In the News:
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Berkshire Gateway at Lee MEPA Site Visit 11/21An Expanded Environmental Notification Form (EENF) has been submitted to the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) office for a proposed project titled Berkshire Gateway at Lee. The EENF requests a waiver from preparing a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR). BEAT will request that the waiver be denied. This project exceeds the mandatory threshold for traffic. In addition it is in the floodplain and abuts the Housatonic River. We feel a full EIR is warranted.
The proponent is F.L. Roberts & Co., Inc of Springfield, and the engineering firm is SK Design Group. The public is invited to a MEPA site visit: Tuesday, November 21st, 2006 10:30 am Meet at the site on Pleasant Street/Route 102 in Lee, near MTA Exit 2 and the intersection of US-20 and Route 102. Comments are due December 8, 2006. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission will also be submitting Clearinghouse Review comments. Their review of their comments before submission is a public meeting and well worth attending. The project proposes a multi-use development consisting of a 93 room hotel, a 210 seat restaurant, a convenience store, a 2-bay car wash, a gasoline station and a truck fueling facility. The project site is bounded to the north by the on-ramp at Interchange #2 of the Mass Turnpike; to the east by Route 102; to the south by commercial property; and to the west by the Housatonic River. The project site is currently almost entirely developed, consisting of vacant buildings and paved or gravel parking surfaces. A portion of the site is subject to an Activity and Use Limitation (AUL) in accordance with MGL c. 21E and the Massachusetts Contingency Plan. The first four pages of the ENF can be seen on the MEPA website (pdf). The project requires a NPDES Stormwater Permit; a Access Permit from the Massachusetts Highway Department; review from the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP); an Order of Conditions from the Lee Conservation Commission; and other local approvals as needed from the Lee Planning Board and ZBA. The proponent has submitted an EENF with a request for a Full Waiver from the requirement to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the project. The project meets MEPA’s review threshold for a Mandatory EIR because it will result in more than 3,000 new vehicle trips on Saturdays. The proponent has submitted a Traffic Impact and Access Study and proposed mitigation with the EENF. A site visit and consultation meeting will be held to receive advice and comments from agencies, officials, and citizens regarding which environmental issues, if any, are significant for this project. Opinions as to the extent and significance of possible environmental impact will be welcome. The merits of the proponent’s request for a waiver will also be considered. |
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Dorothy Amos Park and the West Branch of the Housatonic River Update The General Electric Company (GE) has responded to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s review of their Supplemental Sampling Report and submitted a Remedial Action Proposal for remediating the West Branch of the Housatonic River next to Dorothy Amos Park.
Addendum to Second Supplemental Sampling Summary Report and Remedial Action Proposal for the West Branch of the Housatonic River (pdf) |
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Unkamet Brook – Will Pittsfield’s plan dump even more PCBs into the Housatonic River?BEAT presents this in two parts. Part I of the Berkshire Eagle article introduces the City of Pittsfield’s plan to “remove sediment” from parts of Unkamet Brook. While this project might sound good, BEAT believes it may be a MAJOR PROBLEM for Unkamet Brook. At the end of the news story follow the link to Part II to see why BEAT believes this plan will causes an unknown quantity of PCBs and other hazardous chemicals to be flushed into the Housatonic River upstream of the “clean up”.
Part I: Excerpt: $474,600 in funds for river initiative – By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff Article Launched:10/27/2006 03:07:04 AM EDT Friday, October 27 PITTSFIELD — The state Department of Environmental Protection has recommended that the city of Pittsfield receive $207,000 in federal funding for the Oak Hill Tributary Project, an initiative designed to remove sediment and prevent erosion in the area where Unkamet Brook intersects with the east branch of the Housatonic River. The city plans to use the funding to clear areas of Unkamet Brook around Glenn Drive, Oak Hill Avenue, Partridge Road and Crane Avenue, Collingwood said. Plans call for the installation of detention basins to prevent erosion, he added. The Pittsfield project is one of 10 similar Massachusetts initiatives that the state DEP has recommended receive $1.6 million in fiscal 2007 funding through the Section 319 Nonpoint Source Competitive Grant Program. The funding is expected to be available this fall. All of the programs are expected to begin in the spring of 2007. The entire cost of the Oak Hill project is $474,600. The remaining $267,600 will be paid out of the city’s $2 million capital budget, which includes funding for three stormwater improvement initiatives, Public Works Commissioner Bruce Collingwood said yesterday. The Section 319 grant program focuses on the implementation of measures to control non-point sources of water BEAT – While the concept sounds good, BEAT is much more concerned with the toxic waste in Unkamet Brook than the nutrients. Please read our Unkamet Brook: Making a Bad Situation Worse. |
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Symposium on Alternative Remedial Technologies to Destroy PCBspresented by: The Housatonic River Initiative Friday, November 17, 9:00 – 3:00 Crowne Plaza Hotel, One West St., Pittsfield,Ma. HRI Free Lunch (Donations will be appreciated) , Please R.S.V.P. by Nov. 13, 413-446-2520 In keeping with HRI’s policy to advocate for the destruction, rather than the storage of toxic waste, the Initiative has Presenters:
The decisions regarding the cleanup of the ”rest of the river” are imminent and will be finalized within the next year.
