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EPA Responds to the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
from Water Headlines for the week of May 10, 2010, a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water
Since the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico on April 22, 2010, EPA has mobilized resources to support the U.S. Coast Guard and protect public health and the environment. Our Emergency Operations Center at headquarters has been activated, trained EPA responders are working on the scene, and special mobile equipment has been sent to the Gulf area.
We have several online resources available:
1) We're posting updated data and other information on our BP oil spill site (www.epa.gov/bpspill):
• Get air quality and water data
• Find answers to common questions
• Submit technology solutions
2) Connect with us on social media sites:
• Administrator Jackson's personal account of the response to the oil spill: Facebook and Twitter
• EPA's announcements about our response: Facebook and Twitter
3) Please subscribe to our oil spill updates at http://service.govdelivery.com/service/subscribe.html?code=USAEPA_389.
You can also visit the coordinated government response site (www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com) for:
• Information about the spill and efforts to stop the oil from flowing
• Hotlines to report oil on land or injured wildlife
• Details of how you can volunteer
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FAMILY ADVENTURE DAY AT PLEASANT VALLEY
Mass Audubon’s Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary welcomes all to Family Adventure Day on Saturday, June 5 at 472 W. Mountain Rd., Lenox, from 10 am to 4 pm, rain or shine. Underwritten by Greylock Federal Credit Union, all events are free of charge.
Dr. Marmalade’s puppets will perform “Michael’s Surprise” at 11 am, and musician David Grover will entertain at noon. Naturalist Tom Tyning will present live Terrific Turtles at 1:30 pm, followed by wildlife rehabilitator Tom Ricardi’s Live Birds of Prey at 3 pm.
Fiddler George Wilson will welcome visitors with traditional tunes. Naturalist and educator Gayle Tardif-Raser will help children make castings of animal tracks to take home. Guided nature walks will be offered all day, and Plant Conservation Volunteers will answer questions about alien invasives. Lunches, snacks, and Project Native plants will be for sale. Mass Audubon family memberships will also be available at half-price.
Throughout the day, families are invited to explore the sanctuary’s seven miles of pond, forest, and stream trails. For more than sixty years, the sanctuary’s daycamp has offered outdoor education and fun for children. Its birds, wildlife, plants, and natural environment have attracted visitors from around the world.
For further information: 413-637-0320 or www.massaudubon.org.
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from the Land Trust Alliance
Post and Vote for Ideas on the America's Great Outdoors IdeaJam
The success of the America's Great Outdoors Initiative (see http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/) depends on your participation! A broad and enthusiastic response will help make the case for significant new funding and we need your help showing that the federal government can accomplish far more with its limited resources by working through land trusts and in cooperation with private landowners.
The IdeaJam is a creative social networking tool where anybody can post an idea and vote to "promote," "demote" or comment on ideas posted by others. So far 59 ideas have been submitted, ranging from the expected, like increased LWCF funding, to the innovative, like debt for nature swaps. Even the most popular idea, our own Making the Enhanced Easement Incentive Permanent, has just 33 votes so just a few land trusts promoting their priorities could have a significant impact:
- Register to participate -- it's free and easy
- Vote to "promote" ideas that would help your land trust
- Post your own idea
- Join the conversation by commenting on ideas important to you
- Email your members and partners and urge them to vote!
Here are a few ideas submitted by members of the land trust community that you could vote for (register first):
Make the Enhanced Tax Incentive for Conservation Easements Permanent
Expand the Estate Tax Exclusion for Lands Protected With a Conservation Easement
Defer Estate Taxes on Family Farms and Ranches
Full & Dedicated Funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Expand Use of LWCF for Private Lands Conservation and Third-party Administration
Increase Forest Legacy Program Funding
Support Farm Bill Conservation Easement Programs
Enhance the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program and Grasslands Reserve Program
Community Forestry Bonds - leveraging private markets for working forest conservation
To follow the latest news on this exciting initiative, visit our America's Great Outdoors page.
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Op-Ed Columnist
New Alarm Bells About Chemicals and Cancer
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: May 5, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/opinion/06kristof.html
The President’s Cancer Panel is the Mount Everest of the medical mainstream, so it is astonishing to learn that it is poised to join ranks with the organic food movement and declare: chemicals threaten our bodies.
