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Symposium on Alternative Remedial Technologies to Destroy PCBs

presented 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
once again brought together experts in the field of remedial technology to discuss treatment strategies and options.
In addition to providing an overview of the field, the experts will present information on a broad range of technologies;
some proven and well established, others experimental but exhibiting substantial promise.

Presenters:

  • Biogenesis…sediment washing and separation
  • Upal Ghosh, University of Maryland, expert in reactive capping using activated carbon
  • Startech…plasma arc
  • Dr. Kevin Gardner, University of New Hampshire, in-situ, zero valent iron and magnesium, reactive capping
  • Sonic Environmental Solutions… Terra-Kleen extraction process and non-thermal destruction
  • Oil-Free Technology…enzyme based in-situ remediation

The decisions regarding the cleanup of the ”rest of the river” are imminent and will be finalized within the next year.
We hope that this symposium will establish a framework and a base of information for future discussions, encouraging
an honest appraisal of the following issues:

  • Are there viable, effective and proven technologies for the remediation
    (destruction) of PCB’s?
  • Are they appropriate for our river/region?
  • What are the benefits and downsides of remediation vs. landfilling?

We hope that you and anyone you wish to invite will attend. call/email with any questions.

Benno Friedman,
413-229-8569 benno2@verizon.net

Tim Gray, 413-446-2520,
housriverkeeper@verizon.net

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

Housatonic River Commission

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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 for discharge of toxic chemicals to a sewage plant lacking pre-treatment

Proposed DEP industrial wastewater rules and their explanation

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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 Report

Hot off the press – the Environmental League of Massachusetts’ State of the Environment Report. Wow – what a great publication. Congratulations to authors
Nancy Goodman and Isabel Granthum – This is an important
document and educational tool.

MASSCHUSETTS’ ENVIRONMENT IS DECLINING

Comprehensive survey by Environmental League of Massachusetts finds
17 out of 20 indicators rated poor or fair

The Massachusetts environment is deteriorating according to a report
released today by the Environmental League of Massachusetts. This
comprehensive report examines 20 wide-ranging indicators that
together illustrate that Massachusetts’ environment is worsening.

From greenhouse gas emissions to surface water quality to marine
fisheries—the indicators show that more aggressive action is
needed to address these issues.

Key findings include:

  • Over a thousand of the state’s most seriously contaminated
    hazardous waste sites still have not been cleaned up
  • Massachusetts drivers are driving more and spending more time
    and money sitting in traffic
  • If current trends continue, dozens of communities will exceed
    their water withdrawal limits by 2030
  • The Commonwealth continues to lose hundreds of acres of wetlands
    every decade; new aerial surveys show that the majority of these
    losses is due to illegal filling
  • Low income communities and communities of color bear a grossly
    disproportionate share of environmental burdens from the cumulative
    impact of hazardous sites and facilities
  • All groundfish species examined are below the levels needed
    to sustain healthy fish populations and some – such as cod– are in critical condition
  • A 35 year study of songbirds shows disturbing declines
  • We are recycling more of our trash, but generating even more of it
  • Greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise despite scientific
    consensus that we are already experiencing global warming.

“We don’t lose our environment suddenly, it happens incrementally,
but the result is that we are weakening the foundation that supports
all life,” said Jim Gomes, President of the Environmental League.

Nancy Goodman, Vice President for Policy at the Environmental
League added, “If we don’t pay attention now, it will only be
harder and more expensive to deal with the challenges raised in
the report, in the years to come. Our environment affects our
health, our economy and our quality of life—we cannot afford to
ignore current trends reflected in the report.”

One of the most troubling indicators was water quantity which
points to dozens of communities facing water shortages if
business as usual continues. Margaret Van Deusen, Deputy
Director of the Charles River Watershed Association noted that, “Massachusetts is facing a looming water crisis. Where and how
we develop and our engineered water infrastructure, which exports
stormwater and wastewater rather than cleaning it and putting it
back into the ground locally, is causing communities to come up
against water supply constraints. It makes sense to do water
conservation now as it buys us time to work on water issues and to
get it right.”

Bernie McHugh, Coordinator of the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition,
stated that, “This report is an environmental balance sheet that
shows us clearly where Massachusetts is in the red and where we’re
in the green. It’s clear that we’re going deeper into the red.
I hope that this State of the Environment Report will be a wake-up
call to the Legislature, the new Governor and the media that we can
no longer put off dealing with these issues if we expect to have a
future with clean water, clean air, healthy neighborhoods, safe
parks, and abundant wildlife.”

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
federal Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) promulgated by the U. S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) on May 18, 2005. CAMR caps nationwide mercury emissions
from new and existing coal-fired power plants in two phases, establishes a
voluntary cap-and-trade program to achieve reductions and sets specific
emissions limits for new coal-fired power plants. To meet CAMR’s requirements,
MassDEP proposes a State Plan, including amendments to 310 CMR 7.29 and 310 CMR
7.02. Amendments to 310 CMR 7.29 will align mercury emission monitoring,
recordkeeping and reporting with EPA procedures. 310 CMR 7.29 mercury emissions
limits previously established in 2001 and 2004 for four existing coal-fired
power plants in Massachusetts are more stringent than CAMR, and amendments to
the existing limits are not proposed. MassDEP proposes to not participate in
CAMR’s cap-and-trade program, but to instead rely on existing
facility-specific caps and mercury emissions standards to achieve more certain
reductions in mercury emissions (compared to a trading approach), which MassDEP
believes will provide better protection of public health and the environment.

MassDEP also proposes to amend 310 CMR 7.02 to ensure that mercury emissions
from any new coal-fired power plants (in combination with mercury emissions from
existing plants) do not exceed the caps CAMR imposes on Massachusetts in a
further effort to protect public health and the environment.

Web Link to View Draft Regulations

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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

natural.heritage@state.ma.us

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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,
more often than not, a screen saver not only will draw power for the
monitor, but also will keep the CPU from shutting down. You can set your
computer to go from screen-saver to sleep mode.

http://www.nrel.gov/sustainable_nrel/energy_saving.html

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