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In the News:
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| Lakeside Restaurant violation The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has issued a Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO) and a penalty assessment notice totaling $27,300 to Lakeside Restaurant Inc. for violation of the Massachusetts Clean Water Act.
The order requires the closed Route 8 restaurant to immediately pump and then abandon the existing failed Title 5 sewage disposal system, to upgrade an existing second system and to pay the penalty. Mass DEP investigated a complaint and found sewage flowing from a tank that was supposed to have been abandoned into an adjacent wetland. A second system built in 2002 was undersized, improperly installed, improperly maintained, and not properly permitted – it was installed in a public water supply protection zone. Thank you to whoever turned in this violation! <Berkshire Eagle story> |
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| Adams Greylock Glen proposal moves forward Greylock Glen, the 1,063-acre site at the foot of Mount Greylock in Adams, could be developed by the town if it is chosen as the “designated developer” following a public meeting tentatively scheduled for March 30, at 6:30 p.m., at the town library.
The town submitted plans including a multi-use trail system, an environmental education center, a performing arts amphitheater, a camping area, and a lodging and meeting facility, for Greylock Glen to the state in September 2004. In addition, nearly 1,000 acres would be permanently protected. Mass Audubon, Appalachian Mountain Club, Mass MoCA, and Mass. College of Liberal Arts have all shown support this proposal. The plan needs approval from state agencies such as the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Mass Development and the Division of Capital Asset Management, along with a review through the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, and the town needs to reach disposition, development, and lease agreements with the state, which owns the land. For more than two decades, Greylock Glen has been the subject of debates between the town and the state and between development supporters and environmentalists. Earlier plans for the site included casino gambling and a golf course. |
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| Filters with possible PCB evidence, thrown awayThe filters from the air exchange machines at the Allendale Elementary School have apparently been thrown away. Tim Gray, Director of the Housatonic River Initiative, said Board of Health Director Philip Adamo reiterated last week, when the state Department of Public Health held a meeting at the school, that these filters would not be changed.
According to the Berkshire Eagle article: Superintendent of Schools Katherine E. Darlington said that the air filters inside the school were supposed to be changed in December, and that school custodians changed them during school vacation last week as part of their regular maintenance. “It was part of the routine maintenance that was going to be done,” Darlington said. Darlington, who did not attend last week’s meeting, was unaware of any agreement to save the filters. David Martindale of California Avenue, whose daughter attends Allendale, said he was both “angry” and “incensed” that the air filters had been disposed of. “This is a travesty,” he said. “Everybody talks about data, and now the last piece has been thrown out. It seems very convenient that this happened. It’s not like it was a big secret that we didn’t want the filters changed.” School staff members known as the “Allendale Safety Committee” released a written statement yesterday expressing their frustration at the most recent turn of events. “We are frustrated and disturbed by the lack of communication between our city officials and state agencies,” the committee’s statement read. “There is no one person overseeing the PCB issue at Allendale school. As a result, different groups are unaware of what others are doing. |
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| Vermont farm burns grass pellets for heatBy David Gram, Associated Press
excerpt from the North Adams Transcript Monday, February 27 SHELBURNE, Vt. — It cost Shelburne Farms about $1,000 a year to mow grass that doesn’t end up as hay for the animals and simply goes to waste. Now staff at the historic farm have come up with a use for it: turn it to pellets and burn them to heat the massive main barn. ”This is a small step toward a much bigger future,” Jock Gill, president of the non-profit Grass Energy Collaborative. The hope at Shelburne Farms is to gather sun-dried grass from the farm, as well as neighboring farms, use a special machine to turn the grass in to pellets and burn it much the way wood pellets are burned in boilers now. Robert Bender, president of South Burlington-based Chiptec Wood Energy Systems, said pellets can be used as fuel for combined heat and power systems. Jock Gill of the Grass Energy Collaborative issued a white paper detailing what it believes are some of the promised benefits of grass pellets. |
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| “Green” Development in Dalton Connecticut-based developer, Gary Kaye, hopes to build Franklin Acres, a community of “green” homes in Dalton, a project that boasts it is first development of its kind in the Northeast.
