Seacoast towns are expected to raise concerns about a new federal water pollution permit for Great Bay at a public hearing tonight in Portsmouth.
The Environmental Protection Agency says it's trying a new method with this permit, which has been in the works for years.
The permit would set a collective limit on nutrients going into the delicate estuary.
Twelve communities around the bay would have to decide how to meet that limit together, by controlling wastewater discharge and stormwater and septic runoff.
Dover city attorney Josh Wyatt says many affected communities want a second opinion on the plan.
"The cost estimates we've seen are in the hundreds of millions per municipality,” he says. "I think folks really want to know that before they make this significant of a public expenditure of funds, that the science supports this."
Environmental groups say the new permit needs to encourage towns to tackle stormwater issues. In the past, they've focused on wastewater.
The public hearing starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Department of Environmental Service offices on Pease Tradeport in Portsmouth.
