Town Meeting rejected a proposal on Monday night that would have been the first step in putting a 151 new jobs homes on the town’s sewer system – most of them in Mattapoisett.

Selectmen had proposed appropriating $50,000 to obtain a $200,000 grant from the Buzzards Bay and Narragansett Estuary Programs. The $50,000 would be a required contribution from the town.

The grant would pay for a feasibility study and "50 percent design" of extending sewer service to communities in Indian Cove and Aucoot Cove, with the goal of reducing the amount of nitrogen that flows into Aucoot and Hiller Coves.

Since the coves border Mattapoisett, that town also has a stake in their water quality. Additionally, Mattapoisett does not have a treatment facility of its own and is already at capacity with its allotment from Fairhaven's plant.

The proposal presented on Monday night said Mattapoisett and the Buzzards Bay Coalition would contribute $10,000 in in-kind services to prepare the grant application. Of the 151 homes included in the proposal, 120 are in Mattapoisett.

Voters voiced concern about considering a new sewer project when the fate of the current wastewater plant is still unknown. For almost a year the town has waited for a verdict from the Environmental Protection Agency, which deemed that the town's three sewage lagoons, installed in the 1970s, do not meet current environmental standards. Upgrades could cost the town millions of dollars.

The possibility of increasing the number of houses on the sewage line didn’t sit well with Joe Zora Jr.

“It seems like this whole thing has been a rush,” he said.

Zora said the town was already over its discharge limit, and he was distrustful of the Buzzards Bay Coalition, a partner in the proposed grant and a critic of the current sewage lagoons.

“I’m a little leery about the Buzzards because they keep picking on our bones,” Zora said.

Ruth Nicolaci, a resident of Indian Cove, said she didn’t think Marion should be responsible for Mattapoisett’s sewage.

“I think we should be responsible for Marion,” she said. “There is no way without great expense that pipes will go down into anywhere. I don’t think this is going to solve anything at the moment.”

Town Administrator Paul Dawson tried to answer the townspeople’s questions and explain the benefits of the sewage extension. He said the proposal was not related to the lagoons but could show the EPA that the town is working to lessen “nitrogen loading” in the area.

“Really what we’re talking about is trying to find, as the town has done for many years, ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen loading in and around our waters,” Dawson said. “This is an attempt to take a common sense approach.”

He also said the grant would give the town a plan that could be useful in the future, even if it were shelved for now.

“Worst case scenario, those plans will always be good,” said Dawson.

He also said the Buzzards Bay Coalition would not have any control over the actual study.

Steve Kokkins, an engineer, said moving toward additional sewer tie-ins could “contaminate the response of the EPA” rather than give the agency a favorable view of the town. He said the proposal was premature.

Vincent Malkoski said he was concerned the town would end up spending more than the $50,000 to get the study and design done. He proposed tabling the discussion, which was unanimously approved by voters.