Town of Plymouth cannot simply hold the June 4th Environmental Justice (EJ) meeting and check a box. They are legally required to produce a detailed, auditable paper trail documenting exactly what happened.

This documentation must be compiled into an official Public Involvement Report (or EJ Appendix) and submitted as a core, mandatory component of their Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). If the town fails to meet these strict reporting criteria, the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs can reject the entire filing as procedurally deficient. That report must contain:

1. A Complete Log of All Public Comments

The town cannot summarize, paraphrase, or ignore community pushback. The report must include:

• An exhaustive, unedited log of every written comment submitted before, during, or immediately after the EJ session.
• A formal transcript or detailed summary of every oral statement or question made by attendees during the presentation’s Q&A segment.

2. The “Response to Comments” Matrix

This is the most critical reporting requirement for concerned citizens. The town is legally required to provide a response to the community’s input.

• The town must include a formal grid or narrative section where they individually address every single concern raised.
• If a resident asks about groundwater mounding, chemical fouling, or the 2018 drought-season testing window, the town’s engineers must provide a documented, scientific answer in this report. They cannot skip questions.

3. Documentation of “Meaningful Consultation”

Under the updated MEPA guidelines, the town must explain how the feedback from the EJ population actually influenced the project planning. They must explicitly state:

• What changes (if any) were made to the project design or the environmental modeling based on the June 4th meeting.
• What Section 61 Findings (legally binding mitigation commitments) the town will make to directly address the specific public health and hydraulic risks identified by the community.

Didn’t make the meeting? Thought of something afterward? You can still submit comments (but you have to do it now)

Since the Town of Plymouth is legally required to compile a Public Involvement Report documenting all community feedback from the EJ presentation, written comments should be sent directly to the town’s wastewater project team and the Select Board.

• Email to Town Hall: Written comments, technical questions, and statements should be emailed directly to the Wastewater Manager, the Town Manager’s Office and the Select Board.
• What to request: In the email, individuals must include this exact line:“I request that these comments be formally recorded and individually addressed in the Public Involvement Report/EJ Appendix required for the Wastewater Treatment Facility Groundwater Recharge Project EEA No. 16758 DEIR submission.”