The BEAT News
April 19, 2007

MACC's 2007 spring/summer training program is now underway! There’s a training session or workshop scheduled with everyone in mind, whether you’re newly appointed to your Commission or you want to hone your skills analyzing soil profiles.

Visit: http://www.maccweb.org/edu_workshops.html for complete course descriptions and registration information.

If you want to master the key knowledge and skills you need to be an effective Conservation Commissioner or agent, consider taking one or more units of the Fundamentals for Conservation Commissioners. The entire 8-unit course is being offered as a series from April 28th through June 9th in Palmer, MA. Here's your chance to complete your fundamentals training!

Looking for some field work? Those new to confirming wetland boundaries should consider Greg Hochmuth’s workshop, “Delineation for Beginners” on June 23rd. Anyone wanting to delve into delineating details will be glad to learn that John Rockwell has split his one-day “Basic Wetland Delineation” workshop into two full-day workshops, focusing on soils on May 19th and vegetation on June 2nd. Peter Fletcher and Gillian Davies return this summer to share their experience with soils, offering “Soil Science—Field Skills Workshop” on July 13th and “Hydric Soils Workshop—Field Identification, Documentation and Delineation” on July 26th.

Visit: http://www.maccweb.org/edu_workshops.html for complete course descriptions and registration information.

Water “Crisis” to be Addressed by Leader of River Network

 The Hoosic River Watershed Association (http://www.hoorwa.org/calendar.htm) will host Don Elder, president of River Network, as the keynote speaker at its annual “State of the River” conference, to be held in Williamstown, MA on Saturday, April 21st beginning at 12 noon.  In a refreshing antidote to doom and gloom about our country’s “inevitable” water crisis, Don Elder makes the case that “by employing simple, proven water conservation and efficiency measures, we can easily meet all the needs of a growing and increasingly prosperous U.S. population… while saving energy and money,”  provided we take vigorous action now.  He will also explain how this action can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our dependency on foreign oil.  The keynote presentation will begin at noon in Griffin Hall on the Williams College campus.  Lunch will be available.  To reserve a lunch, contact Sandy Zepka at szepka@williams.edu or (413) 597-2346. 

Presentations in Griffin Hall will continue through the day.  HooRWA’s Water Quality Monitor, Kelly Nolan, will report at 1:15 on “Water Quality Trends in the Hoosic River Mainstem.”  He will review data from 1983 to 2006 to show how the Hoosic’s water quality has changed over the years and discuss what issues still need to be addressed.

 Geoff Dates of River Network will hold a workshop from 2 to 5 PM, on the process of turning raw data into useful information for the people who live near the Hoosic, use it, and make decisions that affect it.  This workshop is geared to river stewardship volunteers and river advocates but open to all who are interested.

The HooRWA conference is co-hosted by Williams College as part of its Earth Week activities and is supported in part by a grant from the Thoreau Foundation.  For more information, contact HooRWA at (413) 458-2742 or office@hoorwa.org.

Harriman and West Airport's stormwater run-off study is part of their $5 million improvement plan to expand the airport's flight path. Neighbors of the Airport say that the first phase of tree-cutting contributed to flooding in recent years. It is the second round of tree-cutting that is currently under review. This round is scheduled to begin in July and would involve cutting about 480 trees between Luce and Stratton roads.

In February, the airport's engineering firm, Gale Associates of Bedford, N.H.,  said that the second phase of tree-cutting could lead to more than 25,000 additional gallons of stormwater run-off. Gale Associates said the flooding could be mitigated with two hay bale dams.

But neighbors questioned that report and contend that the first round of cutting has caused their yards to flood. The Williamstown Conservation Commission hired an independent consulting firm to review the Gale Associates' report and provide an independent analysis, the resluts of which will be presented at the April 19th meeting.

After much anticipation, HospiceCare in the Berkshires, Inc. has scheduled a press conference to reveal their revised plans for a Berkshire hospice house on Monday, April 23 at 11:00. 

More details to follow.

BEAT is thrilled that Hospice appears to have found a new, more environmentally friendly location in Pittsfield. Thank you to all those at Hospice who worked so hard to find an alternative site! Now, can something be worked out to ensure that the back part of the property on Williams Street remains undeveloped in perpetuity to protect the wetlands, the rare species, and the wildlife corridor?

Please note: DEP has revised the schedule for public hearings on mercury regulations. In addition, the public comment period has been extended to May 14 at 5 PM.

MassDEP has proposed new regulations that will implement three components of the Mercury Management Act (Chapter 190 of the Acts of 2006).  Signed into law in July 2006, the Mercury Management Act is designed to keep mercury out of our trash and wastewater, where it is released into the environment.

These proposed regulations would establish specific requirements for 1) removing and recycling mercury switches from “end of life” vehicles, 2) collecting and recycling mercury-added products by their manufacturers, and 3) reporting on mercury-added lamp recycling by lamp manufacturers. Other components of the Mercury Management Act will be addressed in a separate package of regulations that we expect to publish for public comment in late Summer or early Fall 2007.

The proposal includes amendments to 310 CMR Chapter 70, Environmental Results Program Certification, and new chapters 310 CMR 74.00, Removal and Recycling of Mercury-Added Components in Vehicles and 310 CMR 75.00 Collection and Recycling of Mercury-Added Products. A background section before the regulations provides an overview and context for the regulatory sections that follow.

