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According to comments made by Sudbury Health Director Vivian Zeng in August, residents of Cold Brook Crossing in north Sudbury are voicing concerns about offensive odors emitted by a non-compliant and non-functioning wastewater treatment plant. (28:00)
According to Zeng, the treatment plant has never been in compliance with Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations, and the Town of Sudbury has no enforcement authority over such systems. At the time of the August 13 Board of Health meeting, Zeng informed the board that the system was being pumped manually by trucks on a daily basis, adding to the unsettling conditions on the Cold Brook Crossing property. While the board empathized with the residents, it was clear that they felt the Town could do little other than try to keep the lines of communication open with DEP.
Zeng summarized the situation:
“On the Town end, the Building Department has suspended issuing the final nine certificates of occupancies for the remaining properties. Again, these are brand new homes that are still awaiting CO’s. But temporarily that’s been suspended until we see some kind of plan towards the wastewater treatment plant. We have not received additional news from DEP regarding the plant, and again it’s just being pumped daily. And I know that there is a sale of one of those nine properties that’s being held up due to this. So, again, I’m trying to line up another conversation with DEP, but it is really under their direction on how they want to continue with overseeing this permit.” (29:00)
Zeng went on to add that DEP issued a notice of non-compliance after the Town of Sudbury had forwarded resident complaints about the odors. She noted that DEP acknowledges that these systems take a few months to get running properly, but she was concerned that it has been a year and it’s still not compliant.
Sudbury Weekly contacted MA DEP and received the following information on August 26:
- “Cold Brook Crossing is a residential development served by a wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) that discharges to the ground. They are subject to a MassDEP-issued groundwater discharge permit.
- The WWTF has had multiple equipment failures and as a result has not been able to comply with some aspects of its groundwater discharge permit. MassDEP is monitoring the facility’s compliance and has issued a notice of noncompliance to address the facility’s compliance issues.
- Due to the number of equipment failures, the facility is not able to process the wastewater coming in from the residences, which is requiring the wastewater to be pumped and hauled to another location for disposal.
- While the pumping and hauling causes unpleasant odors and noise, if not pumped, wastewater would backup in the system and be released to the environment, creating a public health hazard. Pumping and hauling is the only viable option while repairs are made to the facility.
- During the month of July, the facility made repairs to the blower system and mechanical mixer systems.
- The facility is now working with Smith and Loveless, the manufacturer of the WWTF, on a full diagnostic assessment of ongoing issues at the WWTF. Following receipt of Smith and Loveless’ report, the facility will make a plan for implementing the recommended repairs.
- MassDEP continues to monitor the facility’s repairs and check in with the facility regularly to receive updates.”
Condominium residents voiced concern that these issues have been going on for so long that they fear they will be stuck dealing with them after the management transitions to the homeowners at the end of the year. We contacted PulteGroup and a representative provided the following statement on September 3:
“We are actively collaborating with the Cold Brook Crossing Landowners Trust, the developer of The Apartments at Cold Brook Crossing, and the Massachusetts DEP to resolve the wastewater treatment issues at Cold Brook Crossing. Regarding the upcoming Cold Brook Crossing Condominium transition, PulteGroup is committed to addressing the issues before the planned turnover in December.”
PulteGroup statement on Cold Brook Crossing
While all parties involved are saying the right things, residents are voicing their frustration with the ongoing conditions. One resident described the conditions as “unbearable” and “just unacceptable and an awful living situation” in a message received by Sudbury Weekly. As recently as this Wednesday, September 4, residents reported that the odors continue to emanate from the facility even after recent work and system cleaning was completed.