When developer Sam Dunn came before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission last year seeking permission to build his bowling alley in Oak Bluffs, one key selling point was the plan to build a nitrogen-removing septic system. The plan was considered environmentally responsible because it would protect the town harbor and Sunset Lake. Yet less than a year later, Mr. Dunn changed direction on his septic plans, applying to the Oak Bluffs wastewater commission for permission to connect to the town sewer system. After heated debate last week, a divided sewer commission agreed in a two-to-one vote to grant Mr. Dunn’s request despite the fact that the Uncas avenue site where the bowling alley, restaurant and entertainment center are in the final stages of construction, was not an approved area for town sewer expansion.

The advantage for Mr. Dunn is obvious: connecting to the sewer system will cost him about twenty-five thousand dollars compared to building a state-of-the art septic system at more than two hundred thousand dollars.

But the benefit to the town is much more murky. The town sewer commission, making an exception to its own rules, effectively traded away capacity at the plant that could have been used for other projects to satisfy a single business interest.

One of those projects involves an emerging plan to protect the Lagoon Pond by connecting private homes near the pond to the town wastewater plant. Spanning the towns Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, the Lagoon is the most severely compromised pond on the Island due to nitrogen from residential septic systems. This year both towns have joined forces on an initiative expected to create a special overlay planning district to keep more nitrogen from entering the pond. Sewering is a primary objective of the initiative.

Placed in that context, the action by the Oak Bluffs wastewater commission last week seems especially short-sighted. Last night the Martha’s Vineyard Commission was expected to follow the recommendation of its land use planning subcommittee and agree to the change in the septic plan without a public hearing. This is especially ironic given the fact that the commission itself is embarking on a major planning initiative to protect the Island’s saltwater ponds from further degradation due to nitrogen.

The Vineyard’s clean environment is a major attraction for summer tourism and second homeowners who are the backbone of our economy. If Island towns cannot take a firm stand to protect their ponds, in the future we could be bowling alone.