The proposal is to build approximately 140 “zero-net” energy efficient homes in a condominium community on approximately 500 acres in the hilly area behind the much smaller, 60 unit, Silver Maple Farm project, formerly Burgner Farm, on Dalton Division Road in a residential-agricultural zone. A conceptual site plan for the project shows a clustered subdivision from Pleasant View Drive, down to Kirchner Road and back out on Dalton Division Road. The Dalton Planning Board is currently scheduled to address the Franklin Acres project at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. March 15 in Town Hall.Kaye said he hopes to file a preliminary proposal some time in May and would like to submit a final plan this fall. The proposed homes would range in size from 2,000 to 4,000 square feet with base home prices ranging from approximately $624,000 to $888,000. Approximately 300 acres of the plan will be open space and a portion of it might be deeded for public access such as trails for horseback riding, mountain biking, cross country skiing and the natural amenity of access to the Appalachian Trail. The development has received a letter of interest from General Electric Co. to help market Franklin Acres as the first, “Ecomagination Breakthrough Community” under GE’s Ecomagination program. Ironically, the project will be a couple of miles east of General Electric’s two toxic waste dumps that it refuses to clean up in Pittsfield. |
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| Great Barrington Fairgrounds MEPA review There will be a public meeting on March 7, at 11 am at the Great Barrington Town Hall for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs to gather more information about the $38 million proposal to develop the Great Barrington Fairgrounds. F Group LLC, a group of New York City investors, has proposed construction of a 100-room hotel, 60 condominiums, an events facility and retails space on the fairgrounds property. The property includes about 57 acres of floodplain along the Housatonic River.
The developers have prepared an Environmental Notification Form (ENF) that triggers a Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) review of the environmental impacts of the proposed development. You do not have to attend the meeting to comment. For copies of the developer’s ENF call The purpose of MEPA is to bring to the table all the important information about the site and the proposed development. The review can find that the ENF (and subsequent submittals by the applicant before the Certificate is issued) was insufficient to determine the environmental impacts – in which case the proponent would have to start all over again. Or the Certificate can require a more complete environmental review, by calling for an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) – usually done in two phases; a draft and a final report. Or the Certificate can find that the ENF adequately describes the potential impacts and the other reviews can proceed. The company’s principals are Anthony Errico and Anthony Fauci. Fauci is married to the former Elaine Ward, whose family owns Ward’s Nursery. The company has a contract to buy the property from fairgrounds owner Henry D. Vara of Boston. The engineering firm Fuss & O’Neill prepared the report, which indicates potential impact on rare plant and animal species on the property as well as close proximity to the flood-plain area. There will also be an increase in traffic with an estimated 8,594 car trips per day going in and out of the complex. The fairgrounds project will require layers of review by town boards, but no zoning variances. The will be a review by the town’s Conservation Commission, and a special permit is required from the Selectmen. EOEA No. 13735, The Fairgrounds Mixed-Use Development Project, Great Barrington Comments due by For copies call MEPA analyst You can email comments to Briony or mail comments to : Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, Attn: MEPA Office EOEA #13639, MEPA Analyst Briony Angus, 100 Cambridge St. Suite 900, Boston MA 02114 |
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| Worries about wells on Wells Road, Cheshire Residents discuss subdivision plans
By Patrick G. Rheaume, Berkshire Eagle Staff Berkshire Eagle Tuesday, February 28 CHESHIRE — More than two dozen people crowded into a meeting room at Town Hall to talk about water, which some neighbors believe could disappear from their wells or flood their basements as a result of a proposed housing development on Wells Road. <see the rest of the Berkshire Eagle article> Francis A. Waterman Jr. plans a nine-lot, 36-acre subdivision, including two paved streets of 1,100 feet and less than 400 feet ending in cul-de-sacs, and lots that measure from 1.5 to 8.4 acres. Each house would have an individual well and septic system. Mr. Waterman is the chairman of the municipal Water Commission. He acknowledged that much of the property proposed for development forms a basin where rainwater collects and flows to other areas, and he said that an underground river runs beneath the parcel. Michael W. Janowycz operated a dairy farm on the property for decades before retiring. Waterman purchased the farmland, located near the Stafford Hill Wildlife Management Area, five or six years ago. Vincent P. Guntlow Associates, an engineering and architectural firm in Williamstown, created the plans, which are available at the Cheshire Town Hall. The subdivision needs approval from the Board of Health and the Selectmen acting as the Conservation Commission, as well as the Planning Board, which has scheduled a site visit, open to the public, for early spring. The project will also require a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater general construction permit. |
