If you're
looking for information about our organization, start with the About
BEAT link. (All links are at the top
of every page, and "Home" always brings you back to this page.)
Contact us - How to get in touch with BEAT by email, phone, or postal mail.
River Cleanups - This link is our opportunity to tell you about the Housatonic River Clean-Ups
BEAT has been organizing and participating in. We hope it will also
convince you to join us for the next one. River Clean Ups are work,
but they're also a lot of fun.
Bookstore - See some of the books we like, and link to Amazon. When you purchase, a portion of the proceeds benefits BEAT - so don't forget to always get to Amazon through our website.
Links - BEAT has tried to provide a link to every environmental organization working in Berkshire County, as well as statewide and national organizations of interest.
Donate/Volunteer - You can donate to BEAT by check, credit card or paypal, and we are always looking for volunteers. We have a list of "jobs" for you to consider, or propose one of your own.
The BEAT News has a drop down menu to connect you to:
- The BEAT News - all the environmental news that we could find that might affect Berkshire County. Updated at least weekly.
- Calendar - a calendar of environmental events of possible interest to people in Berkshire County and beyond.
- Environmental Monitor - a listing of Berkshire projects taken from the semi-monthly report of the Environmental Monitor which lists projects with large environmental impacts in Massachusetts.
- Public Notices - a list of current notices that we think might have environmental implications (such as conservation commission hearings) from a variety of sources
including newspapers.
Berkshire Keeping Track is a wildlife monitoring program which started in 2006 and will provide data on wildlife habitat usage to aid in land protection.
Gov't Agencies - has a drop down menu to connect you to:
- Conservation Commissions - a page with lots of information and links to teach you more about conservation commission and what they do, as well as contact information for all the conservation commissions in Berkshire County. One
of the most influential regulatory agencies in any community is the
town's Conservation Commission.
We encourage everyone to attend these meetings and get involved. Toward
this end, BEAT arranges for the taping and televising of the Pittsfield
Conservation Commission meetings. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson,
a well informed electorate is democracy's best defense. (It's also
the environment's best defense.)
- Boards of Health - coming soon (will be similar to the conservation commission page).
- DEP - a link to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
- NHESP - a link to the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program which administers the Massachusetts Environ metal Protection Act and reviews projects known in endangered species habitat.
- MEPA Office - a link to the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office website and from there the Environmental Monitor. This office strives to make public as much information as possible on projects with potentially large environmental impacts. During the MEPA process the public has an opportunity to comment.
- US Environmental Protection Agency - a link the the EPA's website.
- Army Corps of Engineers - a link to the New England District of the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) website. Among other things, the ACOE has responsibility for enforcing the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act.
- Contact Information for Senators and Representatives - Here you will find the contact information for our US Senators and one Berkshire County US Representative, as well as contact information for Berkshire County's one state Senator and 4 Representatives.
Env. Regulations - has a drop down menu to connect you to:
- Wetlands Protection Act - BEAT's introduction to the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and how it protects wetlands. This link and the "Need BEAT's Help?" link are good places to start if you think you have an environmental problem and want to know what you can do about it.
- NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) - BEAT's introduction to NPDES - the Environmental Protection Agency's program for regulating the discharge of pollutants into our water.
- Open Meeting Law - a pdf guide to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. "The Massachusetts Open Meeting Law applies to governmental entities at the state and local levels. In general the Law requires that meetings of such entities be open to the public, that notice of such meetings be publicly posted and that accurate records of the meeting be kept and made available to the public."
- Public Records Law - a pdf guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. "Every government
record in Massachusetts is presumed to be public unless it is subject to an
exemption."
- Need BEAT's Help? - a good place to start if you think you have an environmental problem and want to know what you can do about it.
Current
Issues - If you
are interested in a specific issue, check out the Current
Issues links. These links list a few of the environmental issues in which BEAT is currently
engaged and provide summaries that will quickly bring you up to speed. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and our broad reach on environmental issues, we cannot list all the issues we are currently or have been deeply involved with.
The "GE
and PCBs" link provides information about the contamination
by General Electric Company of the Housatonic River and its
floodplains, and of the City of Pittsfield's groundwater, schoolyards,
parks, and soil.
And
by all means, drop us a line and let us know what you think (Use the "Contact Us" link.). We'd love to hear from you.
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