The BEAT News
January 22, 2007

Mass Audubon, with nine other major conservation partners, met with Secretary Bowles and Undersecretary for Environment Griffith to present Conservation and Our Community: Caring for Communities, Conserving our Commonwealth.  Set within the context of water, working farms, working forests, stable communities, recreation, and economy, the Conservation Vision presents strategic actions for the next two years: protect lands of statewide significance, improve our public parks, keep our working lands working, and help communities protect local lands. 

return to top

Governor calling for steep budget cuts - The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Deval Patrick and his top budget chief, Administration and Finance Secretary Leslie Kirwan, yesterday ordered department heads to find ways to cut 5 to 10 percent as the new administration prepares to give the Legislature its first annual state budget. View Full Story

return to top

Downing announces offices, staff - County

BOSTON — State Sen. Benjamin B. Downing has announced contact information for his district and Boston offices — which are fully operational — and the members of his staff. Downing's Boston office is the Statehouse, Room 413-F, Boston, MA 02133. The phone number there is (617) 722-1625. Fax: (617) 722-1523. View Full Story

return to top

Workshop examines drinking water - Community

LEE — The Lee Source Water Protection Committee will sponsor a public workshop focusing on protecting Lee's public drinking water supplies next Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Lee Ambulance Building. All Lee residents are welcome. This is an opportunity to learn more about the town's plans to protect public drinking water supplies. view full article

return to top

US  House of Representatives passed the C.L.E.A.N. Energy Act of 2007, voting to take billions of dollars in subsidies away from oil companies and investing it into renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
Despite earning record-breaking profits, the big oil companies have been benefiting from billions of dollars in taxpayer-sponsored government hand-outs.

return to top

Governor Deval Patrick brought Massachusetts back into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, (RGGI pronounced "Reggie"). RGGI is a collaboration of eight Northeast states designed to address global warming by reducing electric power plant emissions of carbon dioxide, the principal heat-trapping gas. Governor Patrick’s actions are a first step to re-establishing Massachusetts as a national leader in environmental policies.

Equally importantly, Governor Patrick also announced that the state will require power plants to pay for the right to pollute by auctioning 100 percent of emissions allowances. This strategy will produce an annual stream of revenue that will be returned to electricity customers through greatly expanded programs to increase energy efficiency and accelerate development of clean energy projects.

This shows that Governor Patrick is listening to advise from environmental and conservation people! Wow! View full story.

return to top

Greylock Glen bids requested - By Christopher Marcisz, Berkshire Eagle Staff

Deadline for proposals is Jan. 30
ADAMS — The town is soliciting bids for engineering and design work for its Greylock Glen project, marking the first step in following in the $44 million development plan since it was officially given the go-ahead by the state last month. The request for proposals is "to provide planning, engineering, environmental and landscape design services" for a detailed master plan for the Greylock Glen Outdoor Recreation and Environmental Education Center.  View Full Story

return to top

Proposed New Regulations for Public Comment: Massachusetts Clean Air Interstate Rule--Mass CAIR (310 CMR 7.32) and Amendments to NOx Allowance Trading Program (310 CMR 7.28)

To: MassDEP’s Regulations List-Serv and Commissioner’s Advisory Committee

Name & Citation of Regulation(s): 310 CMR 7.32, Massachusetts Clean Air Interstate Rule (Mass CAIR), and amendments to 310 CMR 7.28, NOx Allowance Trading Program.

Brief Explanation and Rationale for Proposed Changes:

The purpose of the proposed rule and amendments is to meet the requirements of the federal Clean Air Interstate Rule (federal CAIR) promulgated by EPA on May 12, 2005. The federal CAIR requires states in the Eastern U.S. to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2) that significantly contribute to fine particle (PM 2.5) and ground-level ozone pollution problems in downwind states. Reduction of emissions will help Massachusetts and other states meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone and PM2.5. EPA found that Massachusetts contributes to downwind ozone problems (but not PM 2.5 problems); consequently, Massachusetts is required by federal CAIR to reduce ozone season NOx emissions.

The proposed Massachusetts CAIR caps ozone season NOx emissions from large fossil-fuel-fired electricity and steam generators located in Massachusetts in order to address the interstate transport of NOx from Massachusetts sources to other states. The proposed regulations affect 37 large power generators. Three cities in Massachusetts have municipal power plants that are subject to the regulations: Braintree, Peabody, and Taunton. Mass CAIR will replace the existing NOx Allowance Trading Program (310 CMR 7.28), which has capped ozone season NOx emissions from these sources since 2003.

These regulations will have a positive environmental impact because they will decrease the NOx allowances available to be allocated among regulated facilities, thereby encouraging them to further control NOx emissions. The cap-and-trade program provides flexibility to regulated entities that allows them to decide whether to comply with regulatory requirements by reducing their emissions or by purchasing allowances from another party if it’s more cost-effective.

Web Link to View Draft Regulations:

http://mass.gov/dep/air/laws/regulati.htm#proposed

Public Hearing Information:

Public hearings will be conducted to receive public comment, both oral and written, on the proposed regulation.

Thursday, February 8, 2007, at 9:00 a.m.
MassDEP Main Office
One Winter Street, 2nd Floor - Rooms B & C
Boston, Massachusetts 02108

Thursday, February 8, 2007, at 5:00 p.m.
1st Floor Conference Room
MassDEP Southeast Region Main Office
20 Riverside Drive
Lakeville, MA  02347

Friday, February 9, 2007 at 3:00 p.m.
3rd Floor Court Room
Springfield State Office Building
436 Dwight Street
Springfield, MA  01103

Date of Public Review Period : Public comments accepted until 5:00 p.m. on February 20, 2007.