We hope that you and anyone you wish to invite will attend. call/email with any questions. Benno Friedman, Tim Gray, 413-446-2520, Event Co-Sponsors: Waterkeeper Alliance Berkshire Environmental Research Center Clean Water Action Massachusetts PIRG Toxics Action Center, Boston Orion Society Southern Berkshire Chamber Of Commerce Center for Ecological Technology Berkshire Natural Resources Council Berkshire Environmental Action Team Housatonic Environmental Action League Berkshire – Litchfield Environmental Council |
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Massachusetts Suspended Water Pollution Discharge Limits 10/25No Monitoring for 1.4 Million Gallons per Day of Industrial Wastewater
Washington, DC — For the past eight years, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has allowed hundreds of industries to discharge unknown amounts of toxic chemicals into municipal sewage plants without state permits, according to agency records released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). As a result, streams of harmful chemicals may have entered Boston Harbor and other state water bodies for years without any warning to municipalities, fishermen or consumers. Beginning in 1998, DEP has issued what are called “forbearance letters” to at least 278 industrial wastewater dischargers. These forbearance letters “temporarily” waive all permit limits, monitoring requirements, and holding tank approvals, as well as all state fees. These forbearance letters remain in effect today. Based upon records obtained by PEER, the state waived regulation over an estimated 1.4 million gallons per day of wastewater entering municipal sewage systems. Although some municipal sewage plants monitor industrial dischargers carefully, others do not. According to DEP records, the industrial wastewater sent to treatment plants that do not have industrial pre-treatment programs were found to carry everything from radioactive elements, such as radium, to heavy metals, such as barium and chromium, as well as an array of acids, acetones and other chemicals. Due to a lack of state monitoring, it is unknown how much of the chemical mix reached public water bodies. “Massachusetts is guilty of a jaw-dropping abdication of its public health responsibilities,” stated New England PEER Director Kyla Bennett, a former lawyer and biologist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “There is no excuse for this egregious eight-year dereliction of duty.” Sewage plants themselves have federal permits limiting the pollutants they may discharge, but these permits do not necessarily cover every toxic pollutant that industries are putting into the sewer system. This is especially problematic when neither the sewage plants nor the government knows what pollutants industries are discharging. Even the precise extent of the DEP wastewater waiver practice is unclear, as DEP misplaced final copies of some of the forbearance letters. DEP issued the forbearance letters on the pretext that it was on the verge of promulgating new regulations. However, these regulations were not proposed until more than eight years after the forbearance letters became standard operating procedure. In late September, DEP finally proposed regulations to replace forbearance letters. These proposed rules, however, would still eliminate individual state permits for virtually all but the largest industrial sewage dischargers regardless of how toxic their discharges may be. “Unfortunately, the proposed new rules are also inadequate,” Bennett added, noting that DEP is also claiming that it lacks funds to run an adequate program. “At this point, the Legislature needs to step in and ensure DEP will finally start properly regulating the flow of industrial wastewater throughout the Commonwealth.” DEP “forbearance letter” (pdf) to a 250,000 gallon per-day industrial discharger DEP forbearance letter (pdf) for discharge of toxic chemicals to a sewage plant lacking pre-treatment Proposed DEP industrial wastewater rules (pdf) and their explanation (pdf) |
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Seven Berkshire Towns Receive Smart Growth Funds 10/28Seven Berkshire County towns are among the 51 state communities that have received state Smart Growth grants for development, bylaw and zoning projects, state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Secretary Robert J. Golledge Jr. said yesterday.
