The BEAT News December 13, 2007

In the News:

MassDEP releases guidance: “Dam Removal and the Wetlands Regulations ”  

This document provides guidance for conservation commissions and the Department of Environmental Protection, as the permitting authorities, in the application of the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and its regulations.  MS Word  1 MB | PDF 929 KB

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In case you haven’t looked at it yet – Pittsfield’s new Open Space and Recreation Plan is now online.

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PETRICCA REZONING VOTE

written by Mike Ward

First a primer on process.  Many who contacted me didn’t realize that we require two votes (in consecutive meetings) on zoning changes in Pittsfield.  And it’s not as if we take the average of those two votes.  The first vote is absolutely meaningless from a parliamentary standpoint.  From a public information standpoint I think it actually serves a valuable function as a wake up call.  Speak now or forever hold your peace.

You may have noticed that some councilors offered a “closing statement” before voting in favor of the proposal on December 5th.  That is because they were satisfied with the fairness of the plan, and with good reason.  To offset the negative impact of his operation on the neighborhood, Perri Petricca had offered the following concessions:

-Petricca would place 51 acres of land into permanent conservation restriction, preventing industrial or residential development of any kind there.  This land, by the way, is situated directly between the neighborhood and the Petricca operation, creating a buffer area.

-Part of the Partridge Road corn field would be preserved by the conservation restrictions (roughly 10 out of 14 acres).

-Hours of use would be limited on the rezoned land.

-Berms and trees would be used to screen the site from neighbors.

Overall, this seemed like a pretty good balance between commercial growth and residential protection.  But it wasn’t good enough for the Partridge Road Group and it wasn’t good enough for Charlie Leitch.  Charlie is the farmer who has operated the famous Partridge Road Corn Stand all these years.  Charlie said he would not be returning to farm the diminished 10 acre field.

So what happened to change the council vote from 8-3 on December 5th to 10-1 on December 11th?

A lot happened.  Because of a willingness on the part of both the neighbors and Petricca to continue conversations,  a better plan — one that the Partridge Road Group and Charlie Leitch could actually support — came together.

In addition to the concessions listed above, Petricca added 4 more acres of conservation land.  This now includes the entire area Charlie planted corn on this year.  There were other new gains for the neighborhood that are less tangible, such as noise reduction policies at Unistress.  The Partridge Road Group voted to support the final plan and Charlie has pledged to return in 2008.

So Charlie will grow corn next year and the Partridge Road corn stand will remain the same.  But one thing will not be the same.  That corn field will no longer be prime residential real estate.  It will never be developed.  Charlie will retire some day and hopefully another farmer will move in.  And while we can’t say whether that field will contain corn or hay 20 years from now we can say that it will not contain condominiums.

Mike Ward

City Councilor

Ward 4 Pittsfield, MA

ward4ward4.com

413-499-0462

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Reduce waste this holiday season

Americans produce an estimated extra one million tons of waste every week between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.  This translates to an extra 5 million tons of waste added to landfills and combustion facilities.  Much of all this waste comes from cards, wrapping paper and product packaging. If every American family wrapped just three presents with reused materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

The Center for Ecological Technology (CET) is now working in schools and with the Town of Lee to demonstrate unique ways to reduce waste during the holidays such as how to make cards, gifts and wrapping paper out of recycled and reused materials.  Some ideas are to wrap the gift with part of the gift itself (like a scarf or necktie or pillowcase) and to give less packaged gifts like movie, theatre or concert tickets.

CET has produced a ReWrap brochure that shares these and other environmentally friendly gift-wrapping techniques as well as creative and fun gift ideas.  The brochure is available online at www.cetonline.org, or contact Shannon McDonough at shannonm@cetonline.org  or 413-445-4556, ext 17 and ask for a printed copy.

This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development.