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| Questioning of Foxwood Lane Development on TVShade latest woe in road fight
By Karen Gardner, North Adams Transcript Sunday, February 26 WILLIAMSTOWN — Shade was the central issue at a recent Conservation Commission meeting during which the board continued its public hearing of an application by Charles W. Fox for the construction of a gravel road through his proposed Foxwood Lane development. In what Christopher Winters, vice chairman, called a “fairly unusual” circumstance, the Thursday meeting was televised on Willinet. Although Fox was not in attendance, about a dozen interested residents showed up. The meeting sounded more like a court of law than a board meeting as attorneys Jamie Art and Elisabeth Goodman argued their positions in support of Fox and Williamstown Concerned Citizens, respectively. Board member Philip McKnight, who also is an attorney, took over much of the questioning. Shade resulting from three planned culverts over a stream on the approximately 70-acre property, which is located off Bee Hill Road, would have an adverse impact on vegetation growing along its banks, said Goodman. Fox plans to subdivide the property into seven building lots this year, adding an eighth lot next year.<more> BEAT’s note: The next Williamstown Conservation Commission meeting will be Thursday, March 23, at 7pm in the town offices. You can check with Town Clerk, Mary Kennedy, at 458-9341 to find out how to take a look at the developer’s plans ahead of time. |
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| Wal-Mart developer to appeal permitBy Patrick M. Cardle and Chris Parker, Bennington Banner
Thursday, February 23 BENNINGTON, Vt. — A developer who won a town permit to build a 112,000-square-foot Wal-Mart will now have to convince the state Environmental Court to let the project go forward. The Vermont Natural Resources Council, acting on behalf of Citizens for a Greater Bennington, which opposes the project, recently appealed the town permit to the state court. <more> |
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| Natural Resource Damages Grant Update The Meeting Minutes and Questions and Informal Responses from the Applicant Conference have been posted on the website. | |
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Activities to resume at Newell St II Barrel Field Site 2/13/2006 Beginning February 13, GE, under EPA and Mass DEP oversight, will resume |
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| Dorothy Amos Park – MORE testingIn a Supplemental Sampling Summary Report dated January 31, 2006, GE calls for doing yet more testing at Dorothy Amos Park. This will be the third set of “additional” sampling. BEAT carefully examined the most recent report and sent a written request asking that DEP require GE to sample to a depth of 10 feet at specific locations where GE has currently sampled to 5 feet or less. GE is currently suggesting that they sample to 7 feet. | |
| Pines at Bousquet Developer fined $15,000 again, this time for waste violationsThe Department of Environmental Protection fined L.D. Builders LLC of Dalton $15,000 for violations of the state’s Solid Waste Management regulations. In 2003, they were fined the same amount for erosion control failures at Silver Maple Farm development (Burgner’s).
L.D. Builders, a construction company owned by developer David A. Ward of Hinsdale, worked on the property on Pine Cone Lane in Hinsdale, known as Ashmere Landings. During the construction of the condominium complex, wood waste generated by the clearing of the site, as well as other construction wastes, was buried in three distinct locations on the property, according to the DEP. Partially buried tree stumps and hazardous, pressure-treated wood scraps were among the materials discovered. Land filling of wood waste and construction waste during land development projects is a violation of the laws and regulations governing solid waste management in Massachusetts. The three dump sites were discovered over the course of several site inspections between February and May 2005. In addition to the $15,000 penalty, L.D. Builders is required to excavate the solid wastes by September and manage them in a manner which is consistent with the protection of public health, safety and the environment. In addition, during the inspections, a common use recreation area was discovered at Ashmere Landings. This included a public water supply for a drinking fountain and bathrooms, which the property didn’t have a permit for. The developer disconnected the water supply. In a press release received yesterday, Michael Gorski, director of the Mass DEP’s Western Regional Office said, “This is not the first time that this company has come to our attention.” He referred to a fine of the same amount issued as a violation of the state’s Wetlands Protection Act in October 2003, for failure to control erosion on the Silver Maple Farm site following an August rainstorm. “It is unfortunate that some very experienced developers either are not aware of, or choose to ignore their environmental obligations,” said Gorski. For more about the Pines visit BEAT’s Pines at Bousquet page. |
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| Pittsfield Generating Plant starting up againThe Pittsfield Generating Plant has sent its draft Operating Permit Renewal to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). This permit sets forth the rules that Pittsfield Generating will have to follow – including what monitoring, record keeping, and emission limitations they will have to do.