The EOEA has provided more than $800,000 in funding for the current fiscal year through its Smart Growth Technical Assistance Grant Program. The selection criteria favored activities that implement recommendations from community development or master plans, that promote development consistent with the Commonwealth Capital criteria and that achieve real change in land-use practices. The projects include the development of storm-water and low-impact development bylaws; open-space residential subdivision bylaws; mixed-use city and town center zoning districts, and transit-oriented development zoning districts. Becket received a $30,000 grant for a rezoning project that includes ridgeline, river and wind-power bylaws, along with accessory dwelling units. Dalton received $13,250 for a ridgeline protection bylaw, a low-impact development bylaw and a developer’s guide. Great Barrington received $30,000 for an open-space residential-design bylaw update, Community Preservation Act research and education, and a downtown mixed-use bylaw. Lanesborough received $17,500 for a zoning review, town center rezoning and site plan review updates. Lenox received $27,500 through Berkshire Regional Planning Commission for traditional neighborhood development districts for the “Gateway” and Lenox Road. Otis received a $22,695 grant for a village center update, a low-impact development bylaw and an open-space residential-design bylaw. Williamstown received $5,500 for an open-space residential-design bylaw. Cummington is one of five Hampshire County towns that received $4,772 through Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to update the Westfield River Wild & Scenic Bylaw. |
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Don’t Flush Unwanted Medications 10/25Doctors’ advice to flush unwanted medications no longer applies if the public wants to restore or maintain clean drinking water from their faucets. The Northeast Recycling Council, Inc. announced publication of three The first documents of their kind, these guides are the result of the Effectiveness of programs was tested when unwanted medications were The guides provide detailed descriptions of best management practices for Operating Unwanted Medication Collections – A Legal and Safe Approach (pdf)
The Northeast Recycling Council’s mission is to advance an |
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New Green Dry Cleaner in Great Barrington 10/29Cleaners go green
By Ellen G. Lahr, Berkshire Eagle Staff Article Launched:10/29/2006 03:04:41 AM EST [excerpt] Sunday, October 29 GREAT BARRINGTON — When it comes to clean, Laramee Cleaners is going green. For the past several days, a work crew has been removing the old-fashioned dry-cleaning equipment — which uses chemicals that government agencies have flagged as toxins — and replacing it with new eco-friendly machines using organic solvents. It was a business pledge that owners Kiki and Jae Koo Shin made when they moved from New York nearly four years ago and bought the Bridge Street cleaning business for $385,000. They had sold their two dry-cleaning businesses in the city so as to relocate. Kiki Shin said customers have been inquiring for several years about plans for new, healthier dry-cleaning technology. And some have said that they have allergies or skin sensitivities to residual chemicals on their clothing or to the odors they leave on clothing. Others are just interested in keeping up an environmentally conscientious community; the Berkshire Co-op is right next door with its organic foods and other products. A new wet washer, which uses water and biodegradable wash products, was a $32,000 item, while the new hydrocarbon machine, which uses nontoxic solvents, was a $63,000 investment. A new pressing machine also has been purchased. Hydrocarbon technology replaces the machinery that uses PERC, a shorthand term for perchloroethylene, which is still in use in the majority of dry-cleaning companies, according to Web research. The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration has issued alerts that prolonged skin exposure to the chemical can cause adverse reactions and potential respiratory problems, resulting in a risk to employees in the dry-cleaning industry. Studies by the National Cancer Institute and the Environmental Protection Agency have established PERC as a potential carcinogen; malfunctions or old equipment in dry-cleaning establishments can affect groundwater or soil. Fumes from older dry-cleaning establishments can escape directly into the atmosphere. The Shins’ new equipment will be in use this coming week; the heavy fumes from the old PERC chemicals will dissipate and the waste collected every few months will be nontoxic. The owners said they don’t plan to pass on their investment cost to customers, and that the cost of home delivery and pickup, to just about anywhere in South County, is still just 75 cents. |
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Plans to develop Great Barrington Fairgrounds re-emerge 10/16 The next step in the developer – F Group’s plans could be submitted in about a month. F Group, whose lead local attorney is Phillip Heller of Lenox, has said that the plans will remain about the same as their previous submission, that the Secretary of Environmental Affairs decided would require the submission of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). Mr. Heller said F Group would begin with the town’s Conservation Commission, Planning Board, and Board of Selectmen. According to the Berkshire Record (10/13-10/19/06) this would be the largest mixed-use development in the county. BEAT will watch this process carefully. Nearly the entire area is at least floodplain. We are concerned about the Mean Annual High-Water line being accurately determined. If you take the highest level the river reaches each year, and then take the average of those, you determine the MAHW line. More practically, the line is determined by looking at the surrounding vegetation for undercuts on banks or high water marks on trees. Where ever the MAHW line is determined to be, that is where the edge of the river is, and where the 200 foot River Front Area is measured from. For more on this project see BEAT’s Great Barrington Fairgrounds page. |
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Pittsfield’s First “Green Drinks” a Huge SuccessThank you one and all for coming to the first Pittsfield “Green Drinks” at the Brew Works. I had such a good time, I forgot to count how many people we really had, but I estimate between 25 and 30. If anyone counted, please let me know.
