Pleasant Bay — nitrogen sensitive area status and filings

Pleasant Bay

A designated Natural Resource Nitrogen Sensitive Area covering parts of Brewster, Chatham, Harwich, Orleans.

On MassDEP's address map, this area is called Pleasant Bay System. That is the name you will see in the popup if you click your property on the map, and it is the name to look for — not the shorter one at the top of this page.

What each town filed

Town	Filing	Transmittal
Brewster	Permit granted	Permit 01-M1
Chatham	Permit granted	Permit 01-M1
Harwich	Permit granted	Permit 01-M1
Orleans	Permit granted	Permit 01-M1

What the filings mean

Permit granted

A Watershed Permit has actually been issued for this watershed — not an application, a granted permit. This is the most settled position available.

The permit in force

Pleasant Bay Revised Watershed Permit, permit number 01-M1, was issued by MassDEP on 10 February 2026 and runs to 10 February 2046. It covers Brewster, Chatham, Harwich, Orleans.

Replaces the 2018 Pleasant Bay Watershed Permit, the first watershed permit issued in Massachusetts. MassDEP describes the changes as minor modifications under 314 CMR 21.06(4) that align the 2018 conditions with the watershed permit regulations at 314 CMR 21.00 and the 2023 Title 5 amendments, and incorporate the towns’ Watershed Management Plan.

If your Board of Health quotes a different number. MassDEP’s watershed application table dated 11 June 2026 still lists the superseded permit 001-0. The permit in force is 01-M1. If a Board of Health quotes 001-0 from that table, both refer to the same permit for the same four towns.

Permit document published by the Pleasant Bay Alliance at pleasantbay.org, read 27 August 2026. Issuance and expiry dates independently reported by the Cape Cod Chronicle, June 2026.

MassDEP's reports for this area

The studies behind this area, published by MassDEP.

Pleasant Bay System, Orleans, Chatham, Brewster & Harwich, MA - 2006 (2006) — Massachusetts Estuaries Project report
Pleasant Bay System TMDL For Nitrogen (Total) (2007) — Total Maximum Daily Load report CN 244.0

Selling a property here

On the MassDEP nitrogen disclosure form, a seller in Pleasant Bay would normally tick box 2 — located in a Nitrogen Sensitive Area, but not subject to the upgrade requirement because a filing covers the watershed — and name the filing for their town above.

Separately, a passing Title 5 inspection is required before transfer, as it is everywhere in Massachusetts. How the disclosure works →

Filings: MassDEP watershed application table, 11 June 2026. Map name transcribed from MassDEP's NSA Address Lookup Map, 10 August 2026. Reports: MassDEP Natural Resource Nitrogen Sensitive Areas feature layer, retrieved 26 August 2026.

Get a Title 5 inspection quote

Tell us the property and what you need. We pass the request to licensed Title 5 system inspectors covering that town. Free, and there is nothing to sign here.