The BEAT News

February 12, 2009

In the News

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Environmental Monitor
Public Notices Alphabetically by town
The BEAT News Archives

Advocacy News (Includes how to reach your legislators)

DEP Enforcement Actions In The Berkshire
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Safer Alternatives Bill Action Alert
From Siobhan McNally, Lenox Pediatrician

I'd like to call attention to the Safer Alternatives Bill that will be
presented to Massachusetts legislature soon. This is an important first step
toward securing economically viable, safer alternatives for some of the most
toxic chemicals used in industry. While the bill passed the Massachusetts
Senate easily last January, it did not come before the House until after the
legislative session closed. So, in many ways - we are back to the drawing
board; and there has been extreme concern that legislators are now backing
off from sponsoring or supporting the bill due to fears that passage will
place additional economic pressures on industries and businesses. It's my
understanding (from personal communication with Alliance for Healthy
Tomorrows) that plastics and paper companies in Berkshire County are
lobbying heavily against this bill.

Please become familiar with this important bill. It's one way we can help
avoid another PCB-like catastrophe in Berkshire County

For more information about the bill, go to:
http://www.healthytomorrow.org/the-safer-alternatives-bill/

Then, if you support this bill, please call or write to your Berkshire
County representatives urging their support, and ideally their sponsorship.
They need to know that the voices of concerned Berkshire County citizenry
can be stronger & more influential than lobbyists.

Ben Downing - Senate - 413-442-4008 or 617-722-1625 or bdowning@bendowning.org
Daniel Bosley - 413-663-7486 or 617-722-2370 or  Rep.DanielBosley@hou.state.ma.us
Denis Guyer - 413-684-0033 or 617-722-2400  Rep.DenisGuyer@Hou.State.MA.US
Chris Speranzo - 413-447-7225 or 617-722-2460  Rep.ChristopherSperanzo@Hou.State.MA.US
Smitty Pignatelli - House - 413-637-0631 or 617-722-2582  Rep.SmittyPignatelli@hou.state.ma.us

Thanks -
Siobhan McNally

Siobhan McNally MD MPH
Pediatrics/Preventive Medicine

Home Office: 
71 Yokun Avenue
Lenox, Massachusetts 01240
413.637.4326
413.212.9977 (cell)
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MassSave Energy Audits

MassSAVE will pay 75% (up to $2,000) for home insulation and air sealing will be paid for by the program (National Grid/Berkshire Gas/Western Massachusetts Electric Companies) if you get an audit.

Could your home use more insulation or other energy efficiency improvements? Now is a great time to take advantage of generous incentives! If your home is served by Western Massachusetts Electric Company, National Grid or Berkshire Gas Company, your cost to insulate or seal your home through the MassSAVE program could be reduced by 75% (up to $2000)!

Call 1-866-527-7283 or visit the MassSAVE website <http://www.Masssave.com> to see about scheduling a free energy audit and getting an insulation proposal. The Center for Ecological Technology (CET) provides the MassSAVE energy services in Berkshire County. Whether energy costs are high or low, buildings are responsible for almost 50% of greenhouse gas emissions, so an energy efficient home saves money /and/ helps the environment. Please pass this message along to your friends and family – let's make 2009 a green year.
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Two New OSI Funding Initiatives

The Open Space Institute is requesting proposals for two new funding
initiatives; Saving New England’s Wildlife and Western Massachusetts
Land Protection Fund.

Through Saving New England’s Wildlife, OSI will fund 10 to 15
transformative projects that accelerate the conservation of high
priority wildlife habitat in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
$5 million will be awarded in capital land protection grants on a
competitive basis, with a minimum of $1 million awarded in each state.
Projects will be reviewed by a regional advisory committee made up of
experts from the environmental, scientific and political arenas that
will recommend grants and loans for approval to OSI’s Board of
Trustees.

The Western Massachusetts Land Protection Fund—capitalized with $1
million in foundation funds—will provide matching capital grants to
protect forested landscapes of western Massachusetts, with a focus on
protecting wildlife habitat while also facilitating appropriate human
use. This is continuing on the conservation lending work that OSI has
been conducting in Western Massachusetts since 2006.

Please take a moment to review grant criteria online at
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?NewEnglandGrassroots/c234428434/3c2bc5ba8a/5a16237e19
and if you have any questions contact Jennifer Melville at
jmelville@osiny.org. First Round Deadline is March 13, 2009.
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Food Waste Information from DEP

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) recently added two new documents to our website that provide useful information on food waste generation in Massachusetts (see MassDEP website ).  Both documents are based on a study completed for MassDEP in 2002, titled "Identification, Characterization & Mapping of Food Waste & Food Waste Generators in Massachusetts", which is available on this same web page under the heading of the same name. 

