Environmental Monitor & Public Notices Alphabetically Advocacy News (includes how to reach your legislators) – New – Advocacy news on FY 2007 appropriations bill DEP Enforcement Actions In The Berkshires NPDES News
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Symposium on Alternative Remedial Technologies to Destroy PCBspresented by: The Housatonic River Initiative Friday, November 17, 9:00 – 3:00 Crowne Plaza Hotel, One West St., Pittsfield,Ma. HRI Free Lunch (Donations will be appreciated) , Please R.S.V.P. by Nov. 13, 413-446-2520 In keeping with HRI’s policy to advocate for the destruction, rather than the storage of toxic waste, the Initiative has Presenters:
The decisions regarding the cleanup of the ”rest of the river” are imminent and will be finalized within the next year.
We hope that you and anyone you wish to invite will attend. call/email with any questions. Benno Friedman, Tim Gray, 413-446-2520, Event Co-Sponsors: Waterkeeper Alliance Berkshire Environmental Research Center Clean Water Action Massachusetts PIRG Toxics Action Center, Boston Orion Society Southern Berkshire Chamber Of Commerce Center for Ecological Technology Berkshire Natural Resources Council Berkshire Environmental Action Team Housatonic Environmental Action League Berkshire – Litchfield Environmental Council |
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Massachusetts Suspended Water Pollution Discharge Limits 10/25No Monitoring for 1.4 Million Gallons per Day of Industrial Wastewater
Washington, DC — For the past eight years, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has allowed hundreds of industries to discharge unknown amounts of toxic chemicals into municipal sewage plants without state permits, according to agency records released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). As a result, streams of harmful chemicals may have entered Boston Harbor and other state water bodies for years without any warning to municipalities, fishermen or consumers. Beginning in 1998, DEP has issued what are called “forbearance letters” to at least 278 industrial wastewater dischargers. These forbearance letters “temporarily” waive all permit limits, monitoring requirements, and holding tank approvals, as well as all state fees. These forbearance letters remain in effect today. Based upon records obtained by PEER, the state waived regulation over an estimated 1.4 million gallons per day of wastewater entering municipal sewage systems. Although some municipal sewage plants monitor industrial dischargers carefully, others do not. According to DEP records, the industrial wastewater sent to treatment plants that do not have industrial pre-treatment programs were found to carry everything from radioactive elements, such as radium, to heavy metals, such as barium and chromium, as well as an array of acids, acetones and other chemicals. Due to a lack of state monitoring, it is unknown how much of the chemical mix reached public water bodies. “Massachusetts is guilty of a jaw-dropping abdication of its public health responsibilities,” stated New England PEER Director Kyla Bennett, a former lawyer and biologist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “There is no excuse for this egregious eight-year dereliction of duty.” Sewage plants themselves have federal permits limiting the pollutants they may discharge, but these permits do not necessarily cover every toxic pollutant that industries are putting into the sewer system. This is especially problematic when neither the sewage plants nor the government knows what pollutants industries are discharging. Even the precise extent of the DEP wastewater waiver practice is unclear, as DEP misplaced final copies of some of the forbearance letters. DEP issued the forbearance letters on the pretext that it was on the verge of promulgating new regulations. However, these regulations were not proposed until more than eight years after the forbearance letters became standard operating procedure. In late September, DEP finally proposed regulations to replace forbearance letters. These proposed rules, however, would still eliminate individual state permits for virtually all but the largest industrial sewage dischargers regardless of how toxic their discharges may be. “Unfortunately, the proposed new rules are also inadequate,” Bennett added, noting that DEP is also claiming that it lacks funds to run an adequate program. “At this point, the Legislature needs to step in and ensure DEP will finally start properly regulating the flow of industrial wastewater throughout the Commonwealth.”
DEP “forbearance letter” (pdf) to a 250,000 gallon per-day industrial discharger DEP forbearance letter for discharge of toxic chemicals to a sewage plant lacking pre-treatment Proposed DEP industrial wastewater rules and their explanation |
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Plans to develop Great Barrington Fairgrounds re-emerge 10/16 The next step in the developer – F Group’s plans could be submitted in about a month. F Group, whose lead local attorney is Phillip Heller of Lenox, has said that the plans will remain about the same as their previous submission, that the Secretary of Environmental Affairs decided would require the submission of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). Mr. Heller said F Group would begin with the town’s Conservation Commission, Planning Board, and Board of Selectmen. According to the Berkshire Record (10/13-10/19/06) this would be the largest mixed-use development in the county. BEAT will watch this process carefully. Nearly the entire area is at least floodplain. We are concerned about the Mean Annual High-Water line being accurately determined. If you take the highest level the river reaches each year, and then take the average of those, you determine the MAHW line. More practically, the line is determined by looking at the surrounding vegetation for undercuts on banks or high water marks on trees. Where ever the MAHW line is determined to be, that is where the edge of the river is, and where the 200 foot River Front Area is measured from. For more on this project see BEAT’s Great Barrington Fairgrounds page. |
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Pittsfield’s First “Green Drinks” a Huge SuccessThank you one and all for coming to the first Pittsfield “Green Drinks” at the Brew Works. I had such a good time, I forgot to count how many people we really had, but I estimate between 25 and 30. If anyone counted, please let me know.
