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Fill, Slope, Water Diversion, and Poor Drainage
SK Design Group estimated that the fill that was added to the soccer fields amounted to about 110 truckloads; enough to raise the fields 2 to 3 feet. To accommodate watering systems and drainage, the fields were tilted away from the vernal pool. This had the effect of diverting rain and groundwater away from the vernal pool. The area that used to be a source of water for the pool now drains toward the brook and the campus pond instead. As a result, the vernal pool has lost much of its source of water and has been impaired as a viable habitat for amphibians and other aquatic life. To make matters worse, all of the fill except for the top few inches is impermeable, clay-rich subsoil. This clay makes the tilt of the fields much more efficient at diverting water in the direction of the tilt (away from the vernal pool). As water seeps into the ground, it encounters the clay which it cannot penetrate, and then runs along the surface of the clay in the direction of the tilt. A memo from the files of the college confirms the existence of this clay.
The worker who inspected the soil and discovered this problem was a Pittsfield Conservation Commissioner. The fill, including the clay, is still there.
Condition “worse than when we started”According to memos from the files of Berkshire Community College written in July of 2001, “we are now left with three fields in worse condition than when we started.” The fields contain near the surface, rocks the size of “basketballs”. There are problems with the electrical system, the windows in the pressbox, the irrigation system, drainage, and even with the choice of grass seed. “We can be fairly sure that there will be an annual cost of at least 5,000.00/year if we only address the main soccer field.” As to the fields’ fitness for soccer, one of the memos from the college’s athletic department states “If I had been asked to open the upper field to soccer use two days ago I would have said that we are looking for a lawsuit if we opened. My recommendation would have been to permanently close the field to all soccer usage.”
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BCC Now Must Design A Remediation Plan
According to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER),
Responding to PEER’s disclosures, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) met with BCC administrators and environmental faculty on April 4, 2003. After viewing the soccer fields and the vernal pool, school officials sat down to discuss remediation of the site.
Participants at the meeting agreed that the vernal pool has become degraded by work on the soccer fields, and that the species inhabiting the pools have declined due to this degradation. Participants also noted that the maps submitted by BCC with the original application “clearly have discrepancies.” BCC now must design a remediation plan.
PEER is maintaining a progress report of the college’s remediation work on their website. So far PEER has not reported any progress by the college.
For an interesting perspective on this project, see the Berkshire Eagle’s editorial of September 2, 2002 entitled “Waiting for PEER to make its case.”
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