Fishermen from Massachusetts and New Hampshire have made it clear: a wastewater outfall pipe in the Gulf of Maine is bad news.

"I think dumping wastewater in the ocean, regardless of how you treat it, is always a bad idea," said Alan Vangile, a lobsterman from Portsmouth.

As a study to determine whether a large outfall pipe is the answer to the Seacoast's sewage problems moves into its second phase this year, there seems to be nary a voice in support of the project.

At a public forum last Monday, the Seacoast Regional Wastewater Outfall Study updated fishermen, scientists, educators, conservation organizations and other stakeholders on the progress of the study and presented testimony from scientists and Massachusetts fishermen who said the five-year-old outfall pipe, which pumps treated wastewater 10 miles into Boston Harbor has ruined their livelihoods.

"What's becoming really clear to me is that we're going back to a Jacques Cousteau kind of philosophy, that 'the ocean is an endless bounty,' not as a fishery, but as an open area we don't care about," said Mason Weinrich, executive director of the Whale Center of New England.

Some of the most damning testimony against the pipe came from commercial fishermen who have been affected by the Boston outfall pipe.

Fred Dauphinee, a lobster fisherman from Scituate, Mass., called outfall pipes "another aspect of suburban sprawl" and believes the Boston pipe harmed his business.

"I had the best month of fishing in my life in August (2000). They opened that outfall pipe," he said, striking the table, "and that was the end of my fishing."

Bill Bartlett, a commercial fisherman from Danvers, Mass., said his family has been fishing off of Boston Harbor for years, but a declining lobster population, which he attributes to the pipe, has made it difficult.

"I'd like to think we can keep fishing in that bay, but that's debatable," he said. "I hope for the lobstermen's sake in the state of New Hampshire, this does not go through."

There hasn't been any scientific data to suggest the Boston outfall pipe has had any negative impact beyond what was originally expected, according to Judy Pederson of the Center for Coastal Resources. Pederson has been monitoring the Boston pipe for 12 years. However, there continue to be long-term concerns, she said. For example, the occurrence of liver disease in flounder in the harbor has increased during the last few years.

The Seacoast pumps out about 20 million gallons of wastewater per day, according to Bob Scherpf, a project manager with Metcalf & Eddy, the engineering firm heading up the study. This wastewater is treated in one of 17 treatment plants in the area and is usually pumped into local rivers like the Piscataqua or the Lamprey. Though a large outfall pipe is a controversial solution, local resources are under strain due to a growing population and stricter treatment regulations. The region's population has increased by 36 percent in the last 20 years, he said.

"These existing wastewater treatment plants are stressed and continue to be stressed. Also, there's no indication this growth is slowing down," he said.

Some towns are already feeling the crunch. Exeter and Newmarket are grappling with costly upgrades to their water treatment facilities.

The outfall study is moving into its second phase, which includes further data collection and analysis, community outreach and developing alternatives to the pipe. Currently, there are four options, including the pipe:

?Çó Upgrade existing wastewater treatment plants to provide advanced wastewater treatment, continue discharging treated effluent to existing locations and establish a collection system for non-sewered communities.

?Çó Upgrade existing plants, discharge the treated effluent through land application and establish a collection system for non-sewered communities.

?Çó Do not upgrade existing plants; discharge treated effluent to outfall pipe in the Gulf of Maine and establish a collection system for non-sewered communities.

?Çó Abandon existing treatment plants, build a regional treatment plant, discharge effluent to the Gulf of Maine and establish a collection system for non-sewered communities.

Scherpf said the study is still in the data collection phase and no locations have been selected for the outfall pipe or the regional treatment facility.

Nancy Girard of the Conservation Law Foundation is opposed to the pipe. Discharging 20 million gallons of fresh water into the Gulf of Maine will not only effect the ocean's ecosystem but will also have adverse effects on the groundwater resources of the Seacoast, she said.

"If you start moving water out of the watershed, doing that will change...the composition of the water," she said. As aquifers are depleted, it will be more difficult to recharge them; the water that does remain will become salinated.

A large outfall pipe would also encourage more development, she said, which will in turn further strain water resources.

The CLF does not have any alternatives to the pipe, but Girard said the best option would keep the treated wastewater in the local watershed through land application. The treated water would be filtered again as it seeped back into the aquifer.

"Soil is an amazing buffer," she said. "Rock is an amazing filter."

For more information on the project, visit www.coastalclear.org.