- News from the Sierra Club
- Applications Available for USDAFS Wood Education and Resource Center Competitive Grants Program for Fiscal Year 2007
- Land Protection Bill Passed!
- International Paper says ‘Never Mind’
- Adams Developer for Greylock Glen
- Environment Transition Team BEAT’s brief report
- Help Start the Rushing Rivers Institute
News from the Sierra ClubEPA: Mercury Rule Finalized
The finalized new mercury rule for cement kilns rolled out yesterday by the EPA
puts industry interests before public health- doing little to reduce current
mercury emissions. The new rule does not cap emissions or require specific
control measures- calling instead for the industry to use “best practices.” Once
emitted, mercury can build up in lakes and streams, contaminating the fish we
eat and increasing the risk of neurological and developmental problems,
especially for women of child bearing age and children.
Learn more about mercury and find out if you are at risk.
<http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=6mh0ILPOsI_2l0-w6Tg7Pg..>
Take Action: Change America Now!
<http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=oQEMZJTUh06M_lxLPhUFsQ..>This fall’s
election was a call for change — and now it’s time for action. Sierra Club
recently joined the Change America Now coalition to support the first 100 hours
Agenda. At the start of Congress next year, House leadership will introduce
legislation to roll back multi-billion dollar subsidies for Big Oil. We have a
chance to end the corrupting influence of Big Oil on Congress and to end the
giveaways to this polluting industry. While this won’t take us to energy
independence immediately, it is a move in the right direction.
Send a message to Congress — Change America Now!
<http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=IQ2SLyLidxKMVBZMLBxSwA..>
United States Department of Agriculture
Forest ServiceWood Education and Resource Center Competitive Grants Program for Fiscal Year 2007http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=11875http://www.na.fs.fed.us/werc/grants.shtm–
Land Protection Bill Passed!FromThe Mass Audubon Beacon Hill Weekly Roundup – 12/15/06
By Jack Clarke, Director of Public Policy & Government Relations
and Jennifer Ryan, Assistant Director for Legislative Affairs
In a major legislative victory, following 12 years of hard work and
negotiation, a Mass Audubon legislative priority: An Act Relative to
Taxation of Forest, Farm and Recreation Land (S.2683) otherwise know
as The Chapter 61 Reforms, is on its way to the Governor’s desk for
signature. Passed during a late July informal Senate session and most
recently through the House Committee on Ways & Means, where it has
languished for over a decade, with much prodding and lobbying, the
bill made it through Ways & Means, through the House Committee on
Steering & Policy, and Bills in 3rd Reading. And on December 8th,
in an unusual Friday informal session, the House passed the bill to be
engrossed.
This legislation would establish more uniform interpretation and
efficient administration of the property taxation statutes, Chapters
61, 61A, and 61B. These reforms will enhance opportunities for
municipalities to protect working forests, farms, and recreation
lands.
Mass Audubon has written a letter to Governor Romney urging him to
sign this important bill into law and we are keeping track with the
Governor’s office.
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=BAmi_TGGH0W6ekPPon5Fhg.
After 3 years, IP says ‘never mind’November 19, 2006
By Darren M. Allen Vermont Press Bureau
MONTPELIER To understand all the fuss over International Paper’s quest to
burn shredded tires, you have to start with a grain of salt and get smaller eight times smaller, to be exact.
That’s the size of the tiny specks of pollution some carrying
cancer-causing heavy metals known as fine particulates that, in the end,
eluded the Ticonderoga, N.Y., mill’s sophisticated pollution control devices
during its recent test burn of tire-derived fuel.
After three years of public wrangling, shredded tires were finally fed into
the plant’s giant power boilers recently. The two-week test burn would have
ended today had IP not stopped it last week. Just five days into the
experiment, the plant gave up an alternative energy source that could have
saved the company $4 million a year.
“We weren’t able to, with any consistency, manage the total amount of fine
particulates, regardless of the level of tire-derived fuel,” the plant’s
spokeswoman, Donna Wadsworth, said last week. “It didn’t matter what levels
we used; we expected that when we ramped up the amount we put in, that the
particulate count would go up. But there was no consistency.”
And there was a period during the 40-hour, five-day test when the levels of
particulates went a notch above the federal limit of a tenth of a pound of
fine particulates for every million British thermal units that the
2,000-degree power boilers generate.
In other words, an almost infinitesimal amount of particles emitted from the
plant’s 250-foot-tall smokestacks stopped what years of court hearings,
public outcry and immense political pressure couldn’t.
All that’s left of the mill’s efforts to conduct a two-week tire test burn
are piles of shredded tires, reams of scientific data and an enormous
helping of ill will.
Not to mention an uncertain amount of fine particulates that could be lodged
in the lungs of residents downwind of the hulking paper mill.
