Boston Herald
A Boston Herald Editorial
December 15, 2000
Today the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority files, in the courtroom of a federal judge, its final monthly progress report on construction of its sewage treatment plant. The plant is running smoothly, and the MWRA is breaking out tea and cakes in a post-hearing celebration.
The case before U.S. District Judge A. David Mazzone is not over - combined sewer outfalls, which carry sewage into the harbor during heavy rain, must still be dealt with. But a milestone worth at least ceremonial tea has been reached.
Fifteen years into the project, the harbor is a pleasure, generally swimmable and fishable. The cost has been heavy but not unbearable. By all accounts a substantial slice of the credit should go to Judge Mazzone's skill in handling this complicated case. But lawsuits ought not to be necessary to make states obey federal statutes like the Clean Water Act (this one started by the Environmental Protection Agency), and even the successful ones should not be held up as a model to emulate.
(c)2000 Boston Herald. All rights reserved.