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Nicholas D. Kristof
The cancer panel is releasing a landmark 200-page report on Thursday, warning that our lackadaisical approach to regulation may have far-reaching consequences for our health.
I’ve read an advance copy of the report, and it’s an extraordinary document. It calls on America to rethink the way we confront cancer, including much more rigorous regulation of chemicals.
Traditionally, we reduce cancer risks through regular doctor visits, self-examinations and screenings such as mammograms. The President’s Cancer Panel suggests other eye-opening steps as well, such as giving preference to organic food, checking radon levels in the home and microwaving food in glass containers rather than plastic.
In particular, the report warns about exposures to chemicals during pregnancy, when risk of damage seems to be greatest. Noting that 300 contaminants have been detected in umbilical cord blood of newborn babies, the study warns that: “to a disturbing extent, babies are born ‘pre-polluted.’ ”
It’s striking that this report emerges not from the fringe but from the mission control of mainstream scientific and medical thinking, the President’s Cancer Panel. Established in 1971, this is a group of three distinguished experts who review America’s cancer program and report directly to the president.
One of the seats is now vacant, but the panel members who joined in this report are Dr. LaSalle Leffall Jr., an oncologist and professor of surgery at Howard University, and Dr. Margaret Kripke, an immunologist at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Both were originally appointed to the panel by former President George W. Bush.
“We wanted to let people know that we’re concerned, and that they should be concerned,” Professor Leffall told me.
The report blames weak laws, lax enforcement and fragmented authority, as well as the existing regulatory presumption that chemicals are safe unless strong evidence emerges to the contrary.
“Only a few hundred of the more than 80,000 chemicals in use in the United States have been tested for safety,” the report says. It adds: “Many known or suspected carcinogens are completely unregulated.”
Industry may howl. The food industry has already been fighting legislation in the Senate backed by Dianne Feinstein of California that would ban bisphenol-A, commonly found in plastics and better known as BPA, from food and beverage containers.
Studies of BPA have raised alarm bells for decades, and the evidence is still complex and open to debate. That’s life: In the real world, regulatory decisions usually must be made with ambiguous and conflicting data. The panel’s point is that we should be prudent in such situations, rather than recklessly approving chemicals of uncertain effect.
The President’s Cancer Panel report will give a boost to Senator Feinstein’s efforts. It may also help the prospects of the Safe Chemicals Act, backed by Senator Frank Lautenberg and several colleagues, to improve the safety of chemicals on the market.
Some 41 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, and they include Democrats and Republicans alike. Protecting ourselves and our children from toxins should be an effort that both parties can get behind — if enough members of Congress are willing to put the public interest ahead of corporate interests.
One reason for concern is that some cancers are becoming more common, particularly in children. We don’t know why that is, but the proliferation of chemicals in water, foods, air and household products is widely suspected as a factor. I’m hoping the President’s Cancer Panel report will shine a stronger spotlight on environmental causes of health problems — not only cancer, but perhaps also diabetes, obesity and autism.
This is not to say that chemicals are evil, and in many cases the evidence against a particular substance is balanced by other studies that are exonerating. To help people manage the uncertainty prudently, the report has a section of recommendations for individuals:
¶Particularly when pregnant and when children are small, choose foods, toys and garden products with fewer endocrine disruptors or other toxins. (Information about products is at www.cosmeticsdatabase.com or www.healthystuff.org.)
¶For those whose jobs may expose them to chemicals, remove shoes when entering the house and wash work clothes separately from the rest of the laundry.
¶Filter drinking water.
¶Store water in glass or stainless steel containers, or in plastics that don’t contain BPA or phthalates (chemicals used to soften plastics). Microwave food in ceramic or glass containers.
¶Give preference to food grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers and growth hormones. Avoid meats that are cooked well-done.
¶Check radon levels in your home. Radon is a natural source of radiation linked to cancer.
•
I invite you to visit my blog, On the Ground. Please also join me on Facebook, watch my YouTube videos and follow me on Twitter.
