Proposed New Regulations on Outdoor Wood Boilers

Name & Citation of Regulation(s): Outdoor Hydronic Heaters, also known as Outdoor Wood Boilers (310 CMR 7.26(50) through (54))

Brief Explanation and Rationale for Proposed Changes: MassDEP is proposing a new section to the Air Pollution Control Regulations to address outdoor hydronic heaters, also known as outdoor wood boilers, installed after the effective date of these proposed regulations and to address the operation of outdoor hydronic heaters installed before the effective date.  The proposed regulations have requirements for manufacturers, sellers and owners of outdoor hydronic heaters.

The Commonwealth is committed to measures designed to attain and maintain national ambient air quality standards.  The proposed amendments are part of that commitment and will be proposed as a revision to the Massachusetts State Implementation Plan (SIP).

Web Link to View Draft Regulations: The draft regulation revisions with more detailed summaries and background documents are on MassDEP's website: http://www.mass.gov/dep/service/regulations/newregs.htm#owb

Public Hearing Information: Public hearings will be conducted under the provisions of M.G.L. Chapter 30A on:

Thursday, June 12, 2008 - 5:00 pm
Room 309, Frost Building
Holyoke Community College
Holyoke, Massachusetts

Monday, June 23, 2008 – 5:00 pm
Lenox Town Hall
6 Walker St.
Lenox, Massachusetts

Testimony may be presented orally or in writing at the public hearings. Written comments will also be accepted until 5:00 PM on July 3, 2008. Written testimony must be submitted to:

Department of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Waste Prevention
One Winter Street 7th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Attn: James Doucett

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

For special accommodations for these events or hearing information in an alternate format, please contact Donald Gomes, DEP's ADA Coordinator at 617-556-1057, BAS/HR, 3rd Floor, One Winter Street, Boston, MA 02108. 

return to top

From Gray Funnels to Green Sponges

EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds posted its inaugural podcast, the first audio program in a planned series about smart growth and green development entitled, From Gray Funnels to Green Sponges.

Hosted by EPA's Jamal Kadri, this program features a discussion with EPA's senior urban designer and smart growth expert Clark Wilson on how communities can more effectively manage rainwater and snow melt where it falls. Green streets can make great places, preserve water quality and restore our nation's waterways. These and other practices like rain gardens and green roofs are helping many urban communities like Portland, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. manage stormwater runoff as well as provide aesthetic benefits. In addition, green streets and other environmentally-friendly landscape designs can help minimize urban heat island effect, reduce a community's carbon footprint, and cool the planet.

To access the podcast, visit the podcast website. Watershed Academy Webcasts are also available as podcasts from iTunes. Visit webcasts website .

return to top

return to top

When you open a new PVC shower curtain, you're immediately hit with a strong chemical odor, which may persist in your home for days, weeks, or even months.  This "new shower curtain smell" may even make you feel nauseous, give you a headache, or make you feel sick.  To determine which chemicals are causing this intense odor, CHEJ commissioned two scientific laboratories to put PVC shower curtains to the test.

What CHEJ found:

• CHEJ new study -- Volatile Vinyl - the New Shower Curtain's Chemical Smell -- found PVC shower curtains can release over 100 chemicals into the air. 
• Some of these chemicals cause developmental damage as well as damage to the liver and central nervous, respiratory, and reproductive systems. 
• Some can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans. 
• Some chemicals were even found in the air 28 days after a PVC shower curtain was unwrapped and hung! 

That's not all.  You can read all about it in the new CHEJ report.

Then take action and sign a Petition for PVC-Free Shower Curtains.

BEAT Note: You can buy cloth shower curtains and windowshades. No need to buy the vinyl versions, but please help stop the production of such toxic products for use in our homes!

return to top

Natural food store job opening

If you know someone who can use a p/t position in a small local natural foods business, please pass this information along. Computer-savvy, detail-oriented person to handle customer service, administrative tasks & order management from our small web-based natural foods company in Great Barrington.  Approximately 15 - 20 hours a week.  We’re looking for a self-motivated, organized person who is familiar with Quickbooks, Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Publisher and is internet-savvy. 

For more information on the position, visit www.Sproutman.com/job.htm. Please call 413.528.5200 ext. 4 or email us at info@sproutman.com

Thank you,
Steve Meyerowitz
www.Sproutman.com
413-528-5200. ext 4. Fax: 413-528-5201
PO Box 1100 Great Barrington, MA 01230 USA

return to top

Grants will be awarded to organizations that are seeking to establish a new program or to expand an existing program to meet a demonstrated need in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Eligible applicants are:

1. Nonprofit organizations (incorporated with 501(c)(3) status) that have been in existence for at least one year prior to the date on which the organization submits an application;
2. State, municipal, and county governments, including departments and agencies therein;
3. Academic Institutions; and
4. Native American tribes.

return to top

Seventh Modification to the Consent Decree

Click here to read the seventh modification to the Consent Decree (pdf) . The modification allows GE's Capital, a subsidiary of GE, to sell the Co-generation Facility located on GE property to Maxim Power. The modification stipulates that GE will remain responsible to implement their obligations under the Consent Decree. GE is not selling any of the land to Maxim Power; they are selling the business and the physical plant and will grant land leases to Maxim Power. Maxim Power is a large utility that own and operates numerous power plants in North America.

BEAT asked about the testing of the well water that this facility uses because General Electric had injection wells that they used to dispose of toxic chemicals many years ago. Here is EPA's response to our question:

[T]he g[round] w[ater] data for the supply well at the co-generation facility is included in the semi-annual groundwater reports submitted by GE for Groundwater Management Area 3. The recent GMA-3 Reports are on EPA's web page. The supply well is refered to as ASW-5. Attached is the
link to the latest semi-annual groundwater report. The data for ASW-5 is in Appendix C, which begins on page 149 of the pdf and goes through
page 153 of the pdf. Data is included from June 1996 through December 2007. Groundwater samples are collected twice per year. The data
shows that PCBs have never been detected and that low levels of trichloroethene have been detected.
return to top