The first document is an excel spreadsheet that contains key data on all of the food waste generators included in the Report, including business name and type, location, locational coordinates, and, in many cases, estimated generation quantities.  This data is in a form that can readily be used for GIS mapping and analysis.  The second document is a map that shows the major food waste generators in Massachusetts, giving a statewide perspective of the distribution of large food waste generators across Massachusetts. 
If you have questions on this information, please contact me at MassDEP at (617) 654-6594 or at gretchen.brewer@state.ma.us.
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Habitat Restoration Proposals sought for Housatonic Watershed

Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Ian Bowles today announced that his office and the US Fish & Wildlife Service – together comprising the Massachusetts SubCouncil of the Housatonic River Natural Resource Trustees – are
soliciting a second round of proposals to restore wildlife habitat in the Berkshires as part of the Massachusetts Housatonic River Watershed Restoration Program. The Massachusetts SubCouncil will fund $1 million in projects financed through a Natural
Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration settlement with General Electric.

The settlement, filed as a consent decree in 2000, provided over $15 million to compensate Massachusetts and Connecticut for natural resource damages caused by release of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the company’s Pittsfield facility. PCB
pollution affected aquatic wildlife and habitats, as well as waterfowl and predators that consume contaminated organisms. Roughly half of the settlement total was awarded to each state, and Secretary Bowles serves as the Commonwealth’s Trustee. Trustees
awarded the first round of $4 million last year for restoration projects ranging from invasive species control and restoring river flow to implementing an environmental literacy program.

In this Round 2 Request for Responses (RFR), available online as of January 23 through the Commonwealth’s Procurement Access & Solicitation System (Comm-PASS [http://www.comm-pass.com/]), the Massachusetts SubCouncil is seeking proposals focused primarily on habitat restoration. Technical assistance in using the Comm-PASS system is available through the Comm-PASS "Help Desk" by calling 1-888-MA-STATE.

In addition, hard copies of application materials are on hand at the Lenox Library and several other public libraries in the Housatonic River watershed including Great Barrington Mason Library, Lee Public Library, Berkshire Athenaeum, Bushell-Sage
Library, and Stockbridge Library.

The SubCouncil will issue a separate solicitation for Round 2 land acquisition and protection proposals later this year. Two Restoration Plans/Supplemental Environmental Assessments will be prepared during Round 2, under dual timelines: one each for habitat restoration projects and land acquisition/protection projects.

“This round of funding for habitat restoration efforts brings the Commonwealth another step closer to fixing years of environmental damage in the Housatonic River Watershed,” Secretary Bowles said. “This more than 500-square-mile watershed supports 150 rare plants and animals and I look forward to receiving an array of proposals for projects aimed at returning their habitat to its full health and potential.”

An Applicant Conference to answer questions about the Round 2 solicitation for habitat restoration proposals process will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 25, at Lenox Town Hall, 6 Walker Street in Lenox. Written comments and/or questions regarding the Round 2 solicitation for habitat restoration will be accepted until March 11, and proposals will be accepted through April 23.

Information about the Housatonic River Watershed Restoration Project in Massachusetts is available online at www.ma-housatonicrestoration.org. Additional information can be obtained by contacting Todd Chadwell of Stantec Consulting Services Inc. at todd.chadwell@stantec.com or (207) 729-1199.

Restoration of the Housatonic River Watershed is being achieved through the cooperative efforts of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Programs of EEA and the USFWS, in conjunction with the public and affected communities in the
watershed. Trustee representatives responsible for administering the funds received from General Electric to restore the Massachusetts portion of the Housatonic watershed are EEA NRD Program Director Dale Young and USFWS NRD Specialist Veronica Varela.
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BerkShares Success Enables Exchange Rate Change
 
The incredible success of the initial issue of BerkShares has enabled a
strategic change in the exchange rate between the BerkShares local currency
and U.S. dollars. Beginning Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 100 BerkShares can
be purchased for 95 federal dollars and vice-versa. The BerkShares board of
trustees believes that this change will enable the participation of a wider
range of business in the BerkShares local economy. This means that Berkshire
citizens will have more places to spend BerkShares. And businesses that
accept BerkShares will have more places to spend them too‹and in the event
that they are unable to spend them, they¹ll be able to redeem them for more
federal dollars than under the previous exchange rate.
 
This modification to the program is intended to make BerkShares more
feasible for the business community, and to help facilitate the expansion of
the program to Pittsfield and northward, and potentially southward across
the Connecticut border as well. The change is the result of a community-wide
survey and much deliberation on the part of the BerkShares staff, board, and
volunteers. It is one of a series of improvements to the program that are
presently in the works, including BerkShares checking accounts and
BerkShares loans for businesses dedicated to import replacement.
 