CET is a non-profit organization working in the fields of energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste management and environmental education. CET provides practical solutions that make sense for our community, economy and environment. CET is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

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State Funds Available for Energy Audits for Town Buildings

The Center for Ecological Technology (CET) has been awarded a contract to provide energy audits for city and town buildings in western  Massachusetts . The goal of the Energy Audit Program, which is sponsored by the MA Department of Energy Resources (DOER), is to identify capital improvements that will help towns reduce energy costs.

Energy audits will be provided through the Energy Audit Program on a first-come first-serve basis.  A Town’s first step is to complete and submit an application to DOER.  Then DOER will assign a contractor to review the application and schedule the energy audits.  Schools, town halls, libraries, police and fire stations, water treatment plants and other facilities owned and operated by cities or towns are eligible for energy audits.  Wastewater treatment plants owned and operated by a District Wastewater Department or schools owned and operated by a Regional School District are also eligible.

In 2008, DOER plans to offer matching grants, up to $100,000 per town or school district, for implementing cost-effective energy efficiency measures like heating and cooling system upgrades, energy efficient lighting, energy management controls, pumps and motors. These help  reduce energy consumption for heating, cooling and electricity. In order to be eligible for funding, Towns need to have received a qualifying energy audit.  Utility incentives or other funds can be used for the match.

“Towns in Western Massachusetts are being hit hard by energy costs. Many haven’t had energy audits in more than a decade and technology has significantly advanced.  Energy efficiency is the best way to reduce costs and our impacts on the environment – something that so many citizens, businesses and municipal officials want to do,” said CET Director Laura Dubester.

“DOER is pleased to have CET as a partner in the Energy Audits Program,” said DOER Commissioner Philip Giudice. “Helping cities and towns find efficiency measures that will produce energy savings in these times of high energy prices is crucial.  By participating in this program, municipalities will save money, improve the environment and set an example for citizens of their communities.  Municipal energy audits are an important step toward long-term energy savings that will benefit us all.”

For more information, contact Scott Durkee, Energy Audit Program Manager at DOER (617) 727-4732, ext. 40156 or Laura Dubester at CET (413) 445-4556, ext. 13.

CET is a non-profit organization working in the fields of energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste management and environmental education. CET provides practical solutions that make sense for our community, economy and environment. CET is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

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Composting Toilets Serve Bronx Zoo Visitors

from the December 10, 2007 Water Headlines- a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the US Environmental Protection Agency‘s Office of Water

Visitors to the Bronx Zoo using the Bronx River Parkway entrance can experience the new “Eco-Restrooms” featuring composting toilets. These composting toilets use 95 percent less water per flush, eliminate sewage flowing to New York’s waste treatment plants, and the composting process creates fertilizer. Also, hand sinks in the Eco-Restroom use low flow faucets, in which all the water is used to irrigate areas around the building. These restrooms help protect the Bronx River and educate over 500,000 visitors annually about the value of water efficiency and recycling.

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Help pass the Safer Alternatives Bill

by writing a letter to the editor of your local paper

Dear Friend,

Chemical industry lobbyists worked hard this fall to prevent the passage of the Safer Alternatives to Toxic Chemicals Bill and they succeeded in delaying the vote until January. We need to keep up the pressure to make sure that the vote is not delayed any further. In December, while the legislature is in recess, we can publicly recognize our State Senators for their support of the bill and call them out if they held it up.

Please submit a letter to the editor (LTE) of your local paper and urge your local State Senator(s) to help pass the Safer Alternatives Bill quickly in January. Talking points are on the below.

Guidelines for LTEs:

  1. Short and to the point, some papers have a word limit
  2. Make your letter unique, papers don’t like to publish letters that look just like someone else’s.
  3. If you have more than one Senator in your town mention them all by name.
  4. Submit your letter by email. Look in the letters section or on the paper’s website to find the email address. If you need help, contact Elizabeth Saunders: esaunders@cleanwater.org or 617-338-8131 x203
  5. Many weekly papers get published on Thursdays. For those papers letters need to be submitted by Monday to get into that week’s paper.
  6. Send a copy of your LTE to the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow: esaunders@cleanwater.org. If it gets published, please mail us a hard copy (preferably from the paper, not the internet) for our campaign records.
  7. Be respectful of all Senators. If they are not yet allies, our goal should be to make them allies, and to avoid alienating anyone.

