The BEAT News October 16, 2014

News Headlines

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Sandisfield Pipeline Scoping Meeting

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued a notice for the Connecticut Expansion Pipeline Project (Project) involving construction and operation of pipeline and facilities by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (Tennessee) in Albany County, New York; Berkshire and Hampden Counties, Massachusetts; and Hartford County, Connecticut. That includes a pipeline “loop” and facilities in Sandisfield and a pipeyard during construction in Tyringham.

The Scoping meeting in the Berkshires will take place on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 from 7 to 9 pm at the Sandisfield Art Center, 5 Hammertown Road, Sandisfield, MA.

Another Scoping meeting possibly closer for Hampden County will take place on Tuesday, October 28, 2014 from 7 to 9 pm at the
East Granby Community Center, 20 Center Street, East Granby, CT 06026.

You can also comment on-line at the FERC website http://ferc.gov/  Docket No. CP14-529.  For more information about how to use the FERC website visit BEAT’s About the FERC Process page.

Your input will help the Commission staff determine what issues they need to evaluate in their Environmental Assessment. Please note that the scoping period will close on November 10, 2014.

  • BEAT Notes: 
    We are disappointed that FERC is choosing to do only an Environmental Assessment rather than a more rigorous Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This project would have a severe impact on Otis State Forest. We do not believe it is in the public interest to take land that was permanently protected using the people’s money, out of that protection for something as environmentally destructive as a fracked gas pipeline. The state of Massachusetts has not finished their study of the costs, benefits, and risks of ways the state can best meet our energy needs for the future.
    This is a Scoping Meeting, so the public should be asking FERC to study things like
  • identify where all the vernal pools are and the associated upland habitat required by the amphibian species that require the vernal pools for breeding habitat.
  • identify and map all areas that could potentially require blasting in order to bury the pipeline.
  • identify and map all areas of invasive species currently in and along the right-of-way and develop a plan to remove the invasive species and restore the ecosystem
  • test the water quality of all wells, wetlands, and waterways to provide “before” data, to assess any environmental impacts that may occur during or after construction if this pipeline were allowed to be built.
    require a complete assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions that this additional pipeline would lead to – including both the emissions during construction and the increased emissions resulting from the extracting and burning of the increased amount of fracked gas that would travel through the pipeline.
  • BEAT feels that telling FERC that this is public land that public monies have been used to purchase because the state felt this area is environmentally important – this area should be avoided because the impacts cannot be minimized or mitigated, and in considering this area FERC should prepare a full EIS.
  • We would also suggest that until the state of Massachusetts has finished their study of how to best meet our energy needs, this pipeline expansion is premature – of course, this gas is for Connecticut, not Massachusetts.
    Do not tell FERC where you know there are specific environmental assets. That information should be held as a way to evaluate whether the Environmental Assessment was thorough or missed important environmental information.

Payment to professor in bottle bill campaign draws criticism

Boston Globe   October 10, 2014
A Tufts University professor who publicly endorsed a study that was cited by the campaign committee fighting the proposed bottle law expansion was paid $7,000 by the opposition group, prompting criticism on Thursday from an environmental organization that supports the measure.

Jeffrey Zabel, a Tufts economics professor, received the payment as a campaign subvendor from Goddard Gunster Inc., a public relations firm hired by the No on Question 2 group, which opposes the binding ballot question to expand the state bottle law, campaign finance records show.  Read more

 

The provocative show Water&Earth: A Call to Protect Fragile Ecosystems opens Oct 30-Nov 30, 2014 at Gallery 51, 51 Main St., North Adams.

Participating artists are Krisanne Baker, Mary-Ellen Beattie, Nancy Cohen, Jacok Lee, Tania Love, Alka Mathur, Susan Newbold, Katherine Porter, Linda Stillman and Sarah Sutro. A very powerful show about a key issue for our survival.

MCLA Gallery 51 is open 7 days a week, 10-6   
Opening Reception is Thurs. Oct. 30

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 EPA Increases Access to Chemical Information – Agency seeks input on improvements

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted additional data and added new functions to ChemView, EPA’s publicly-accessible, one-stop online tool to find information for chemicals regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

“In the absence of TSCA reform, EPA is moving ahead to improve access to chemical health and safety information, and increase the dialogue to help the public choose safer ingredients used in everyday products,” said James Jones, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “The additional data along with a customer satisfaction survey will make chemical information more readily available for decision-makers and consumers.”