Much credit for making the BerkShares program run smoothly goes to the
participating local banks: Berkshire Bank, Lee Bank, Lenox National Bank,
Pittsfield Co-op Bank, and Salisbury Bank and Trust. These banks have made a
remarkable commitment to the idea of a local economy. Please be patient with
their tellers as the new exchange rate is put into effect.
 
Credit for the overwhelming success of the program also goes to more than
350 local businesses that accept BerkShares. Their support and creativity
have been critical to keeping BerkShares circulating through our community.
 
Over two million BerkShares have been circulated since the program¹s
inception in 2006 and the program has recently been featured in Time,
Newsweek, and in over 100 regional newspapers through an Associated Press
newswire story. Increasingly, people are looking to BerkShares as a model
for a stable, localized, value-added economy and as an alternative to a
slumping national economy. The BerkShares board and staff are committed to
growing the project at a sensible rate and to giving the onlookers even more
to talk about.
 
For more information about the exchange rate change, go to
www.berkshares.org, or call 413/528-1737.

BerkShares
P.O. Box 125
Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413) 528-1737
http://www.BerkShares.org
info@berkshares.org
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UPCOMING GRANT OPPORTUNITY
FFY’10 Section 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Competitive Grants Program
Request for Responses to be issued on or about April 1, 2009
Two Pre-RFR meetings will be Held

TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES:

Section 319 of the Clean Water Act of 1987 established a national program to control nonpoint sources (NPS) of pollution.  Each year the Massachusetts DEP issues a Request for Responses (RFR) for competitive projects to be funded through Section 319 grants.  This year’s RFR will be issued on or about April 1, 2009.  Proposals will be due on June 2, 2009.  The RFR will be posted at the Commonwealth’s procurement site, http://www.comm-pass.com under Open Solicitations, Department of Environmental Protection, Professional Services. 

Two Pre-RFR meetings will be held at MassDEP’s Central Regional Office (CERO), 627 Main Street, Worcester, MA. 
Thursday, March 5, 2009 10-12 p.m., Concord Room
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 10-12 p.m., Concord Room

The purpose of each meeting is to review project requirements and eligibility and to discuss FFY ’10 program priorities.  Any other aspect of the program may also be discussed.  Under state procurement regulations, Department and other EOEEA staff will not be able to discuss projects with proponents once the RFR is issued on or about April 1.  Therefore, potential applicants are urged to take advantage of either or both of the Pre-RFR meetings, and all other opportunities to engage 319 program staff in discussion about how to develop eligible, competitive projects, prior to the April RFR issuance. 

Directions to CERO: http://mass.gov/dep/about/region/centralr.htm

PROJECT ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Responses to the RFR may be submitted by any interested Massachusetts public or private organization.

In order to be considered eligible for funding, projects must:
1.        Satisfy one or more of the project categories listed below.
2.        Have a 40% non-federal match of the total project cost.  The match may be cash or in-kind, and must meet the same eligibility criteria as the federal funds.
3.        Address problems and implement recommendations identified in TMDLs, diagnostic/feasibility studies, and/or  the Massachusetts Watershed-based Plan (http://public.dep.state.ma.us/Watershed/Intro.aspx )

Projects should be of manageable size, but should strive to be comprehensive projects addressing all major identified nonpoint sources affecting water quality in the watershed or subwatershed.   All 319 projects are required to provide quarterly reporting as well as a Final Report. 

Projects from all basins are eligible and encouraged.  Targeted basins for 2010 under the Five Year Basin Cycle (Years 3 and 4) are the Connecticut, Chicopee, Nashua, Blackstone, French, Quinebaug, Merrimack, Parker, Boston Harbor, Narragansett/Mt. Hope Bay, and Cape Cod.  Projects from these basins may receive five extra points.

PROJECT TYPES FOR FFY 2010

The Department encourages all types of eligible, competitive projects.  Competitive projects are typically comprised of one or more eligible activities.  The majority of s.319 funding is designated for funding implementation projects in impaired waters.  Project evaluation will substantially favor work that is consistent with the Massachusetts Watershed-based Plan and that will result in meeting water quality standards and/or restoring beneficial uses  (i.e., in removal of the waterbody from the 303d list, i.e. Category 4 or 5 of the Massachusetts 2006 Integrated List of Waters, http://mass.gov/dep/water/resources/tmdls.htm).  

