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Water Resources
Floodplain Proposal Simplifies Permitting; Releases Bean Farm Land from Restrictions
by Mary Serreze | Nov 10, 2009 9:44 pm | Comments (0)
On Tuesday night at Council Chambers, Senior Planner Carolyn Misch presented a public information session to a sometimes testy crowd on a proposal from the Office of Planning and Development (OPD) to change floodplain zoning in parts of the City. The proposal, which moves about 1800 acres of residential-zoned Watershed Protection (WP) overlay district land into a straightforward SC or Special Conservancy district, would, in addition to eliminating certain special permit requirements in the floodplain, also release or “pull back” floodplain zoning restrictions from about 454 acres city-wide. Business-zoned districts in floodplains would see no change, and would still be subject to the WP overlay conditions.
“Our goal is to ensure that all residential uses within the FEMA-mapped 100 year floodplain are treated consistently,” Misch told the crowd.
Eho Fish Ladder Manhan River
by Mary Serreze | Nov 1, 2009 9:38 am | Comments (0)
Fish ladder in Easthampton moves one step closer; $750K in federal stimulus available; small hydropower interest at Manhan River dam; Read about it on MassLive.
BPW to Friends of the Dam: Make Your Case
by Mary Serreze | Oct 26, 2009 8:50 pm | Comments (0)
The Friends of the Upper Roberts Meadow Reservoir and Chesterfield Road Dam will present a funding proposal to the Board of Public Works at this Wednesday’s meeting. The board has said that it will vote on whether to allow the citizens’ group time to raise money to preserve the historic dam and reservoir.
“The BPW is asking us to present our plan, so they can vote to either allow us to fundraise – or not,” said Dee Boyle Clapp, a leader of the preservation effort.
Continue reading ‘BPW to Friends of the Dam: Make Your Case’ »
Four Big Enviro Groups to Patrick: Goodbye!
by Press Release | Oct 16, 2009 9:13 am | Comments (0)
This just in from the Conservation Law Foundation…
BOSTON, MA (October 14, 2009) The four environmental members of the Department of Environmental Protection’s (MassDEP) Water Resources Management Advisory Committee – Conservation Law Foundation, Charles River Watershed Association, Ipswich River Watershed Association and Clean Water Action – have resigned in a letter sent to the Governor today. Their resignations come in response to the Patrick Administration’s reversal last week of its policy that protecting the environment was fundamental in determining how much water could be withdrawn from a river basin under the Water Management Act.
Continue reading ‘Four Big Enviro Groups to Patrick: Goodbye!’ »
Dam Reprieve Issued
by Mary Serreze | Sep 29, 2009 5:27 pm | Comments (0)
Citizens attempting to raise money to repair an historic dam on Chesterfield Road have been granted some breathing room. (See Northampton’s Hidden Reservoir in the Valley Advocate.)
Last week, the state Office of Dam Safety issued the city a six-month extension to bring the 19th-century Roberts Meadow Upper Reservoir Dam into regulatory compliance. The extension gives the city until March 30, 2010, to let the Office of Dam Safety (ODS) know whether it will repair or breach the dam. The dam is located off of Chesterfield Road.
Continue reading ‘Dam Reprieve Issued’ »
Landfill Ballot Question(s)
by Mary Serreze | Sep 20, 2009 6:30 am | Comments (1)
“Shall the City of Northampton expand the Northampton landfill over the Barnes Aquifer?” This is the wording of a citizen initiative that has been advanced by Water Not Waste, an anti-landfill group energized by Mimi and Craig Odgers of Glendale Road. The group announced on September 15 that they had gathered enough signatures to place this question on the November 3 ballot.
“The Board of Public Works received a waiver from the Department of Environmental Protection to expand the landfill on Glendale Road, which will reach capacity around 2011 and close. Should the Northampton landfill be expanded?” This is the wording of a landfill ballot question finally approved 5-3 Thursday night on first reading by the city council. If passed on the 24th, there will then be two landfill-closure-related questions on November’s ballot, each with a different spin and a different provenance.
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Landfill Ballot Petition Succeeds
by Mary Serreze | Sep 15, 2009 6:47 pm | Comments (0)
Shall the City of Northampton expand the Northampton Landfill over the Barnes Aquifer?
The above question will appear on the municipal ballot November 3.
Read all about it, as reported by Daryl LaFleur on Northampton Redoubt.