Publication in Massachusetts Register

• Sent to Secretary of State’s Office on January 5, 2007.
• Regulations to be published in the Massachusetts Register on January 26, 2007.

  return to top

CPA II

The Community Planning Act will be filed in the state legislature by January 10, 2007. This much-needed state zoning and land use reform bill is essentially the same as it appeared in the 2006 legislative session, with the exception of four additional amendments. (The amendments concern zoning variances, special permit approval, special permit duration, and modifications to subdivision plans. See attached bill and bill summary.)

It is extremely important that the Community Planning Act (CPA II) get off to a strong start in the new year. Your help is needed in the most crucial first step of accumulating a long list of legislative sponsors for the CPA II.
Please contact your state representative AND state senator between now and January 10, and urge him or her to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Community Planning Act. Also, please contact any other legislator you may have a special relationship with. The bill is being circulated by the CPA II's primary sponsors, so your legislator will have been informed about it. However, YOUR INFLUENCE AS A CONSTITUENT IS VITAL.
Andrea Nuciforo and Denis Guyer were among the co-sponsors of the Massachusetts Land Use Reform Act (the previous name for the CPA II). So be sure to thank Denis Guyer, and ask him to do it again.

If you have questions about the bill, please feel free to contact Don Keeran, the Coordinator for the Coalition for Zoning Reform:

Don Keeran, Coordinator
Coalition for Zoning Reform
Toll Free: 1-877-955-4142
dkeeran@apcc.org

return to top

DCR Annual Report; Forest Cutting & Parks Management Plan

The Dept. of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) has released its Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Report, "Toward World Class Parks and Conservation: Strengthening Connections between People and the Environment." The report may be downloaded from the home page (bottom left) of DCR's website.

The draft Public Outreach and Consultation for Forest Cutting Plans and Historic Parkways policies are available for review and public comment.

Comments for the Historic Parkways Policy are due Friday, January 12.
Please submit comments c/o Victoria Bonarrigo via email at DCR.Policies@State.MA.US If submitting comment via email, please write the title of the policy in the subject bar. Or via mail at:
Victoria Bonarrigo
Department of Conservation & Recreation
251 Causeway Street, Suite 600
Boston, MA 02114

Comments for the Public Outreach and Consultation for Forest Cutting Plans Policy are due Friday, March 16. Please submit comments c/o Marcelle Valentin via email at DCR.Policies@State.MA.US If submitting comment via email, please write the title of the policy in the subject bar. Or via mail at:
Marcelle Valentin
Department of Conservation and Recreation
251 Causeway Street, Suite 600
Boston, MA 02114

return to top

Comments Sought on DFG Forest Management Plans

The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife (MassWildlife) is seeking public comment on forest management plans for the Taconic Mountains and Marble Valley Forest Management Zone (FMZ) and the Berkshire Highlands Forest Management Zone. Both management plans integrate principles of MassWildlife's biodiversity Initiative and addresses Forest Stewardship Certification (FSC) "Green Certification" requirements for habitat management planning on state forest and wildlife lands. The plans are posted on the MassWildlife website. Interested citizens, conservationists and natural resource professionals are encouraged to submit written comments postmarked by February 16, 2007 to: John Scanlon, MassWildlife Forest Project Leader, MassWildlife Field HQ, Westborough, MA 01581.

return to top

ELM's 2008 Green Budget

The Environmental League of Massachusetts has released their Green Budget 2008 (pdf) with recommendations on how much money should be allocated to various environmental budget lines for the next fiscal year (2008). The Green Budget 2008 has been endorsed by 50 conservation and health organizations across the state, with recommendations for the Environmental Affairs budget and will be released within the next two weeks.

In it are recommendations to provide $1 million for the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) within the Department of Fish and Game to help implement the Wildlife Action Plan.

In the FY2004 budget the NHESP lost all of its operating funding from the state, which had amounted to around $800,000 a year. It now functions only on a combination of bond money, voluntary donations from Massachusetts residents in the form of a check-off box on the state income tax return, and federal funds.

NHESP is one of the programs within MassWildlife that implements the State Wildlife Action Plan. In order to continue to receive federal funding to implement our Action Plan, the state must match dollar for dollar what the federal government is willing to provide, which was around $900,000 in FY2007.

Much of the $1 million recommended in the Green Budget for NHESP would qualify for the agency's federal match to implement the Wildlife Action Plan.

Contact your legislators and urge them to support this funding. Click on their name to email or give them a call.

Senator Benjamin Downing 413-822-0071
1st Berkshire District was Representative Daniel Bosley
2nd Berkshire District Representative Denis Guyer 413-684-0033
3rd Berkshire District Representative Christopher Speranzo 413-447-7225
4th Berkshire District Representative Smitty Pignatelli 413-243-5534

Ask them to support $1 million for the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, so they can receive matching Federal money to implement the State Wildlife Action Plan. You can also ask that they support all the recommendations in the Environmental League of Massachusetts' Green Budget. Thank you!

See ELM's explanation of the Massachusetts Budget Process or
Mass Audubon's explanation of the Massachusetts Budget Process as a pdf or go to their Legislative Primer webpage and select Massachusetts Budget Process.

return to top