The updated public hearing dates are as follows:

Monday, April 30, 2007
1:00 p.m.
MassDEP, Boston

Wednesday, May 1, 2007
10:00 a.m.
MassDEP Central Regional Office, Worcester

Wednesday, May 1, 2007
2:00 p.m.
Room B42
MassDEP Western Regional Office, Springfield

Wednesday, May 2, 2007
1:00 p.m.
MassDEP Northeast Regional Office, Wilmington

Thursday, May 3, 2007
10:00 a.m.
MassDEP Cape Cod Office, Hyannis

Thursday, May 3, 2007
2:00 p.m.
Selectmen's Meeting Room
Mansfield Town Hall
6 Park Row
Mansfield, MA    

You can find the draft regulations on MassDEP’s web site: http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/publiche.htm#hgphase1.

Please submit your comments at one of the public hearings, or send us written comments by 5 PM on May 14, 2007. Please address your written comments to:

Lori Segall
Mercury Program Manager
Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection
1 Winter St.
Boston, MA  02108
lori.segall@state.ma.us

If you have any questions about the proposed regulations or the regulatory process, please email lori.segall@state.ma.us  or call 617-654-6595

Proposed Changes Stormwater Policy Standards:

The Wetlands Regulations and the Water Quality Certification Regulations currently require compliance with MassDEP’s Stormwater Policy Standards. The proposed regulations incorporate the Stormwater Management Standards from the Stormwater Policy, eliminating the need for the Policy. MassDEP is also revising the Stormwater Management Standards to, among other things, increase stormwater recharge, promote the use of low impact development techniques, encourage the use of the most appropriate best management practices at redevelopment sites, eliminate illicit discharges, and improve operation and maintenance of stormwater management systems.

Name & Citation of Regulation(s): 310 CMR 10.00 (the “Wetlands Regulations”) and the 401 Water Quality Certification for Discharge of Dredged or Fill Material, Dredging, and Dredged Material Disposal in Waters of the United States within the Commonwealth, 314 CMR 9.00 (“Water Quality Certification Regulations”).

Web Link to View Draft Regulations:

www.mass.gov/dep/public/publiche.htm

Public Hearing Information:

Public hearings on the proposed changes will be conducted at the Department’s Boston and regional offices as follows:

9:30 a.m. -12:00 noon
Western Regional Office
436 Dwight Street
Springfield, MA 01103

Comments may be presented orally or in writing at the hearings on the proposed revisions. . Written comments will also be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on May 14, 2007 and should be submitted to:

Department of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Resource Protection
One Winter Street, Fifth Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Attn: Lealdon Langley

Written comments may also be sent via email at the following address: Stormwater.Policy@state.ma.us

Copies of the proposed regulations and background information will be available for inspection during normal business hours at: the Bureau of Resource Protection, One Winter Street, Boston, MA, the four regional offices of DEP and DEP’s web site at www.mass.gov/dep.

For special accommodations for these events or hearing information in an alternate format, please contact Aprel McCabe, DEP’s ADA Coordinator, at 617-556-1171, BAS/HR, 3rd Floor, One Winter Street, Boston, MA 02108.

Publication in Massachusetts Register

Public Meeting on Housatonic River Remediation

There will be a public meeting to learn more about what is happening with the remediation of the Housatonic River on April 24 from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the EPA project office at 10 Lyman St, in Pittsfield. (This is between Gymfest and Kidzone Daycare.)  This is a Citizens Coordinating Council (CCC) meeting with the General Electric Company (GE), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and it is open to the public (although you might not get a chance to ask questions, you usually do get an opportunity toward the end of the meeting).

This meeting has been scheduled as an "optional" CCC meeting in Pittsfield to focus on questions about projects related to the GE facility in Pittsfield  that are being performed under the Consent Decree. 

The agenda will include a brief update on work expected to occur this year and opportunities to ask questions about the ongoing work in Pittsfield.

BEAT has questions about the trail "capping" of Silver Lake, which we believe failed miserably sending plumes of sediment into the Housatonic River for at least two weekends in a row (we have pictures of this). We also want an update on the testing of Unkamet Brook to get a better idea of how many PCBs are flowing from there into the River. And we want information on all the pipes coming out of the old GE campus that GE monitors under their long-expired NPDES permit. (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System)

As a reminder, the next quarterly full CCC meeting is scheduled for June 13 at Cranwell in Lenox, MA.   The primary topic for that meeting will be a discussion and presentation, case studies, and discussion of floodplain and river restoration techniques. 

WE HAVE PEEPERS!
  
  On Saturday, March 31st at 8:30 PM Dorene Plantier of Oak Road  in Richmond, in the presence of her daughter, Deb Plantier, heard the first halting peeps of this year's crop.
  
  Others have since heard one or two, but the ensuing cold weather has put the froggies off their form. Nevertheless, Dorene was the very first, and our hearty congratulations and thanks go to her this year.
  
  And, good people, we are pleased to announce that the participant with the sharpest vernal intuition, the predictor of predictors, was none other than Peter Conzett of Falmouth and Becket, Mass. Congratulations, Peter!
  
  Runners up in the prediction department were Dana Bishop of Great Barrington with March 31st at 10:00 AM and Jennifer Sahn of the Orion Society in Great Barrington who predicted April 1st at 7:59 AM. Thanks to all who participated. This was the biggest year to date.
  
  We will be organizing an extravagant Spring Peeper Luncheon to honor our winners in a few weeks, subject - above all else - to the schedules of our winners, particularly Peter Conzett way out on the Cape. Stay tuned. You are all invited to come and share in this celebration as Dorene and Peter bask in their preeminence.
  
  And, isn't it just simply great that finally, at long last, SPRING IS HERE!! Even if it is a bit chilly and wet. Beats snow.
    
  Best regards, 
Shep Evans

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