Talking Points:

  • Mention your State Senator(s) by Name and thank them for their support of S-2406 An Act for Healthy Massachusetts: Safer Alternatives to Toxic Chemicals or urge them to support it, as appropriate. (See below for specific information about your Senator.)
  • Describe what the legislation does: create a program to replace toxic chemicals with safer alternatives wherever feasible.
  • The bill is currently before the MA State Senate and was brought up for a vote twice in November but the vote was delayed.
  • The safer alternatives bill is good for business as it is flexible, practical, and will provide assistance to businesses to transition away from using toxic chemicals only when a safer alternative is available. Businesses will save money with healthier workers and will be able to better compete on the international market, which is moving towards less toxic products.
  • Describe why it’s important to you to get toxic chemicals out of products.
  • Urge your Senator(s) to make sure that the bill comes up for a vote in January.

Questions? Results to report?

Contact Elizabeth Saunders at the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow

262 Washington Street, #301Boston, MA 02108

esaunders@cleanwater.org

617-338-8131 x203

Massachusetts Senators:

If you are in the districts of Senators Tarr, Knapik, or Tisei, please send a draft of your LTE to esaunders@cleanwater.org before submitting it. These are important letters and we have to be very careful about what we say!

  • Antonioni – Urge him to support the bill
  • Augustus – Thank him for his support
  • Baddour – Thank him for his support
  • Berry – Urge him to support the bill
  • Brewer – Thank him for his support
  • Brown – Thank him for his support
  • Buoniconti – Urge him to support the bill
  • Candaras – Thank her for her support
  • Chandler – Thank her for her support
  • Creedon – Thank him for his support
  • Creem – Thank her for her support
  • Downing – Thank him for his support
  • Fargo – Thank her for her support
  • Galluccio – Thank him for his support
  • Hart – Thank him for his support
  • Hedlund – Thank him for his support
  • Jehlen – Thank him for his support
  • Joyce – Thank him for his support
  • *Knapik: Spoke on the Senate floor in support of delaying the vote on November 20th: Mention that he spoke on the Senate floor in support of delaying the vote and urge him strongly to allow it to come to a vote in January.
  • McGee – Thank him for his support
  • Menard – Urge her to support the bill
  • Montigny – Thank him for his support
  • Moore – Thank him for his support
  • Morrissey – Thank him for his support
  • Murray: Senate President: Thank her for her leadership on this issue and for bringing the bill to the floor for a vote in November.
  • O’Leary – Thank him for his support
  • Pacheco – Thank him for his support
  • Panagiotakos – Thank him for his support
  • Petruccelli – Thank him for his support
  • Resor: Chair of the Environment Committee: Thank her for her strong leadership on this bill, for leading the effort in the Senate to pass the bill, and for speaking on the Senate floor in support of the bill on November 20th.
  • Rosenberg – Thank him for his support
  • Spilka – Thank her for her support
  • *Tarr: Senate Assistant Minority Leader, called for the November 15th delay of the bill. Mention that he moved to delay the bill and urge him strongly to allow it to come to a vote in January.
  • Timilty – Thank him for his support
  • *Tisei: Senate Minority Leader, called for the November 20th delay of the bill. Mention that he moved to delay the bill and urge him strongly to allow it to come to a vote in January.
  • Tolman: Primary sponsor of the bill: Thank him for his strong leadership, for working hard to lead the effort in the Senate to pass the bill, and for speaking on the Senate floor in support of the bill on November 20th.
  • Tucker – Thank her for her support
  • Walsh – Thank her for her support
  • Wilkerson – Thank her for her support

Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow

262 Washington Street, Suite 301

Boston, MA 02108

617-338-8131

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South Hadley, Mass. Faces Fine for Clean Water Violations

(Boston, Mass. – December 12, 2007) – The town of South Hadley, Mass. faces a proposed fine of up to $157,500 for violations of the federal Clean Water Act related to the operation of its wastewater treatment facility and its combined storm water and sanitary sewer system.