A.  Implementation Projects in Impaired Waters (Category 4 or 5) - Preference will be given to projects that propose to implement a combination of structural and non-structural BMPs addressing all impairments and leading to restoration in an impaired watershed or subwatershed.   Implementation projects should be of manageable size, but must be comprehensive, striving to address all sources of NPS pollution in the project area.  BMPs should be selected for optimal pollutant load removal, emphasizing source reduction.  Please note that 319 funds cannot be used to implement requirements specifically contained within Phase I and Phase II NPDES permits.  Proposed BMPs must be developed at least to the conceptual design stage, and proposals must contain site specific information to demonstrate that the project is feasible and ready to be constructed within the project timeline.
B.  Outreach and Education – Outreach and education is often recommended as an effective nonstructural BMP.  Successful projects in this category will propose specific outreach and education activities, and will develop and implement an evaluation method to gauge the effectiveness of these activities.  A strong technology transfer component must also be included to facilitate the use of project results and deliverables in other watersheds.  Projects should be sustainable, i.e. the benefits of such projects should continue beyond the life of the grant-funded project. 
C.  Demonstration Projects – Projects in this category will evaluate new/innovative BMPs, technologies, and/or institutional approaches, and will accelerate the transfer and adoption of these new/innovative BMPs, technology or institutional approaches.  Preference will be given to demonstration of technologies that will directly lead to measurable water quality improvements.       

APPLICATION PROCESS

The RFR contains a schedule for each step of the application process. 

Applications must meet the eligibility requirements and follow the specific format outlined in the RFR.  Applications are reviewed and recommended by an internal screening committee comprised of MassDEP Municipal Services and Regional staff, EOEEA staff, and EPA.  Once approved by the Commissioner of MassDEP, the list of recommended projects is submitted to EPA with the Department's federal grant application in August each year.  Once the grant application is approved by EPA (on or after October 1st), the Department begins contract negotiations with the proponents of the funded projects.  As a general rule of thumb, 319 grantees can expect funds will become available six to eight months after submitting the initial grant application.  Funds are paid on a reimbursement basis, and the Department retains 10% of the award amount until the project is finalized.  From fiscal year 1990 through 2009, individual total project costs (grant funds plus match) have ranged from $10,000 up to $500,000. 

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The Department encourages all types of eligible, competitive proposals.  Evaluation criteria include, but are not limited to:  nature, extent, severity and understanding of the NPS problem; logical and comprehensive strategy; feasibility and probability of success; projected benefits; local support and participation; interagency participation, cooperation and commitment; local funding; amount of funds requested; consistency with Department and EOEEA goals and priorities; and consistency with the Massachusetts Watershed-based Plan.  Project evaluation will substantially favor work that will result in meeting water quality standards and/or restoring beneficial uses  (i.e., in removal of the waterbody from the 303d list, i.e. Category 4 or 5 of the Massachusetts 2006 Integrated List of Waters, http://mass.gov/dep/water/resources/tmdls.htm ).  

To obtain additional program information, indicative summaries of past 319 projects, or a copy of the 319 RFR, please call or email Jane Peirce, 319 Program Coordinator at (508) 767-2792, Jane.Peirce@state.ma.us, or write to Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Municipal Services, 627 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608,  Attention:  Jane Peirce.  Hard copies of the RFR will only be mailed if requested. 
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The Mass. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) is now accepting applications for the 2009 Secretary’s Awards for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education.  All K-l2 schools who are participating in environmental and energy projects in their schools are eligible.  You can submit your nomination online by clicking here for info and here for the form, or by going to EEA’s homepage, http://www.mass.gov/envir, and navigating from there.

The Deadline for submitting a nomination is Friday, April 3, 2009.
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Birds Tell Important Climate Change Story
from National Audubon

What are Purple Finches, Boreal Chickadees and Black Ducks trying to tell us about climate change? They are all telling us that climate change is here, now. They are telling us we must act now to address this urgent problem. They are showing us a pattern of ecological disruption that tells an alarming story.

[National] Audubon's latest report, Birds and Climate Change: Ecological Disruption in Motion, looks at the last 40 years of Christmas Bird Count data and concludes that 58% of the species studied have moved significantly northward as winter temperatures increase, with the Purple Finch shifting the furthest — 433 miles.

As part of [National] Audubon's national campaign to promote this report and urge our leaders to take immediate action to address the threat of global warming, we've launched a companion web site, www.BirdsandClimate.org.

In addition to the action petition, www.BirdsandClimate.org features a fun quiz, so you can test your knowledge, and a place to report your own observations (we'll post some of the best stories). Also, don't miss our upcoming webcast featuring the Audubon's lead bird scientist, Greg Butcher, author of the report.

BEAT note: Mass Audubon is a separate organization from National Audubon. (Mass Audubon was the original Audubon formed, other states followed. Many states joined together to form National Audubon, but Mass Audubon has remained independent for more than 100 years.)
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