A version of this article appeared in print on May 6, 2010, on page A33 of the New York edition.
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Proposed Mass. 2010 Integrated List of Waters - comments due 6/11/10
FYI, in case you're not already aware of this important draft state water quality report (see below or this and related info at http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/resources/tmdls.htm). You might want to read the section of River Network's on-line course on the Clean Water Act (http://www.rivernetwork.org/rn/cwa/home/) referring to impaired waters (http://www.rivernetwork.org/rn/cwa/impaired-waters) to get a better understanding of the significance of the Proposed Massachusetts Year 2010 Integrated List of Waters (CWA Sections 303d and 305b) and why you might want to consider reviewing its contents and submitting comments on it.
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Proposed Massachusetts Year 2010 Integrated List of Waters (CWA Sections 303d and 305b)
http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/resources/tmdls.htm (scroll down to the fifth item)
The Proposed Massachusetts Year 2010 Integrated List of Waters is provided here for public review and comment. This document will be submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in fulfillment of reporting requirements of both s.305(b) and s.303(d) of the Clean Water Act. In addition to the actual proposed listing of the individual categories of waters, the report presents a brief history of water quality management in Massachusetts and presents the methodology that is currently employed for assessing and reporting on the status of Massachusetts' waters. The 2010 List is based primarily on new watershed assessments completed for the Chicopee, French, Quinebaug, and Nashua watersheds and the Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay Coastal Drainage Areas. Water quality assessments of these watersheds have been completed and can be found at http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/resources/wqassess.htm.
MS Word 4.2 MB | PDF 923 KB
Comments should be submitted in writing to the address below no later than June 11, 2010.
MassDEP
Division of Watershed Management
627 Main Street, Second Floor
Worcester, MA 01608
Attn: Arthur S. Johnson
508-767-2873
The Massachusetts Watershed Coalition
....Creating a Network of Watershed Partners.
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Final Revisions to the GHG Policy and Protocol
Based upon the input provided by stakeholders and taking into account the changes to MEPA’s enabling statute under the Global Warming Solutions Act, the MEPA Office has issued final revisions to the GHG Emissions Policy and Protocol to clarify the requirements for review and analysis of GHG emissions and to fulfill MEPA’s statutory obligations.
Also available is a summary of the revisions and a response to comments received on the draft revisions, which were made available for public review.
The revised GHG Policy and Protocol is effective as of May 5, 2010.
You may view the final revisions by clicking on this link:http://www.env.state.ma.us/mepa/ghg.aspx
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Special Announcement: "Nature Buddies" Volunteers needed
Wednesday May 5th, 10:00 - 1:00 Harvard Forest, Petersham
Wednesday June 2nd, 10:00 - 1:00 MGLCT Skyfields, Athol
Date to be determined: Bearsden Conservation Area, Athol
Children at Sanders Street School in Athol get to explore their natural treasures thanks to a mini-grant from the Athol-Royalston Education Foundation. Teacher Bonnie Benjamin is seeking active adults who would like to share their joy of the outdoors with children in the first grade. Natural Treasures include Harvard Forest, Skyfields, Millers River Environmental Center, Bearsden and The Farm School. Benjamin reported that last year 16 senior adults joined in the explorations. The walks are gentle and paced for lots of observation and exploration. For information, contact Benjamin at 978-249-8296 bonbenjamin@verizon.net
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Scholarships Available for Children’s Nature Camp
Grafton – The Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center announces that scholarships are still available for children aged 6 through 14 to attend a one-week nature camp. The popular camp is called the “Summer Outdoor Learning Adventure” and is held from 9 AM until 3 PM, with after care hours available. Children attending the camp will spend the entire day outdoors learning about nature and having fun! Each day is spent hiking, exploring and discovering things about the natural world around us. The scholarship covers the full cost of the one-week session. Paid registrations are also being accepted. Please visit our website at www.dykenpond.org or contact the Center at dykenpond@fairpoint.net or (518) 658-2055 for an application and more information.
Dyken Pond Center is a Rensselaer County Park open daily during daylight hours for hiking, fishing and non-motor boating. Call 658-2055 for directions and a complete schedule of our spring and summer events.