During heavy rain events, water flows in the sewer system exceed its capacity and excess flow is discharged from three Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) outfalls into tributaries of the Connecticut River.

According to EPA’s New England office, the Town violated the terms of its water permit from January 2003 to July 2005 when it failed to measure and record all discharges from the system’s CSO outfalls.

Although the discharges from the CSO outfalls themselves are not prohibited by the Town’s water permit, the Town is required to closely monitor and record all discharges from the outfalls.

“These Clean Water Act violations prevented the EPA and the Town from knowing the quantity of pollutants being discharged into the Connecticut River and its tributaries,” noted Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “Furthermore, all permit holders must ensure that they are complying with their annual certification requirements.”

The Town has been under order from EPA since 1995 to work towards separating its sanitary sewers from its storm water sewers and eliminating all discharges from the CSO outfalls. The Town has steadily eliminated 12 of the original 15 CSO outfalls since that time and is on schedule to completely eliminate discharges from the three remaining CSO outfalls by the end of 2007.

EPA’s complaint also alleged that the Town failed to fully comply with conditions related to control of storm water discharges from the treatment plant facility.

More Information:

 

EPA’s Clean Water Enforcement in New England (epa.gov/region1/enforcement/water)

 

Storm water issues in New England (epa.gov/region1/topics/water/stormwater)

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Shaping the Future of Your Community: A Citizen’s Guide to Involvement in Community Planning, Land Protection, and Project Review in Massachusetts Now available online at www.massaudubon.org/shapingthefuture this publication describes the state and local government bodies and laws associated with land management and natural resource protection. The updated version, now available for download, has enhanced tools for effective citizen involvement, numerous web links to sources of additional information, and helpful tips on how to get involved and make a difference in your community. Mass Audubon’s Losing Ground series documents the changes in Massachusetts land use. This series exposes the harsh reality of land loss in Massachusetts: More land has been developed in Massachusetts in the last 40 years than in the previous 340 years. This trend shows no signs of slowing. Shaping the Future is Mass Audubon’s response to Losing Ground. There are many ways that an individual can make a real difference and help shape a better future for your community and the Commonwealth. The emphasis of this guide is on participation with implementation and application of community laws, regulations, and policies because it is often at the local level that citizens can have the most significant influence on land use practices. The guidebook Shaping the Future of Your Community gives you the tools for active involvement. It also guides in determining what you can do to minimize the impacts of a development project that has already been proposed. Using this guide, you can craft and implement effective strategies to: * Update and implement community plans * Identify and protect the highest priority lands * Provide incentives for well-planned growth * And establish and apply regulations to minimize the impacts of development

Multiple copies of brochure available upon request to advocacy@massaudubon.org.

Heidi E. Heidi Ricci

Senior Policy Analyst

Mass Audubon

208 South Great Road

Lincoln, MA 01773

781-259-2172

FAX 781-259-1089

hricci@massaudubon.org

If you support our public policy initiatives, advocacy positions & environmental projects, join over 100,000 other people as a Mass Audubon member at: www.massaudubon.org

 

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The Department of Conservation and Recreation has just posted a position for a Recreational Trails Program Coordinator.

The description is on-line. Deadline is January 3, 2008.

 

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BEAT report on Mass. Environmental Collaborative meeting & new DEP Commissioner

Two of us from the Berkshires, Tad Ames from Berkshire Natural Resources Council and Jane Winn from Berkshire Environmental Action Team, attended the Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative (MEC) meeting in Boston on November 29, 2007.

The meeting covered three topics before the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Laurie Burt arrived.