Now I realize that starting the seating with a booth in the corner, then adding on first one, then two, then three tables, was a mistake. I was sitting at the booth and had to leave early to pick up my son. I slipped down from the bench, and crawled under the table to get out. Okay, a few lessons learned – next time we will try to have tables in the middle of the room and encourage mingling. Also, we will do a pay the waitress as you go system – so no big hassle at the end. Remember, every third Tuesday of the month starting at 5:15 pm at the Brew Works, co- sponsored by the Center for Ecological Technology (CET) and the Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT). The next one is November 21. CET & BEAT look forward to seeing you there. There are also Green Drinks in Great Barrington on the first Tuesday of each month at 5:15 pm at the Barrington Brewery, and in Northampton on the first Wednesday of each month from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at the Northampton Brewery. For more information about Pittsfield Green Drinks, contact Jamie Cahillane at CET (413-445-4556 ext. 14) or Jane Winn at BEAT (jane@thebeatnews.org or 413-230-7321). |
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ELM’s State of the Environment ReportHot off the press – the Environmental League of Massachusetts’ State of the Environment Report. Wow – what a great publication. Congratulations to authors MASSCHUSETTS’ ENVIRONMENT IS DECLINING Comprehensive survey by Environmental League of Massachusetts finds The Massachusetts environment is deteriorating according to a report From greenhouse gas emissions to surface water quality to marine Key findings include:
“We don’t lose our environment suddenly, it happens incrementally, Nancy Goodman, Vice President for Policy at the Environmental One of the most troubling indicators was water quantity which Bernie McHugh, Coordinator of the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition, This report is available on-line. Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative member organizations will receive copies of the report – yet another reason to join. |
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Proposed New Emissions Regulations For Public Comment 10/18310 CMR 7.29 “Emissions Standards for Power Plants” and 310 CMR 7.02 “ Plan Approval and Emission Limitations ” *Brief Explanation and Rationale for Proposed Changes: * The goal of the proposed amendments is to implement the requirements of the MassDEP also proposes to amend 310 CMR 7.02 to ensure that mercury emissions |
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New Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Atlas Available from MassLand Trust e-newsletter
The Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP) of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has released the newest Massachusetts Natural Heritage Atlas, which displays regulatory habitats of endangered species. The Natural Heritage Atlas shows boundaries of ‘Priority Habitats,’ for use with the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act regulations, and ‘Estimated Habitats,’ for use with the Wetlands Protection Act regulations. Unless certain exemptions apply, proponents of all projects or activities within delineated Priority Habitats are required to file their project plans with MassWildlife’s NHESP for review. This 12th Edition of the Atlas is the product of a multi-year updating and improvement of Priority Habitat and Estimated Habitat boundaries across the state to reflect the most recent endangered species data, the latest in scientific understanding of species biology and habitat requirements, and the newest GIS technology and data. To view the revised Priority Habitats and Estimated Habitats, you can: * Purchase a copy of the 12th Edition of the Natural Heritage Atlas with 187 pages of full-color, 11² x 17² maps covering the entire state or a copy of the Natural Heritage Atlas CD Viewer, which provides statewide coverage of Priority Habitats and Estimated Habitats using the MassGIS Data Viewer software. Order form (pdf) * View the large Priority Habitat and Estimated Habitat maps that have been sent to the Conservation Commission and Planning Board of each town or city in Massachusetts with such habitats. * Use the interactive web viewer. * Download the Priority Habitat and Estimated Habitat GIS datalayers from MassGIS for use with GIS software. For more information about the new Natural Heritage Atlas or about endangered species regulations and project review, contact MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program at 508/792-7270 x200 or email |
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King Street Dump – BEAT’s comments on the Provisional CSA Review 10/23On September 14, 2006 the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Bureau of Solid Waste (BSW) released their Provisional Comprehensive Site Assessment (CSA) Review, King Street Dump, Pittsfield , Massachusetts. (pages 1-6 and pages 7-14 ) Although CSAs are not usually provisional, DEP BSW knew BEAT and other environmental groups wanted to review and possibly comment on the CSA, so they issued the CSA as provisional to allow us a chance to review the document.
BEAT did not feel that 21 days was enough time to review DEP’s Provisional CSA Review, so BEAT has been talking with DEP BSW. They have offered to extend the comment period by 30 days. BEAT’s comments are here (pdf). BEAT will be working closely with the Housatonic River Initiative to identify other areas in the Dump that should be tested for PCBs. BEAT thinks all the abutters should have been notified as well as anyone who has commented in the past. We will be working with the other environmental groups to try to reach out to anyone who is interested in the King Street Dump to help them get information or make comments. If you have questions please email Jane@thebeatnews.org or call 413-230-7321. |
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Save energy and money – computer tips –A single computer with monitor running 8 hours a day, 5 days a week consumes approximate 850 KWH per year at a local cost of about $60. Activation of the power management features built into your computer can save up to 80% of that energy and cost. http://pmdb.cadmusdev.com/powermanagement/quickCalc.html http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_management
–Limit screen-saver use. A screen saver does not save energy. In fact, http://www.nrel.gov/sustainable_nrel/energy_saving.html |