BEAT has concerns about this permit. Pittsfield Generating is right next to General Electric Companies two toxic waste dumps – Hill 78 and Building 71 The area the Generating Plant was built on was highly toxic. This plant pumps water from far underground to use in making the steam it emits. They use natural gas to heat the water to make the steam. Because of our concerns, BEAT emailed John Kirzec at DEP to ask for a public hearing. His response was that we must make that request in writing and include what are concerns are. First of all, BEAT considers an email request to be in writing, but we will submit a list of concerns by both email and regular mail asking for a public hearing. We received a response that this permit is aimed at the air quality implications of the fuel they burn. Our questions were mostly about the water – from under the GE site – that is emitted as steam. There will not be a public hearing, but BEAT has been promised a response to all our questions. There is a public comment period until 5 pm February 25. Written comments may be submitted to : Craig Goff, Permit Chief, Mass DEP, 436 Dwight St., 5th Floor, |
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| Perpetuity -or- Until a better offer comes alongBoston Globe Op-Ed – February 13, 2006
By Tad Ames, Berkshire Natural Resources Council AT THE UNVEILING of his family’s plan to turn Springlawn Mansion in Lenox into a hotel, James Jurney Jr. put his finger on the most engaging aspect of the old estate: ”The magic of Springlawn is the back lawn.” Jurney speaks with directness. While the building is attractive from the front, he said, the true splendor of its design and site does not become obvious until one passes through the entrance hall, out the back of the building, and down to the foot of the lawn. Turning back and gazing up, there it is: the mansion on the hill. You are welcome to take this walk yourself: Thanks to a historic preservation and conservation restriction for which Massachusetts taxpayers paid $500,000, the property is open to the public. The state made the deal with property owner Shakespeare & Company in June 2000. In exchange for the half-million dollar boost to the perennially strapped theatrical group, the pact established an open space buffer between historic downtown Lenox and the company’s bustling campus. It limited use of the mansion to residential and theatrical uses, ordered that the historic facades remain intact, and required public walking trails. The agreement was to bind all future owners of the property in perpetuity. It turns out that ”perpetuity” may be defined as ”until a better offer comes along.” Last summer, James Jurney Sr. purchased the Springlawn Mansion and 15 additional acres for $3.3 million from Shakespeare & Company. A transplanted motelier from Myrtle Beach, S.C., Jurney Sr. made it clear it was his family’s intention to create a ”luxury boutique resort” with a restaurant, swimming pool, tennis courts, and a formal garden. The public would no longer be welcome to the ”magic” spot on the lawn, but the Jurneys would be willing to create a walking trail through the woods, around the far side of a ledgy wooded hillock and through a swampy thicket to a pond and then on to the street. What about the state’s restrictions on the property, which clearly prohibit this vision? According to Jurney Sr., that was a ”gamble.” Including language in the deed that promised $600,000 more to Shakespeare & Company if the prohibitions were lifted was one way to better the odds. Springlawn Mansion is a vestige of the Gilded Age, a time when magnates and robber barons erected sumptuous ”cottages” in the Berkshires while the vast majority of the people scratched and clawed and tugged their forelock. The scales by which scratching and clawing are measured have changed, but things are not so different today. South Berkshire seems in danger of being reduced to a stop on the lifestyle circuit for the rich. There are many good people on this circuit. However unwittingly, their appetites are creating a new societal stratification, one that obliterates the humble character and soul of a place and turns communities into ”destinations” where the sushi is to die for. Along with their exquisite design sense and ambitious vision, the Jurney family appears to have a collective eagerness to do things the right way. They are hard-working and transparent in their goals. They have hired a skilled team of respected professionals to help take them through the legal and permitting thickets. With the charm offensive launched in Lenox, next stop is Boston, where the folks at the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts Historical Commission will review the family’s request to undo the restrictions. The request to turn public land into private gold will hardly come in a vacuum. The state Constitution was amended in 1972 to require approval of two-thirds of the members of both Legislative houses before any public conservation lands can be converted to development purposes. Once a rare occurrence, these so-called ”Article 97″ land transfers have become relatively commonplace. A 2001 MassPIRG study found that 40 parcels of public land had been turned over to private developers in the three previous years. If this turns out to be Springlawn’s fate, life will change for Lenox seniors and dog-walkers. After entering the grounds on the new trail from Old Stockbridge Road, the walker will catch a quick glimpse of the mansion and gardens before being led into the woods and around the back of that ledgy little hill. The Jurneys’ representatives have taken pains to point out that the rocky hill will be preserved, but will not be open to the public: too dangerous. What danger is it, one might ask, that we will hear the thwock of a tennis ball coming from the grounds of the boutique resort, but that we will not see the players, nor they us? Tad Ames is the president of the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, a |
