Representatives of the Great Bay Coalition communities gathered this morning at the McConnell Center in Dover to bring the community up to speed on Great Bay Estuary and also their ongoing dispute with the EPA on guidelines that the Environmental associations wants to force on communities to bring nitrogen levels down in the Great Bay, guidelines that would cost the coalition communities hundreds of millions of dollars to be in compliance. The coalition says they have provided the EPA with statistics that show the nitrogen level have decreased by 40% since 2008, but that science has fallen on deaf ears. Even with the process ongoing, Portsmouth Mayor Eric Spear pointed out that his community has been making municipal investments in wastewater improvements. Rochester Mayor TJ Jean spoke about the financial impacts that the new DEA & EPA requirements would have on the town and its citizens. Jean said the estimated cost that would be passed on to citizens would be an increase of 50% to their water and sewage bills, averaging $1200 per year. The coalition has filed suit in response to the EPA’s failure to conduct several mandatory duties related to the revised New Hampshire Water Quality Standards.