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The BEAT News

August 29, 2008

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From E-MACC: Timely News and Action Alerts
Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions - August 26, 2008

ALERT – Asian Longhorned Beetle in Central Massachusetts
http://www.maccweb.org/emacc/action_alert_8-26-08.html


August 25, 2008
Dear Conservation Commissioners,

As you may have heard, the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis, "ALB"), a pest of hardwood trees, was recently discovered in Worcester, Massachusetts. ALB is an invasive species native to China. It was first discovered in the U.S. in New York in 1996, and has also been found in Chicago and New Jersey. The beetles tunnel within the trunks and branches of trees, disrupting the sap flow and weakening and eventually killing them.
This pest attacks a wide variety of hardwood trees, particularly maples, and is considered a serious threat to the nursery, lumber, wood products, maple syrup, and tourism industries in our state. If it becomes established over a large area, it could significantly disrupt the forest ecosystem, potentially leading to the loss of 35% of the forest canopy.
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and Department of Agricultural Resources, and the City of Worcester, are partnering with the U.S. Forest Service and USDA APHIS-PPQ to coordinate a management plan to eradicate this species in Massachusetts. First steps include a survey of the area to determine the extent of the infestation, and regulatory management to prevent movement of host trees and wood out of the infested area. Infested trees will need to be removed and destroyed, and susceptible host trees may need treatment to prevent further infestations. A restrictive area has been established covering parts of five communities in Central Massachusetts (Worcester, Boylston, Holden, Shrewsbury, and West Boylston).
Conservation commissions can help by educating themselves and others about this pest, reporting all potential sighting to the appropriate authorities, and supporting the federal and state response efforts to contain and eradicate this infestation. The websites below provide important information including educational resources, contacts to the response team, forms for reporting sightings, and the emergency order and restriction zone. A DVD with video, powerpoint, and print materials is also available.
City of Worcester ALB webpage: http://www.ci.worcester.ma.us/cmo/beetles.htm
USDA APHIS: www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/alb/
UMass/NRCS: http://massnrc.org/pests/index.htm
Surveys to determine the extent of the infestation are underway. Tree removal work will begin after the first hard frost. MACC is working with DCR and DEP to clarify policy and procedures for ALB control work in wetlands regulated areas. When we have more information, we will communicate it to you. MACC encourages conservation commissions to cooperate with federal and state authorities to ensure a swift and effective response to this pest.
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From the Organic Consumers Association:

EPA Sued for Bee Colony Collapse Cover-Up

Over the past two years, beekeepers have reported an alarming and potentially catastrophic loss of bees from their hives ranging anywhere from 30-90 percent. This "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD) isn't just a problem for beekeepers and farmers, but for consumers as well, since bee pollination is essential for crop production. The USDA claims that one out of every three mouthfuls of food is dependant on bee pollination. Experts have been researching CCD and have linked the die-off to a number of likely culprits.

One of the likely killers is a new pesticide, clothianidin, approved by the EPA in 2003. Germany and France have banned this type of pesticide to protect their bee population.  In the U.S., clothianidin was approved after Bayer CropScience, the chemical's maker, submitted required studies to the EPA regarding the chemical's impact on bees and the environment. Now the EPA is suspiciously and illegally refusing to release these public documents. To expose this cover-up and hopefully to save the bees, last week the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit against the agency.
Learn more here.
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Department of Energy Resources regulatory revisions 

Please note that the recently enacted Massachusetts Green Communities Act of 2008 (the Act), includes provisions to modify the MA Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) and to add a new Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (APS). RPS will undergo some major changes. To implement the statutory changes, DOER must revise the regulations for RPS, including the addition of a Class II (for pre-1998 generating units), and must draft regulations for APS. The changes are to take effect on January 1, 2009, so the rule making process will operate on an accelerated schedule to meet that early deadline, overlapped by the formal chapter 30A process.

