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Watershed Permitting
Most of the Town of Chatham is in a Nitrogen Sensitive Area (NSA), as designated by MassDEP. As of July 7, 2023, 314CMR21.00, became effective which will require all new construction, and eventually existing systems, in towns without a Watershed Permit to use the Best Available Nitrogen Reducing Technology (BANRT) for septic systems.
Chatham currently has a Watershed Permit for Pleasant Bay and has filed a Notice of Intent (NOI) to apply for a watershed permit for the remaining watersheds of Taylors Pond/Mill Creek, Sulfur Springs/Bucks Creek, and Stage Harbor Watersheds. The Town of Chatham intends to pursue one Watershed Permit that covers all three remaining watersheds. The existing permit for Pleasant Bay, and the filing of this NOI, prevents commencement of the five-year time period in which Title 5 system upgrades would otherwise be required under 310 CMR 15.215(2)(a) and suspends the Title 5 upgrade requirements for new construction under 310 CMR 15.215(2)(b).
The status of the watershed permit for the southern watersheds was presented on 5/22/2025 and is available as a PDF here.
A second presentation was provided to the Select Board on 7/8/2025, with more detail on sewer phasing, and is available as a PDF here.