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Program Manager: AmeriCorps Massachusetts Lands Project
Work with Massachusetts land trusts to initiate and run an AmeriCorps program that provides stipended volunteers to assist with land conservation, land stewardship, outreach, and service learning. The position is contingent on federal funding. Notification of grant funding is anticipated by June 7, 2010. Reports to Executive Director, Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust. The Program Manager’s main responsibilities are to oversee the recruitment, orientation, training, and supervision of the corps members; to serve as a resource for land trust staff who directly supervise members; to oversee the financial administration of the program; to monitor the program to insure that members and staff are in compliance with AmeriCorps regulations and are meeting the grant benchmarks, and to prepare and submit all program reports. Length of position contingent on funding. For details, visit www.mountgrace.org/commonground/manager.pdf No Phone calls, please.
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Lisa Cormier, Office Manager
978-248-2055 x10 cormier@mountgrace.org
Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust 1461 Old Keene Rd. Athol , MA 01331
t: (978) 248-2043 f: (978) 248-2053 www.mountgrace.org
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BRPC Clearinghouse Review of Proposed BigY in Lee
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's Clearinghouse Review Committee will be discussing the Expanded Environmental Notification Form (EENF) for the proposed Big Y supermarket at Diesel Dan's in Lee (right next to the MassPike entrance) Thursday, May 15th at 5pm at Lee Town Hall Courtroom, 32 Main St., Lee, MA. The public is invited to attend, although public comment is at the discretion of the Review Committee.
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The Coalition for Buzzards Bay is looking to fill the position of Land Protection and Stewardship Specialist
This job will include time spent on land management/stewardship activities at conservation land and time spent on advancing land acquisition/protection projects for the Wareham Land Trust. A full description is attached. Please forward this on to anyone who you think might be interested and encourage them to contact me by email with a cover letter and resume. Thanks.
Brendan Annett
Vice President, Watershed Protection
The Coalition for Buzzards Bay
620 Belleville Avenue, New Bedford , MA 02740
21 Luscombe Avenue, Woods Hole , MA 02543
Tel. 508-999-6363 x.214 Fax 508-984-7913
www.savebuzzardsbay.org
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Westside Farm Project Workshare Opening
The Westside Farm Project of Pittsfield, MA (www.westsidefarmproject.org) is seeking an intern interested in: urban agriculture / gardening, community organizing, childhood development, peer mentoring, issues related to poverty and food insecurity, direct service and multicultural work. Applicants must work well with young people, as most work will take place in a garden frequented by neighborhood kids. Intern will work with the farmer during some or all open garden hours on one of our urban plots: Tues, Wed. or Fri. 12:30 - 2:00, starting 6/1. This is an unpaid internship. We offer hands-on learning experience and organic vegetables. If interested, please contact Becky Rushford: westsidefarmer@gmail.com
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Calling Berkshire Educators, Entertainers and Chefs with a “Green” Streak!
The Westside Farm Project of Pittsfield, MA started as a small garden to supply fresh produce to Westside community pantries and food-insecure neighbors. This year the project is expanding to three plots - growing food and community.
Volunteer 1 hour of your time this summer by providing a workshop or meal to the Westside Farm Project's (www.westsidefarmproject.org) free, “Green Streaks” program for the Westside neighborhood, July 7th - August 27th, Wednesdays 10:30 - 11:30.
For our Green Streaks summer program, we are seeking: 1) educators and entertainers to conduct one-hour workshops, and 2) chefs to provide healthy, kid-friendly & exciting main courses (featuring vegetables). There are eight sessions! Sign up for one (or more) by May 31st.
Using our urban garden as an educational setting, workshops offered to neighborhood kids can be flexible in content. Subject matter can range from environmental and health awareness to social issues, but should relate to the garden and ‘growing’, and impart an empowering message to a group of kids from a predominately low-income, multicultural neighborhood. The focus should be on ages 7 - 11.
Creative mediums such as music, dance, theater, art, experiments in science and food preparation are a few suggestions. We’d love to make garden art with the kids. We'd love to get them eating kohlrabi and other unique vegetables. This should be fun for all of us!