  • Environmental Bond – There will be many bond bills coming up in the first half of 2008. One is the Environmental Bond bill. Although we do not know exactly what will be included, we want to form a large, vocal coalition to be able to quickly express support for a strong Environmental Bond to be passed quickly. Jeremy Marin (617-947-2409) is the organizer for the Coalition for the Environmental Bond. Look below for more information from Jeremy. If you would be willing to call your legislator at a key moment, please let BEAT know. We will send you an “Action Alert” telling you whom to call with bullet points on why we support a strong Environmental Bond Bill.
  • Energy – Massachusetts Climate Action Network and Conservation Law Foundation spoke about the “Speaker’s Energy Bill” which was not what the environmental community was looking for, and how changes have been made to improve it. Items we are looking for in a final bill will include greatly increased energy efficiency, green building code, strong tax credits (weak right now), a modified Renewable Energy Trust rather than scraping it and trying to start all over which would take years. We need a statewide siting plan for all new energy. No source of energy is without environmental costs. We need a plan that takes into account the entire life cycle costs of each form and encourages the least environmental impact for the most energy gain.
  • Water – We all know that Atlanta, Georgia experienced a terrible drought this summer. According to one study, Atlanta was #1 to be prone for a drought, and #2 was the belt between Routes 495 and 128 in Massachusetts! We need a long term, sustainable, comprehensive water policy. Part of the policy must be to protect stream flow. Water should be kept local – put it back, clean and ideally into the ground, near where it was taken out. Registered withdrawals (companies that withdraw greater than 100,000 million gallons per day) will expire in 2008. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection needs to put conditions on all permits to maintain “safe yield” and keep our streams flowing.

The new Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Laurie Burt spoke to the MEC. She is passionate about Climate Change, and very competitive – if another state is doing a better job, she wants to beat them. She touched upon her five E’s: Environment, Energy, Economy, Efficiency, and Enforcement. She mentioned streamlined permitting, setting goals and objectives for greenhouse gasses, looking at streamflow during renewal of water withdrawal registrations, a revolving loan fund for brownfield cleanups, and a goal of zero waste for Massachusetts. She then took questions and promised to get back to a few people – including Jane.

Jane followed up with an email with more specifics on her issue – local conservation commissions issuing permits on large projects before the project undergoes its Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act review which is designed to bring forward all environmentally significant issues. The problem is that if the conservation commission makes a mistake or is not rigorous in its analysis, that cannot be revisited under the MEPA process. Jane also proposed a solution.

Commissioner Burt responded the same day, and promised to review the issue with DEP staff and be back in touch shortly. Thank you to Commissioner Laurie Burt for being so responsive!

 

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Red Tailed HawkOn the way to the meeting, Jane stopped to take pictures of one of the resident red tailed hawks in Boston Commons.

Join the Coalition to pass a strong Environmental Bond Bill

Governor Deval Patrick and Environmental Secretary Ian Bowles will soon announce a new five-year Environmental Bond Bill for Massachusetts.  As you know, this is one of the most important pieces of legislation for protecting natural areas, working farms, rivers and streams, water quality, tourism, and our economy. State programs that support these goals will be depending on a new bond for funding over the next five years.

In 2002, we passed a major Environmental Bond Bill in large part because such a broad and diverse partnership stood together in support. Almost 200 organizations presented a unified voice that the Governor and Legislature heard. Endorsers of the Coalition included land trusts, hunters and anglers, water quality advocates, farmers, foresters, gardeners, friends of parks groups, municipal leaders, and business people.

To pass another Environmental Bond Bill this year that incorporates a significant infusion of money for land protection and management, water quality, geographic information systems data, agriculture and more, we are asking you to join us.

Some groups already part of the Coalition include:

  • Appalachian Mountain Club
  • Audubon Massachusetts
  • Environmental League of Massachusetts
  • Mass. Land Trust Coalition
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • The Trustees of Reservations
  • The Trust for Public Land

The Environmental Bond has not been released yet (we expect the Governor to file the bill with the Legislature in January), but to be as effective and unified as possible we are not wasting any time. Endorsers of the last Coalition included land trusts, hunters and anglers, water quality advocates, farmers, foresters, gardeners, friends of parks groups, municipal leaders, and business people.