Now I realize that starting the seating with a booth in the corner, then adding on first one, then two, then three tables, was a mistake. I was sitting at the booth and had to leave early to pick up my son. I slipped down from the bench, and crawled under the table to get out. Okay, a few lessons learned – next time we will try to have tables in the middle of the room and encourage mingling. Also, we will do a pay the waitress as you go system – so no big hassle at the end. Remember, every third Tuesday of the month starting at 5:15 pm at the Brew Works, co- sponsored by the Center for Ecological Technology (CET) and the Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT). The next one is November 21. CET & BEAT look forward to seeing you there. There are also Green Drinks in Great Barrington on the first Tuesday of each month at 5:15 pm at the Barrington Brewery, and in Northampton on the first Wednesday of each month from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at the Northampton Brewery. For more information about Pittsfield Green Drinks, contact Jamie Cahillane at CET (413-445-4556 ext. 14) or Jane Winn at BEAT (jane@thebeatnews.org or 413-230-7321). |
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ELM’s State of the Environment ReportHot off the press – the Environmental League of Massachusetts’ State of the Environment Report. Wow – what a great publication. Congratulations to authors MASSCHUSETTS’ ENVIRONMENT IS DECLINING Comprehensive survey by Environmental League of Massachusetts finds The Massachusetts environment is deteriorating according to a report From greenhouse gas emissions to surface water quality to marine Key findings include:
“We don’t lose our environment suddenly, it happens incrementally, Nancy Goodman, Vice President for Policy at the Environmental One of the most troubling indicators was water quantity which Bernie McHugh, Coordinator of the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition, This report is available on-line. Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative member organizations will receive copies of the report – yet another reason to join. |
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Proposed New Emissions Regulations For Public Comment 10/18310 CMR 7.29 “Emissions Standards for Power Plants” and 310 CMR 7.02 “ Plan Approval and Emission Limitations ” *Brief Explanation and Rationale for Proposed Changes: * The goal of the proposed amendments is to implement the requirements of the MassDEP also proposes to amend 310 CMR 7.02 to ensure that mercury emissions |
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New Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Atlas Available from MassLand Trust e-newsletter
The Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP) of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has released the newest Massachusetts Natural Heritage Atlas, which displays regulatory habitats of endangered species. The Natural Heritage Atlas shows boundaries of ‘Priority Habitats,’ for use with the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act regulations, and ‘Estimated Habitats,’ for use with the Wetlands Protection Act regulations. Unless certain exemptions apply, proponents of all projects or activities within delineated Priority Habitats are required to file their project plans with MassWildlife’s NHESP for review. This 12th Edition of the Atlas is the product of a multi-year updating and improvement of Priority Habitat and Estimated Habitat boundaries across the state to reflect the most recent endangered species data, the latest in scientific understanding of species biology and habitat requirements, and the newest GIS technology and data. To view the revised Priority Habitats and Estimated Habitats, you can: * Purchase a copy of the 12th Edition of the Natural Heritage Atlas with 187 pages of full-color, 11² x 17² maps covering the entire state or a copy of the Natural Heritage Atlas CD Viewer, which provides statewide coverage of Priority Habitats and Estimated Habitats using the MassGIS Data Viewer software. Order form (pdf) * View the large Priority Habitat and Estimated Habitat maps that have been sent to the Conservation Commission and Planning Board of each town or city in Massachusetts with such habitats. * Use the interactive web viewer. * Download the Priority Habitat and Estimated Habitat GIS datalayers from MassGIS for use with GIS software. For more information about the new Natural Heritage Atlas or about endangered species regulations and project review, contact MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program at 508/792-7270 x200 or email |
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King Street Dump – BEAT’s comments on the Provisional CSA Review 10/23On September 14, 2006 the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Bureau of Solid Waste (BSW) released their Provisional Comprehensive Site Assessment (CSA) Review, King Street Dump, Pittsfield , Massachusetts. (pages 1-6 and pages 7-14 ) Although CSAs are not usually provisional, DEP BSW knew BEAT and other environmental groups wanted to review and possibly comment on the CSA, so they issued the CSA as provisional to allow us a chance to review the document.
BEAT did not feel that 21 days was enough time to review DEP’s Provisional CSA Review, so BEAT has been talking with DEP BSW. They have offered to extend the comment period by 30 days. BEAT’s comments are here (pdf). BEAT will be working closely with the Housatonic River Initiative to identify other areas in the Dump that should be tested for PCBs. BEAT thinks all the abutters should have been notified as well as anyone who has commented in the past. We will be working with the other environmental groups to try to reach out to anyone who is interested in the King Street Dump to help them get information or make comments. If you have questions please email Jane@thebeatnews.org or call 413-230-7321. |
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Save energy and money – computer tips –A single computer with monitor running 8 hours a day, 5 days a week consumes approximate 850 KWH per year at a local cost of about $60. Activation of the power management features built into your computer can save up to 80% of that energy and cost. http://pmdb.cadmusdev.com/powermanagement/quickCalc.html http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_management
–Limit screen-saver use. A screen saver does not save energy. In fact, http://www.nrel.gov/sustainable_nrel/energy_saving.html |