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| Masswoods.net LaunchedGreetings Friends of Forest Conservation,
We are pleased to announce the launch of MassWoods.net Typically, most landowners go about their day-to-day routines and passively MassWoods.net features an interactive map to direct landowners to local Each month a new update will be posted aimed at delivering timely and Although MassWoods targets landowners at decision making times, this site In addition, MassWoods encourages landowners to consider the role their We hope that MassWoods helps bring information on forests and land The site will be maintained and regularly updated by Paul Catanzaro, Paul Catanzaro and Dave Kittredge Forest Conservation Program |
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| BioMap Receives National RecognitionBioMap, produced by MassWildlife¹s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species
Program, is an important statewide conservation planning tool that identifies areas of importance for protecting the state¹s biodiversity. Recently, BioMap was selected as a Case Study by the Conservation Fund. The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit land conservation organization, shares sustainable conservation solutions from around the country emphasizing the integration of economic and environmental goals. A review of BioMap by the Conservation Fund was recently posted on This is not the first time BioMap has been recognized as an important report; in 2002 the Massachusetts Audubon Society awarded its Audubon “A” Award for the BioMap project, ³recognizing exceptional action on behalf of the living environment². More information about the BioMap can be found in the Natural Heritage area of MassWildlife¹s website |
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Vermont Sues Over Burning Tires Vermont’s attorney general, William Sorrell, has filed suit against Sorrell said the suit names the New York Department of Environmental Vermont has been fighting the test burn since it was proposed in 2003, but the state has no official standing. An environmental group centered in Vermont, People for Less Pollution, is keeping close watch on this project. NOTE: Friends of Hudson is fighting a similar problem with Lafarge’s plan to burn nearly 5 million tires in its Albany County cement kiln located 25 miles west of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. |
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from MACC DAR FINALIZES STATE INVASIVE PLANT RULES As of January 1, 2006, the Mass. Dept. of Agricultural Resources began a two-step ban on the importation and sale of more than 140 plants identified as either noxious and/or invasive in the Commonwealth. The list of plants has been in development for three years in collaboration with a number of agencies and organizations including Mass. Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA) and the Mass. Invasive Plants Advisory Group (MIPAG). During the extensive public comment and review period, timelines were Please visit this link which contains the following: 1.) Final (effective 1/1/06) prohibited plant list 2.) DAR response to public comments 3.) Press Release ________________________________________ from MACC STATE REQUIRES OWNERS TO REGISTER DAMS The state Dept of Conservation and Recreation, Office of Dam Safety, has sent out letters to owners of dams requiring them to register them. They went out within the last month and must be returned to ODS within 30 days from the date of receipt. The cost is $75.00 per dam, and there is a $500 per day penalty for not complying. Municipalities, state & federal agencies are exempt from the costs, but land trusts and other non-profits are not. |
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| Dams and Flow Legislation Progress Expected on Dam Removal and Instream Flow Standards The Joint Committee on Environment will hold an Executive Session on
February 27th, and we expect legislation related to dam removal and instream flow standards to both be reported out favorably. For full texts of the legislation, please contact ELM VP for Policy Nancy Goodman |
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| EPA Ignoring Public Opposition to Testing Chemicals on KidsSeveral months ago, the Organic Consumers Association alerted its readers to an EPA proposed rule that would allow pesticide and other chemical testing on children. Over 50,000 comments were generated to the EPA condemning this proposal. Despite overwhelming input from citizens, congress, and EPA’s own scientists opposing the proposed rule, the agency’s administrators have announced they are days away from approving the proposal and allowing chemical testing on children.
“The fact that EPA allows pesticide testing of any kind on the most vulnerable, including abused and neglected children, is simply astonishing,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. Even EPA’s own scientists are speaking out against the agency’s proposed rule. “I am somewhat dismayed that this rule was presented in such a complex — and I would have to say, tricky — way,” said Suzanne Wuerthele, a regional toxicologist for the EPA. Earlier in 2005, Congress mandated that the EPA must ban all chemical testing on humans without exception, in order for the agency to be allocated its full budget. EPA has clearly failed to do this with this proposed rule. |
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| Local Buying Guide Pilot Project from New American DreamTruly helping people live consciously, buy wisely, and join with others to make a difference in your community involves more than pointing people to nationally focused materials, it calls for an understanding and appreciation local flavor. Take a look at the Local Buying Guide Pilot Project from New American Dream. | |
