Despite the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s stated goals to alleviate nitrogen pollution in the Commonwealth, the director of public health and Select Board say the agency is too relaxed in its enforcement of commercial composting facilities in town. 

The issue has been continually broached by town officials since at least 2016, and was continually referenced throughout the public comment process for new Title 5 regulations that would require residents to replace their septic systems with nitrogen-filtering technology. In June, MassDEP decided to only apply the new regulations to Cape Cod, and work out other, yet-to-be-determined regulations for the South Coast. 

At the time, Public Health Director Chris Michaud and town officials criticized MassDEP for putting the torch to homeowners rather than commercial composting facilities, which they say are contributing significantly to nitrogen runoff. 

At the Oct. 16 Select Board meeting, Michaud and Select Board members reiterated their concerns, and expressed interest in contacting other communities with composting facilities and going to MassDEP as a group of municipalities. Select Board Chair David Tatelbaum said he believes it’s the “responsibility” of the Select Board to do so. 

Michaud said he has met with Rep. Chris Markey and Sen. Mark Montigny about composting concerns, and that both are supportive of addressing the problem. 

“Instead of sending your food waste to Crapo Hill, you can now send it to the backwoods of Dartmouth, for half the price,” Michaud said. “The reason why our district has to pay so much money … is because of all the advanced engineering and controls and oversight and testing that goes into these solid waste management facilities. None of these exist at our [commercial] composting facilities.”

Michaud took particular issue with what he sees as MassDEP’s failure to enforce regulations on the composting facilities. 

“It’s pretty random as to what [MassDEP regulators] do, and they maybe do a drive-by once in a while and maybe not even that much,” Tatelbaum said. 

Town Administrator Shawn MacInnes said the town does not have enforcement control over composting facilities. 

The Select Board and Michaud did not specifically list any specific commercial composting facilities, but MassDEP’s record of approved facilities accepting food materials in Dartmouth lists Double “S” Farm, Tom’s Best Organic Compost at Olde Dartmouth Farm and King Fisher. In 2016, the Select Board specifically called out King Fisher for nitrogen pollution.