Workshops will be held outside, in our garden or adjoining open space, at 148 Robbins Avenue. Supervision and some material support will be provided by the Westside Farm Project.
Participants are invited to a community picnic after each workshop.
Green Streaks is a volunteer-run pilot program that is free to attendees. If the program is successful, it may lead to future, compensated collaboration. Additionally, this is a great volunteer opportunity for college interns and farm apprentices to explore.
Contact Becky Rushford (westsidefarmer@gmail.com) with workshop ideas, food offerings and availability by May 31st, the sign-up deadline. www.westsidefarmproject.org.
Choose one of eight workshop time slots:
July 7th - August 27th
Wednesdays 10:30 - 11:30 (rain dates are following Fridays, 10:30 - 11:30)
7/7 (rain date 7/9)
7/14 (rain date 7//16)
7/21 (rain date 7/23)
7/28 (rain date 7/30)
8/4 (rain date 8/6)
8/11 (rain date 8/13)
8/18 (rain date 8/20)
8/25 (rain date 8/27)
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Message from Green Berkshires on the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act
The MA Speaker of the House wants a vote on the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act next week.
Contact your representative now to oppose the Act, S.2260.
Ask your representative to oppose the Act and to speak about it with his/her colleagues and the House leadership.
TAKE ACTION NOW --
To contact your representative, call the House switchboard (617) 722-2000, or find his/her direct-dial phone number and email address below.
To find the name of your representative, visit
http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php
Even if you are not a voter but pay taxes in MA, you have a right to be heard on this issue.
HERE'S HOW TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE --
Call your representative's office and ask to speak with him/her; if unavailable, ask for a return call, leaving your phone number with the staffer, OR;
Call your representative's office and speak with the staffer who answers, saying you strongly oppose S.2260, the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act, AND / OR;
Email your representative with the subject line: I strongly oppose S.2260 Wind Energy Siting Reform Act (email is less effective than a conversation, but far better than doing nothing), AND;
Copy your email to the Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo Robert.DeLeo@state.ma.us and Chairman of the House Ways & Means Charles Murphy Rep.CharlesMurphy@hwm.state.ma.us
FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, POST IT ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER - WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE CONTACTING LEGISLATORS RIGHT AWAY!
TALKING POINTS ON S.2260 --
- THE WIND ENERGY SITING REFORM ACT ENDS ALL LOCAL CONTROL OF WIND DEVELOPMENT
Opposing the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act has nothing to do with your opinion about the benefits of wind power, it's about objecting to the state's brazen attempt to undermine Home Rule, gut environmental laws, and strip communities and citizens of their rights to appeal bad decisions of a state agency.
If the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act is adopted, we will be the only state in the nation that exempts the wind industry from compliance with local laws, state environmental laws, and the traditional rights of participation and appeal by communities and citizen groups.
No other industry in MA - including the power plant industry - gets this triumvirate of special privileges.
- FAST-TRACK PERMITTING MEANS DEVELOPERS COULD BUILD ANYWHERE THEY CHOOSE IN YOUR TOWN
The Act will shift authority for permitting wind projects, along with their associated transmission lines, roads, and other impacts, from town boards and state environmental agencies to an unelected state agency, the Energy Facilities Siting Board, which has a mission to permit power plants not protect the environment, and which has never turned down a power plant application.
- YOU AND YOUR TOWN WILL LOSE YOUR RIGHT TO YOUR DAY IN COURT
The Act will allow the EFSB to disregard a community's zoning bylaw and to override its denial of a permit for a wind facility along with its associated infrastructure.
The Act replaces environmental laws with "standards" that can be applied or waived at the discretion of the EFSB. This means a wind project that does not comply with the "standards" can still be approved under even lower thresholds, putting ecologically fragile areas and species at risk, and exposing neighbors to the negative health effects of noise and shadow strobing.
- THIS ACT SENDS THE WRONG MESSAGE ABOUT 'GREEN ENERGY'
If the wind industry needs a pass from the environmental laws that everyone else must follow, how can it be considered environmentally friendly? Green energy projects should be able to meet all the state's environmental laws, thus setting an example for all other industries to follow.