Most of those residents live in Vermont. The Ticonderoga mill is situated
just several hundred yards across the shores of Lake Champlain from Addison
County, and almost all of the opposition to the test burn came from this
side of the lake.
“Look, this is horrible stuff we’re talking about,” said Dr. Jack Mayer, a
Middlebury pediatrician who is a member of People for Less Pollution, a
major opponent of the tire burn. “The public health lesson is that humans
are exquisitely sensitive to pollution at low levels. What has made this
battle particularly odious to so many people in Vermont is that we were
having this risk imposed. Not only were we not going to have any gains from
it, but we were being used as guinea pigs for this macabre experiment.”
That sentiment guided Vermont’s opposition, which began the day after
International Paper announced its intention to conduct a two-week trial in
which up to three tons of shredded tires an hour would be used to fuel its
40-megawatt power boilers.
In September 2003, Vermont Gov. James Douglas registered his opposition, in
spite of his pro-business Republican credentials. Soon after, the state’s
congressional delegation led by Sen. James Jeffords and a host of Vermont
politicians also condemned the test.
It was fitting that Jeffords was among the leaders of the opposition: He is
ending his three-decade political career right where he began it in a
protracted fight against International Paper.
Jeffords, who took on the paper mill when he was Vermont’s attorney general
for water pollution problems, last week demanded that the plant and the
federal Environmental Protection Agency release the data collected during
the test to the public.
“Though the tire burn was of short duration, we remain concerned about its
public health and environmental consequences,” said a letter to the EPA
released by Jeffords’ office. “We are particularly troubled that local
doctors reported that residents of Addison County ? experienced respiratory
difficulties at rates much higher than expected during the trial burn.”
Douglas, too, wants to be sure that the ultimate effects of the test burn,
which didn’t come close to three tons of shredded tires an hour over the 40
hours of testing, are made public.
On that score, plant officials agree with Vermont’s public officials.
According to Wadsworth, the data, collected by the New York Department of
Environmental Conservation, its Vermont counterpart, the EPA and an
independent lab hired by the company, will be analyzed and made available in
the coming months.
“We learned a lot, we gathered a lot of good quality data, giving us
invaluable information about our fuel mix and emissions controls,” Wadsworth
said.
One fact seems clear: The mill’s pollution control devices couldn’t keep
particulates from escaping into the air once tires were added to the other
fuel sources the plant has used for decades No. 6 fuel oil and tree bark.
That revelation has Vermont officials glibly saying, “I told you so.”
Attorney General William Sorrell, who had attempted to block the test burn
altogether, but was unable to get injunctions in New York state and federal
appeals courts, was practically giddy last week.
“This is such good news for clean air in Vermont,” he said. “It’s
unfortunate that they had to go ahead and burn tires before they paid
attention to what we were saying all along.”
What they were saying and what IP wasn’t buying was that the plant
should install a multi-million dollar device called an electrostatic
precipitator, a state-of-the-art pollution control device used by dozens of
plants that rely solely on tire-derived fuels or a combination of coal and
shredded tires.
International Paper wasn’t discounting the use of the electrostatic
precipitator altogether; the company wanted to conduct the test before
deciding if it was necessary.
This week, Douglas, too, was gloating over the news.
“I’ll say it, ‘We told them so,'” Douglas said last week. “This is exactly
what Vermonters have been saying for years. The vast majority of us who have
expressed concern have not opposed the test absolutely, but only with the
proper pollution control equipment. It is unfortunate that this has required
so much time, energy and stress, and I hope that this is the end of the
line, so that those of us who live in Addison County can begin to breathe
easier.”
Some have suggested that Vermont officials should have honored the judgment
of New York and federal environmental regulators who saw fit after
numerous public hearings, thousands of pages of data and hundreds of
witnesses to grant the mill’s request. After all, International Paper
promised to halt the test if any of the dozens of toxins produced in the
mill’s boilers exceeded its permitted levels.
As it happened, according to the plant, none of the other pollutants such
as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide approached the
limits. But the eighth-of-a-grain-of-salt sized particulates did.
And the burn was stopped.
“I’ve heard all the ‘I told you so’ comments from Vermont,” Wadsworth said.
She wouldn’t go so far as to say that she, too, could make the same
argument, that the company would halt its experiment if even one of its
pollution levels was exceeded. “Let’s just say that they had their opinions,
and we had ours. Some of their opinions have been upheld, and hopefully,
we’ll learn together.”
For the time being, the plant which employs about 640 people and funnels
$200 million into the area’s economy every year has learned that it can’t,
in an economically feasible way, use shredded tires.
For the time being, the plant will continue to turn 4.8 million pounds of
trees into 1.6 million pounds of paper a day, most of it high-end products
used in color copiers and laser printers.
