Nomination papers for spring municipal elections are now available in many towns. Now is the time that those of us concerned about the environment in general, and specifically water quality, need to pay attention. You may not think that it matters, but whoever sits on key municipal decision-making boards profoundly affects what happens in your town. You have an opportunity to shape precisely how your community improves water quality and how quickly that improvement comes.
You have more reason to be engaged this year than most. We are fresh off a public comment process for much needed clean water rules proposed by DEP. The comment process was revealing in that it exposed many imposters, people who have talked the talk of wanting clean water but, when given the chance, wouldn’t walk the walk. The positions taken against the clean water rules by many municipal officials, both elected and appointed, exposed what can most generously be described as a lack of urgency and revealed a deep-seated antipathy against taking real steps to confront the issue. At worst it was misinformation and fear mongering designed to distract people from the reality that the state-mandated homeowner requirement to upgrade septic systems would go away if their town simply did its job looking out for the best interests of the community and applied for a watershed permit. Rather than acknowledge the central responsibility of towns to act collectively on behalf of their residents as the town of Eastham’s excellent comments did, others resorted to misdirection and exaggeration to avoid assuming an obligation to act in a timely manner. I suspect, and hope, that I am not alone in thinking the municipal official who promotes 40- and 50-year horizons to restore water quality as all that is attainable is simply not serious about it.
The good news here is, through their comments on the DEP regulatory proposals, we voters now have a pretty good sense of where our elected officials, and the appointed people who work for them, stand on the matter. It is your responsibility as a voter for whom the environment is important to educate yourself on how a candidate’s actions reflect the positions they have taken and to vote accordingly. It is also your chance to evaluate candidates on very specific questions about water quality and timing of investments in clean water. If you don’t like the candidates, recruit new ones. Better yet, run yourself. Either way, don’t settle.
In life, it is often said, timing is everything. Ask yourself if a commitment to act on this issue is really a commitment at all when it means that you and, quite possibly, your children will no longer be alive to see it happen. For me, it’s not. And I vote that way. You should too.
