[SEMCO] Invitation & Registration for 2300 Days at Sea Workshop-November 13, 2018

[Robert Vincent]

2300 Days at Sea
Monitoring the Impacts of the Massachusetts Bay Outfall

  *   When: Tuesday, November 13, Breakfast at 8, talks at 8:30, ends at 3:30, followed by free harbor cruise 4-5:30 from Rowe's Wharf
  *   Where: Fort Point Channel Conference Room, Atlantic Wharf
  *   280 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210
Description:
Over 30 years ago, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority was established to upgrade the Greater Metropolitan Boston wastewater treatment facility, which included moving wastewater discharge to an outfall 9.5 miles into Massachusetts Bay. At the time, the public and regulators were concerned that moving the outfall would transfer environmental degradation from Boston Harbor, dubbed the "Dirtiest Harbor in the Nation," to the cleaner waters of Massachusetts Bay.

To address these concerns, scientists and regulators oversaw the development of a monitoring program. These concerns-human health, seafood safety, aesthetics, and ecosystem health-were translated into questions that framed the monitoring program. Twenty-six years (and 2300 days at sea) later, the monitoring program has documented impacts from the outfall that are minor and within projections, and Boston Harbor appears to be recovering.

This workshop will kick off a process to review MWRA's existing monitoring program. We are seeking input from the public to evaluate whether the current questions are still relevant, and whether other emerging questions or threats related to the outfall discharge should be addressed by the monitoring program.

The workshop is free and open to the public. Please register here; tinyurl.com/Nov-13-OMSAP-RSVP<http://tinyurl.com/Nov-13-OMSAP-RSVP> and let us know if you will join us for the workshop and the 4pm harbor cruise.

For more information:
See attached flyer and agenda.  Please email Judith Pederson at jpederso at mit.edu<mailto:jpederso at mit.edu> or Diane Alicea at dvalicea at mit.edu<mailto:dvalicea at mit.edu> with questions.

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