“We make the high-end, value-added printing and communications papers,” Wadsworth said. And while that market in the United States is relatively
flat, she said that Ticonderoga still substantially contributes to
International Paper’s overall bottomline.
“We’re a very important part of the overall International Paper portfolio,” she said.
RutlandHerald.com | http://www.rutlandherald.com/ <http://www.rutlandherald.com/>
The Town of Adams signed on as the Designated Developer for Greylock GlenFrom a Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Press Release
On December 11, in a ceremony at the Discover the Berkshires Adams Visitor Center, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) and the Town of Adams signed an agreement, designating the Town of Adams as the Provisional Developer of the Greylock Glen Outdoor Recreation and Environmental Education Center, adjacent to Mount Greylock State Reservation. The agreement fulfills M.G.L. Chapter 676 of the Acts of 1985, which authorized DCR’s predecessor agency to develop a regional economic and recreational facility at Greylock Glen.
“I was very impressed by the development plan that the Town and their collaborators assembled,” said DCR Commissioner Stephen H. Burrington. “The exciting proposal is a fine example of practical sustainable development, and I believe the Town has the necessary qualifications and experience required to realize the vision outlined in the plan.”
The Town’s plan for the project, developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Appalachian Mountain Club, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, includes construction of an environmental education center, a performing arts amphitheater, an environmental arts center, camping and lodging and meeting facilities, and a multi-use trail system with a cross-country ski center. Development will be generally concentrated in a 53-acre area, with approximately 1,000 acres, 94% of the site, permanently protected as conservation land.
Edward MacDonald, Chairman of the Adams Board of Selectmen, noted that implementation of the project is not only important to the town but to the entire northern Berkshire region. “The project will help Adams become a destination for outdoor recreation and environmental education and connect more meaningfully to existing cultural institutions within the Berkshires,” he said.
The Town and DCR will share initial funding for pre-development design, permitting, and project development expenses, expected to cost approximately $300,000. During Phase I, DCR will expend matching funds of up to $3 million to match non-Commonwealth investment on a one-to-one basis. The Town will provide non-Commonwealth funding for the project. The project is expected to cost $44 million in total.
“The Town’s proposal represents a creative blending of economic development and recreational opportunities compatible with the unique character of the Mount Greylock region,” said DCAM Commissioner David B. Perini.
“The signing of this agreement is a critical milestone in moving this important project forward,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Robert L. Culver. “The Center will provide significant economic benefits to the Berkshires in a way that stresses environmental awareness and sensitivity of design, development and operation.”
“We’re closer and closer to seeing the Greylock Glen development a reality,” said State Representative Daniel Bosley. “This is very exciting and is the first step toward many other positive effects the Glen will have on the area and its tourism and economy, and will tie in with the culture the Berkshires are known for.”
The Center will be created in phases. Phase I work will include the creation of trails, outdoor recreation amenities, a campground, outdoor environmental art, maintenance facilities, infrastructure improvements, and environmental restoration. MassDevelopment will also restore the water and sewer lines located on Gould Road as part of Phase I. Phase II will include the Greylock Glen Art & Nature Center, a Nordic ski center, and the performing arts amphitheater. Phase III will include a lodging and meeting facility.
Numerous proposals for the development of Greylock Glen have been raised in the past 50 years, including casinos, a hotel, a village, condominiums and golf courses. These proposals were all ultimately rejected, due to the size of the proposed projects and concerns over resulting environmental impacts.
Environment Transition Team Listening Session 12/12
The Energy and Environment Transition Team Committee “listening sessions” lasted for more than three hours as the people filling the auditorium each had about two minutes to speak to the panel. The Berkshires were represented on the panel as well by Amy Pearlmutter from Becket, who is part of this Transition Team.
For more information on the transition visit BEAT’s Advocacy page.
FromThe Mass Audubon Beacon Hill Weekly Roundup – 12/15/06
By Jack Clarke, Director of Public Policy & Government Relations
and Jennifer Ryan, Assistant Director for Legislative Affairs
The meetings and flurries of email on how to improve government and
better protect our environment are coming together this week as the
Transition Teams reach their deadline for submitting reports to the
incoming administration. It’s been a very busy month on
Beacon Hill and we thank the Transition Team members for all of their
hard work and we thank those who came out to speak or submit comments
to the Transition Teams. Transition Team meetings have been
packed and the comment folders are full!
Mass Audubon has submitted our comments outlining immediate actions
that the incoming administration can take on our priorities, as well
as long-term goals. We also have worked collaboratively with
environmental organizations on the following papers:
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=UDftP9ZKtpyIDQd9epCdjA.
· Managing the Commonwealth’s Ocean Waters
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=gogw6sMMtkHkDoyRXRuXWg.
· Achieving Excellence in the Department of Conservation and
Recreation
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=rgWa16mkQNatqPfLtjvK_g.
