The BEAT News
November 20, 2006

Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative Meeting 11/16

Over 50 participants gathered for the state-wide Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative meeting. 32 groups were represented, plus state-house staff, and representatives from colleague policy organizations and policy working groups.

These next few months will see many changes on Beacon Hill. This meeting was a great way to get a preview of what we might expect and what our organizations are planning.

Julie Wormser of the Appalachian Mountain Club (center)
and Jane Winn of BEAT (on the right) at the
Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative meeting .

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Gravel bank crushed
By Glenn Drohan,see the North Adams Transcript for the full story

Friday, November 17
CLARKSBURG — Don't look for a gravel bank operation behind the Mountain View nightclub anytime soon.

The Selectmen unanimously approved a special permit Wednesday that will allow Michael Milazzo and Kevin Dodge, doing business as D & M Industries, to remove gravel from 12.55 acres on Bald Mountain for a year — but with a list of conditions about as long and steep as the Easy Street access road to the site behind the bar and former restaurant.

Among the conditions are that the company cannot use a rock crusher or explosives, must limit hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays only and must provide detailed engineering plans not only to deal with erosion and wetlands issues but also for the restoration of the land, "ensuring its scenic view," once the gravel operation would cease. That includes posting a bond in the amount a professional engineer would determine was appropriate for such restoration.

In addition to the conditions listed above, the board stipulated the following:

* Access to the site will be allowed only from Easy Street. Gates Avenue and Wheeler Avenue cannot be used.

* All trucks leaving the site must be covered, and D & M must provide a written plan detailing how any spills on town roads would be cleaned up.

* All state and federal permits must be secured, and then the town must give written permission for the facility, after a review by a professional engineer to be paid for by D & M.

* A gate must be installed at the site entrance for security reasons.

* All Conservation Commission concerns must be dealt with through a full survey of the site, including the designation and mapping of all wetlands.

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PEDA Looking for Proposals 11/20

The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority is looking for proposals for Design Services for Building Construction until December 18, 2006. There is a pre-proposal briefing session scheduled for 10:00 am, November 27, 2006 beginning at the PEDA offices, 81 Kellogg Street in Pittsfield.

BEAT is very interested in whether or not "green" building principals and low impact development techniques will be required. If you attend this meeting please report back to us.

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IP Test Burn Stopped - 11/14/2006

From the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation's website-
11/14/2006 - International Paper announced this afternoon that they have stopped the test burn. This is not a suspension of the burning of TDF, but a cancellation of the remainder of the test burn itself. Refined preliminary results from the one-quarter ton per hour tests conducted yesterday indicated no improvement over the one-half ton per hour results. The two runs gave .09 and .08 lbs/mmbtu results, essentially the same as the previous runs. This was the second reduction in feed rates following the one ton per hour tests conducted on November 9th. Emissions this close to the permit limit of 0.1 lbs/mmbtu at a feed rate one-twelfth of the proposed rate apparently convinced International Paper that further testing would not be useful. It is DEC's understanding that IP has no plans to seek a new test at this time, however we are still awaiting an official statement from the company.

For more information see BEAT's NY Tire Burning webpage.

International Paper conducted a test burn at their Ticonderoga, New York site. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) posted the data from that test burn on its website as the information became available. (November 2006)

For lots more information on this issue visit the People For Less Pollution website.

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Berkshire Gateway at Lee MEPA Site Visit 11/21

An 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 - Pittsfield's plan gets Watchful Eye

BEAT alerted regulators to Pittsfield's plan to facilitate flow in Unkamet Brook. Now, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's, Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup, will be reviewing the plans before any work takes place.

Below is our original article on this issue:

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 - Oak Hill Tributary Project gets $207K federal grant
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 pollution, which include phosphorus and nitrogen from lawn and garden fertilizers, bacteria from pet waste and waterfowl, oil and grease from parking lots, sediment from construction sites, and soil erosion.

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 PCBs was Well Attended

On Friday, November 17, about 75 people attended the all day symposium presented by the Housatonic River Initiative at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Pittsfield. This was many more than were expected for this very technical symposium. BEAT videotaped the event for HRI and will have DVDs made soon.

Below is the original invitation to the event:

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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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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