Please join the Coalition for the Environmental Bond by signing and sending back the attached pdf form.  PLEASE JOIN US TODAY!

 

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Hi folks interested in Springside Park,

At last night’s Pittsfield Park Commission meeting – the recommendation for a dog park will be smack dab in the middle of Springside Park. This will ruin peaceful walks, bird watching, small animal habitats, summer concerts, etc., etc. Mr. Garivaltis  immediately opposed it but parks commissioner Labarberra, who chairs the dog park committee, said that there will be no change in her recommendation. It may come before the Commission for a vote at next month’s meeting.

If you are interested in this issue either attend the next Park Commission meeting (December 18th, Pittsfield City Hall,70 Allen Street, Room 203 at 7p.m.) or send the Commission official comments that you would like to have on the record to:

Pittsfield Board of Parks Commissioners

Parks & Recreation

874 North Street

Phone: (413) 499-9343

Fax: (413) 448-2867

 

BEAT suggested a better place might be a the end of Industrial Drive. Of course this is a property that the City does not yet own.

Jane

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North American Wetlands Conservation Council Small Grants Program:

The Small Grants Program is a competitive, matching grants program that supports public-private partnerships carrying out projects in the United States that further the goals of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. These projects must involve long-term protection, restoration, and/or enhancement of wetlands and associated uplands habitats for the benefit of all wetlands-associated migratory birds.

This program supports the same type of projects and adheres to the same selection criteria and administrative guidelines as the U.S. Standard Grants Program. However, project activities are usually smaller in scope and involve fewer project dollars. Grant requests may not exceed $75,000, and funding priority is given to grantees or partners new to the Act’s Grants Program.

History

The North American Wetlands Conservation Council created the Small Grants Program in 1996 to encourage new grantees and partners to carry out smaller-scale, long-term wetlands conservation projects that may otherwise not be able to compete in the U.S. Standard Grants Program. The Small Grants Program has also become an important catalyst in developing a pool of new grantees and/or partners for the Standard Grants Program. In recent years, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission has approved $2 million in funding for the Small Grants Program annually.

The Process

Each year, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (Commission) approves the total amount of funding to be distributed to projects under the Small Grants Program in the following fiscal year. Applicants submit project proposals to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of Bird Habitat Conservation (Division) for the program’s one funding cycle per year. After a preliminary review by Division staff, Joint Venture Coordinators, and North American Wetlands Conservation Council staff, eligible proposals are presented to the Council for further review and ranking. The Council, which has been delegated final approval authority by the Commission, then selects the slate of projects to be funded and informs the Commission on its decision. The Division is responsible for administering the grants for the approved projects.

Current Funding

A total of $2 million has been approved to support projects in FY 2007.

Accomplishments

From 1996, when the program began, to September 2007, some 961 partners in 359 projects have received more than $16.3 million in grants. They have contributed another $79.5 million in matching funds and $33 million in nonmatching funds to their projects, which have helped to conserve approximately 136,586 acres of habitat.

Contacts

Contact the Joint Venture Coordinator in your project area for assistance with developing a project proposal, for information about how proposals are ranked, and/or for guidance on Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and National Historic Preservation Act compliance requirements.

For general program information, contact the Small Grants Program Coordinator: Rodecia McKnight (rodecia_mcknight@fws.gov), (703) 358-2266

return to topWell, it’s that time again!  Our first application deadline in 2008 for both the NEGEF small grants (New England wide) and Boston Grants Initiative programs is fast approaching.  Applications postmarked by January 15th will be considered for funds distributed in April.  This is a great chance for you to help us reconnect with previous grantees and reach out to new grantees!  Please let groups know about this upcoming deadline!

Application forms and final report forms are available on the NEGEF website, www.grassrootsfund.org. While you’re there, check out new and updated additions to the site as well: Upcoming Events, Frequently Asked Questions, and our 2007 Grassroots Retreat page complete with videos highlighting the Lake Winnipesaukee event.return to top

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