In addition, the Act requires DOER to conduct a feasibility study of imposing a capacity commitment and a netting requirement for energy imported to the ISO New England control area from adjacent control areas. DOER is required to submit its finding to the legislature by November 1, 2008 -- only two months from now -- and, if the capacity and/or netting conditions are determined to be feasible, proposed regulations for their implementation. Operating on such an accelerated process, we ask you to submit comments on the Imports issue as soon as possible, but no later than October 1, 2008, and we urge you to comment on the prior comments of others.

DOER has set up a new web page where you can learn more about and access the Act, receive updates on the rulemaking procedures and schedule, and link to separate pages for the Import Feasibility Study, RPS Class I, RPS Class II, and APS, (as well as for the newly-established Green Communities Division). At each of those linked pages, you can submit emailed comments on the changes of interest to you. Such comments must be in attached PDF-formatted files, and they will be posted on line. Please also include your name, organization, and a brief (only a sentence or two) summary of your position to be posted next to the link for your comments. If you are submitting on multiple topics please make separate submissions. We ask you to submit comments on non-import issues no later than October 15, 2008.

Because of the accelerated schedule, DOER strongly urges stakeholders to provide substantive comments as soon as possible -- in advance of the formal rule making process required by state law. The latter process will be announced within a few weeks, and will provide an opportunity for formal comments and a formal Public Hearing later this autumn.

Meanwhile, in addition to soliciting comments, DOER will hold at least two stakeholder forums, one on Imports and one on other issues, in advance of the formal rulemaking process. The dates and locations will be announced shortly at the Green Communities webpage.

If you have any questions about this notice or about the process, please address them to Courtney Feeley Karp by email at Courtney.karp@state.ma.us, or by phone at 617-626-7300.
We look forward to your participation and input in the weeks ahead. Thank-you.
Green Communities Act Rulemaking Team
Department of Energy Resources
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 1020
Boston, MA 02114
617-626-7300
Green.communities@state.ma.us
http://www.mass.gov/doer/grncomm/home.htm
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The  Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protecton's  Wetlands and Waterways Program  has posted two vacancy announcements to backfill positions within the Boston Wetlands and Waterways Program.  One is for a data manager (EAIII) and one is for a Waterways Licensing Analyst (EAIV). If you are interested or know someone who is please see the following link for further information. 


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CITY ENERGY USAGE REPORT
(from Mike Ward, Pittsfield Ward 4 City Councillor)
On August 28th, the Pittsfield Green Commission received a report on the city's energy usage and subsequent greenhouse gas emissions.  The report was prepared by Chad Brown, a summer intern at City Hall.  It represents the first milestone of the Green Commission -- to audit the energy usage of the city. The next task for the commission is to establish a goal for a reduction in energy usage.

Some interesting sections include a comparison of Pittsfield to some other MA communities and a table of energy usage by the largest city buildings.

I found it interesting that one of our oldest schools, Pittsfield High School, was among the "greenest".  Only Herberg and Reid scored higher in the EPA's Portfolio Manager rating.


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Because the class I'm teaching at Simon's Rock is slightly over-enrolled and I can't fit everyone into the school's "large van," they have agreed to pay an additional driver for field trips. The pay is $750. Field trips are almost always on Monday afternoons (3:30-6:30pm, sometimes later), from now through early December, with at least one all-day Saturday trip in November. Most trips are nearby (in GB and adjacent towns), and a handful are farther afield (up to 1.5 hours away in the case of all day trip). Exact schedule TBA. All trips promise to be interesting (wind turbine at Jiminy Peak, radio-tracking wood turtles, pulling invasive plants, visiting GB's wastewater treatment facility, Housatonic/GE "Toxic Tour," etc). The additional driver is welcome to tag along or nap in the van.

If anyone is interested or knows someone who's interested, please let me know asap. First trip is this Monday (Labor Day).

Suzanne C. Fowle
Wildlife Biologist
P.O. Box 339
Housatonic, MA 01236

413.274.6328

sfowle@verizon.net
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