If the wind industry secures these special exemptions, every other industry will seek the same privileges, with the broad effect of gutting environmental laws that have been in force for decades.
Since, under the Act, cost and necessity cannot be factors considered by the EFSB in its decisions to permit wind projects, marginal areas will be vulnerable to development without any brakes on bad projects by local boards and state environmental laws.
- ELECTRICITY COSTS AND JOB GROWTH WILL BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED
The subsidies for these wind projects will be hugely expensive to ratepayers and taxpayers. We already have among the highest electricity rates in the country, and this Act will increase electricity prices through the higher cost of wind-generated electricity, subsidies, and new transmission lines - affecting homeowners and businesses alike.
FOR MORE INFORMATION --
To read the text of the Act, visit http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st02/st02260.htm
To read a line-by-line analysis of the Act, visit www.GreenBerkshires.org
Please feel free to contact me by email etillinghast@greenberkshires.org or by phone, (413) 528-9363.
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Weigh in on Massachusetts Climate Plan
from the Environmental League of Massachusetts
Draft Action Plan and Public Hearings
The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs just released a draft Climate Implementation Plan and public hearing schedule, pursuant to the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act. The Act requires the Commonwealth to develop an economy-wide plan for reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) by 10-25% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% by 2050. Data collected and analyzed to date points to the state being able to reduce GHG emissions between 18-25% by 2020 either through laws already on the books or via future actions at no or low cost.
You can find the draft plan and the public hearing schedule at the link below. This is your opportunity to weigh in on the blueprint that will guide the state's action on global warming for years to come. http://www.mass.gov/dep/air/climate/gwsa_hearings.htm
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Bay State Bike Week
Learn more about the 2010 Bay State Bike Week, May 17-21, on the web. Lots of events in the Pioneer Valley!
MassDOT's Bay State Bike Week participation is part of our Healthy Transportation Compact. Learn more about the Compact.
» Read full article on[Commonwealth Conversations: Transportation]
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Water Conservation Grant Program .
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
Laurie Burt, Commissioner
Bureau of Resource Protection
Division of Municipal Services, Steven J. McCurdy, Director
April - 2010
Introduction
The MassDEP's Water Conservation Grant Program awards funds to municipalities and public water systems to encourage and enhance local drinking water conservation efforts. Up to $60,000 per proposal or a total of up to $800,000 is expected to be awarded to eligible public water systems for FFY 2011.
Eligible Projects
Project tasks/costs eligible for funding are listed below; however, all proposed projects that focus on drinking water conservation and loss identification, resolution, and prevention will be considered.
- Water Audits to balance the volume of drinking water produced with the volume billed, and account for the remaining water (loss). Proposed audits should use the guidance available on MassDEP's website http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/approvals/guidance.pdf
- Leak Detection Surveys that demonstrate a commitment to undertake leak repair. Grant funds can be used to hire experienced professional surveyors using data loggers and leak detection correlators or, if justified, the purchase of similar equipment.
- Water Conservation Outreach and Education Programs promoting awareness of the long-term economic and environmental benefits of water conservation, to include but not limited to; working with schools, producing local cable or newspaper announcements, distributing water conservation education information and low water use concepts to agricultural, commercial, industrial, and residential consumers.
- Rebates for efficient WaterSense labeled plumbing fixtures (low-flow toilets) and water efficient CEE-qualified appliances.
- Water Rate Surveys for the purposes of establishing water rates to assure appropriate revenues to support maintenance needs and capital projects for improvements to the water works system. Proposed rate studies may also include a very small-scale evaluation of capital needs to assure a higher degree of accuracy in setting conservation-based rates. Grantees should have conducted a water audit and leak detection survey within the previous two years prior to the implementation of a rate study or may conduct such as part of the proposed grant project.
Eligibility
- Proposed projects must provide a twenty-five percent (25%) match of the requested grant amount. In-kind services are eligible as a match.
- The direct recipient of the grant must be a public water system or municipality. Projects may be developed, carried out, and completed by non-governmental organizations, regional planning agencies, consultants, etc. on behalf of public water systems.
- Leak detection survey projects must commit to follow-up repairs of detected leaks.
