The Conservation Law Foundation filed suit Tuesday in federal court in Boston against the town of Barnstable, saying the Barnstable Water Pollution Control Facility is in violation of the federal Clean Water Act and is polluting Lewis Bay.
In the suit, CLF contends the levels of nitrogen discharged into groundwater by the plant are too high, and that the nitrogen and other nutrients travel underground to nearby Lewis Bay, where the discharge has elevated nutrient levels that feed large algal blooms. The blooms degrade water quality, lower oxygen levels and harm plant and marine animal life.