The enhanced data functions include: improving the display and content for the Chemical Data Reporting information, adding a new link that displays the pollution prevention information generated as part of the Toxics Release Inventory program, and launching an administrative tool that will save EPA resources by streamlining the loading of future information.

The updated database now includes the following new information: 244 consent orders, an additional 1,205 Significant New Use Rules (SNURs) for new and existing chemicals, 16 additional chemicals with test rule data, and updates to the Safer Chemicals Ingredient List. This is the first time EPA has posted consent orders and new chemical SNURs to ChemView. With these additions, ChemView now contains information on almost 10,000 chemicals.

EPA is also encouraging people to complete a ten minute customer satisfaction survey to help guide future improvements to ChemView. This survey asks about how people use ChemView, the usefulness of the tool, how it can be optimized to help advance chemical safety, and suggestions for additional content and functionality. EPA will use the information from the survey to continuously improve ChemView.

ChemView was launched in 2013 to increase the availability of information on chemicals as part of a commitment to strengthen the existing chemicals program and improve access to and usefulness of chemical data and information. The tool displays key health and safety information and uses data in a format that allows quick understanding, with links to more detailed information. Searches can be conducted by chemical name or Chemical Abstracts Service number, use, hazard effect, or regulatory action and has the flexibility to create tailored views of the information on individual chemicals.

By increasing health and safety information and identifying safer chemical ingredients, manufacturers and retailers will have the information to better differentiate their products by using safer ingredients.

To complete the survey, or to view and search ChemView, visit: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/chemview/index.html

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Patrick Administration Awards Nearly $359,000 to 96 Municipalities in Inaugural Recycling Dividends Program

Funds Invested will Maximize Recycling, Composting and Waste Reduction Efforts

The Patrick Administration today announced the inaugural round of payments totaling $358,800 to 96 municipalities qualifying for the new Recycling Dividends Program (RDP), which will help cities and towns maximize their current recycling, composting and waste reduction programs.

The RDP payments range from $1,200 to $14,400 and can be utilized for things such as new recycling bins or carts, public education and outreach campaigns, collection of hard-to-recycle items and establishment of recycling programs in schools, municipal buildings and other public spaces. The new program is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

“The Patrick Administration is committed to reducing the waste stream by 30 percent, which is about 2 million tons, and we need efforts big and small to attain those ambitious goals,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Maeve Vallely Bartlett. “This new Recycling Dividends Program targets community-level participation that puts us on the road to recycling success.”

“These new funds will help communities pump up their current recycling programs, capturing more materials that can be reused and helping them to reduce their waste disposal costs,” said MassDEP Commissioner David W. Cash. “This is another example of smart environmental policy resulting in smart economic policy.”

“I’d like to thank the Patrick Administration for investing in the solutions that will help cities and towns save on landfill space and on waste disposal costs through more recycling and composting,” said Senator Marc R. Pacheco, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture. “Not only will this Recycling Dividends Program assist our Green Communities across the Commonwealth, it will green-up the bottom line in the process.”

The RDP is the newest initiative under MassDEP’s Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP), which was created under the Green Communities Act, which Governor Patrick signed in 2008. The Act requires that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Waste Energy Certificates (WEC) be directed to recycling programs approved by MassDEP. SMRP has invested more than $9 million in recycling programs since July of 2010.

The community payments are based on the number of households served by the municipal solid waste and recycling program. The grants range from the $1,200 given to the communities of Granby, Shutesbury and Williamsburg up to the $14,400 awarded to the City of Lowell. See a full list of the 97 RDP grant awards here: RDP Grants 

The WEC payments received by MassDEP are deposited into the SMRP Expendable Trust, which is used to fund grants, technical assistance and education to help communities, businesses and institutions increase recycling and reduce waste.

MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and spills and the preservation of wetlands and coastal resources.

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Request for Proposals for Healthy Watershed Consortium Grant

The Healthy Watershed Consortium Gran is a cooperative agreement to fund a single grantee which will be a pivotal expansion of our healthy watersheds protection efforts. The primary grant will be aimed at national non-profits, NGO’s, and state, tribal and interstate groups.  The grantee will competitively issue sub-award grants that will be available to individual states or tribes, interstate agencies, local entities, and non-profit organizations. The total amount of the grant is expected to be $3.75 million dollars over six years. Please follow this link for the grant announcement.

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