· Environmental Justice for Boston Parks
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=Lo2_QE4Dnoirw9-lGlCpJA.
· The Commonwealth’s Rivers and Watersheds
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=sqR1OEZlsGia5CIJrwOscw.
· Taunton River Watershed Campaign
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=FSOUgtudW8A5Wb2uUl5X2Q.
· Aquatic Habitat Restoration Initiative
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=XSBQmp72pkvtBaKvczzOTw.
· Land Trusts and Land Protection
http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=5cIcKmpwVqnXrN4pTmKRrw.
· Storm Water Management – this paper will be posted in the next
Roundup
Each offers the perspectives of those who have worked on these issues
for many years, and are excellent resources. Currently, we are
working on a joint paper for the incoming Secretary of Environmental
Affairs, which will be posted when this important Cabinet position is
announced.
Please Help Start the Rushing Rivers Institute!Rushing Rivers Institute –
Science for Sustainable Management of Running Waters
The rivers of the northeast are drying out!
Drinking water is becoming a big issue would wide!
Landuse and climate change impact life in rivers and increase flood hazards!
Please help to protect our rivers and future water supply!
Support science for the sustainable management of running waters!
PLEASE HELP START THE RUSHING RIVERS INSTITUTE!
50 Two Ponds Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
The growing importance of water issues due to global climate change calls for sophisticated, science-based management and protection of
running waters. Hydropower re-licensing, permits for water withdrawals
for municipalities, agriculture and recreation, flood protection
measures, and dam removals are urgent and controversial issues. State
and local governments, industry and watershed management groups, are
frustrated with the inadequacy of available management tools with which
to address complex hydrological/ecological and societal issues. The lack
of applicable environmental management tools is not caused by
underdevelopment in science, but by limited access to integrative
applications of available state-of-the-art research. The key drawback in
the application of cutting-edge research in water management planning is”disconnect between needs of resource managers for simple and effective
solutions on the one hand, and cost-independent needs for innovation and
basic understanding of complex processes, that motivates scientist on
the other hand” (Acreman M. 2005 Linking science and decision-making:
features and experience from environmental river flow setting.
Environmental Modelling & Software 20, 99-109).
During the past seven years, first at the Instream Habitat Program at
Cornell University, and then the past two years at the Northeast
Instream Habitat Program www.neihp.org at the University of
Massachusetts and Mt Holyoke College, we conducted research that
considerably improved the tools and techniques for the management of
riverine resources available today Computer simulation models, supported
by cutting edge remote sensing technology, allow for the quantitative evaluation and validation of the ecological potential of river
management scenarios at the watershed scale, and build a foundation for
intelligent decision making.
With the goal of assuring the timely release of our developed
technology, geared towards the sustainable management of running waters,
the group of scientists from NEIHP want to establish an independent
sister organization as a clearing house for river science. Rushing
Rivers will conduct on-demand, applied research, to protect and restore
rivers, and offer professional training and project review services. It
will build upon the expertise of the Northeast Instream Habitat Program,
as well as the experience of scientists at the universities and research
institutes throughout the country and internationally. This will help to
secure future water resources for both human use and the environment.
The need for the services provided by Rushing Rivers Institute is
undeniable. It is reflected in our world today, in the poor condition of
our rivers and recurring water problems. As a private organization, the
institute will have a high level of flexibility and productivity. The
Institute is designed to generate its own funding through applied
research projects, software marketing, education and training. As a new
organization we need to establish a secure base of funds in order to
develop to our full potential. In the near future we will need to
acquire research equipment, such as a truck and boat, and office
equipment. Eventually we will need additional staff, including graduate
and postdoctoral researchers, administrative support and interns. Please
support the Rushing Rivers Institute initiative. Any form of support,
monetary or tangible, will further our efforts.
Although we currently focus on rivers in the northeast, our work is of
global importance, and the funds invested in Rushing Rivers Institute
are an investment in the future of our planet. Rushing River Institute
is still in the development stage, and to protect the integrity of our mission, we have registered as Rushing
Rivers Inc. for the purpose of this initial campaign. We are presently
applying for non-profit status for 2007. Donations will not be tax
deductible for 2006, but hopefully in 2007. We will notify you when our non-profit status is approved for further
consideration of your generosity. Donations maybe either be sent to the
Rushing Rivers address, or submitted online through the campaign’s
homepage, provided in the letterhead.
You are cordially invited to attend our information meeting on January
25th at 6pm in the Red Barn of Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. The
Hampshire College Red Barn is located at the Admissions Building
entrance off of Route 116 about 1000 feet before the main entrance to
Hampshire College. We kindly request an RSVP to miirawirth@rushingrivers.com or by phone at 413-825-1412.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Piotr Parasiewicz
Rushing Rivers Institute
50 Two Ponds Road