- Projects must provide an appropriate method for determining environmental results such as quantifying the water savings from leaks repaired, retrofits, etc.
Ineligible Projects/Expenses
- Land or conservation restriction purchases
- Offset feasibility studies
- Operation and Maintenance Expenses
- Vehicle purchase or travel related expenses
- Office equipment purchases
- GIS-related expenses*
- Meter rehabilitation, testing, calibration, or replacement costs *
- Capital Improvements (meters, pipes, valves, etc.) *
- Retrofit kits (shower heads, faucet aerators, dye tabs, etc.)*
- Please note these items are eligible as in-kind match contributions.
Selection Criteria
1) Applications will be rated and evaluated on the basis of:
- Addressing an identified problem meeting demand (i.e., the public water system is operating under a MassDEP authorized Water Emergency Declaration).
- Proposed measures of success - ability of project’s impact to be quantified in gallons of water and dollars saved over the course of a year.
- Preference for public water systems with existing water conservation programs and policies (for example; budget line-items supporting annual leak detection surveys, water audits, or meter replacement policies that reflect the State guidance).
- Proposals that provide evidence that the public water system commits to calibrating source water venturi metering systems twice a year and conforms to American Water Works Association’s calibration and replacement standards for other in-line metering systems to ensure the accuracy of recording water volumes.
2) Project proposals should address the following:
- Planning - be in compliance with long term planning efforts.
- Public Health - support public health by ensuring promotion of projects that maximize the protection of public health.
- Implementation clearly describing how the project will be carried out including: methodology, personnel, time lines, and entities that will complete the outlined project tasks.
- Detail the level of commitment for repair of detected leaks.
- Sustainability - proposal is linked to long term drinking water conservation goals and standards established by the Water Resources Commission and MassDEP. These can be accessed at http://www.mass.gov/Eoeea/docs/eea/wrc/water_conservation_standards.pdf
- Existing Efforts - proposal supports ongoing or planned educational efforts, water audits, leak detection surveys, etc.
- Budget - costs should be reasonable for the tasks identified, and the required 25% match must be documented.
- Comprehensive Projects - proposal could include a combination of eligible project tasks outlined in this request for proposals.
- Projects that incorporate a watershed approach to identify and reduce water loss.
- Pricing policies that strongly encourage water conservation
Application Process
This program year, the Water Conservation Grant Program anticipates posting a Request for Response (RFR) and related information on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Procurement Assessment Solicitation System Web site (http://www.comm-pass.com) on June 18, 2010 with responses due August 3, 2010. Competitive applications must respond to the RFR’s project goals, eligibility requirements, and evaluation criteria.
Background
The Water Conservation Grant Program will award funds to municipalities and public water systems to encourage and enhance local drinking water conservation efforts. Federal and/or state funds provide monies for this grant program in support of the Massachusetts Water Resources Commission and MassDEP watershed management policies and water conservation initiatives, as well as the Massachusetts Water Policy developed through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Information:
Water Audit Guidance: www.mass.gov/dep/water/approvals/guidance.pdf
EPA’s WaterSense Program: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pubs/label.htm
Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) (http://www.cee1.org/)
Water Pricing Information: www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure/pricing/index.htm
Grant Matching: www.mass.gov/dep/water/wcgmatch.htm
Massachusetts Water Conservation Standards: http://www.mass.gov/Eoeea/docs/eea/wrc/water_conservation_standards.pdf
Commonwealth Procurement Assessment Solicitation System: www.comm-pass.com
Example of Past Projects: http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/wcg0409.pdf
For more information about this grant program contact the following MassDEP staff:
Division of Municipal Services:
Malcolm Harper (Program Coordinator) 508-767-2795
MassDEP Municipal Services and Drinking Water Program Regional Offices:
Northeast: Kevin Brander 978-694-3236
Southeast: Richard Keith 508-946-2784
Central: Barbara Kickham 508-767-2724
Western: Jim Bumgardner 413-755-2270 Mike McGrath 413-755-2202
A publication of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Department of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Resource Protection
One Winter Street, Boston, MA 02108
This information is available in alternate format upon request by contacting the ADA Coordinator at 617-556-1057.
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