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EPA to GE: Housatonic Cleanup Documents Faulty

by Guest Columnist | Jan 20, 2010 6:02 pm | Comments (0)

This just in from the Berkshire Environmental Action Team:

The next step in the saga of the General Electric Company’s (GE) plan to remove PCBs from the “Rest of the River” has arrived. The ball is back in GE’s court to submit a new “Corrective Measures Study” by July 2010.

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Mass v EPA: UCLA Law Prof Dan Farber on the Clean Air Act

by Mary Serreze | Dec 16, 2009 9:16 pm | Comments (0)

Secretary Ian Bowles Keeps Moratorium on New Trash Incineration; Stalls Springfield Plant

by Press Release | Dec 11, 2009 1:48 pm | Comments (0)

The Patrick-Murray Administration Maintains Incinerator Moratorium and Expands Recycling Efforts; Calls for Review of Construction and Demolition Material Used for Fuel

BOSTON – The Patrick-Murray Administration today announced that it would maintain the existing moratorium on new facilities for incineration of municipal solid waste. In addition, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles outlined Governor Patrick’s priorities for expanding the recycling of key products like water bottles and consumer electronics, as part of a push to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators.

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More PVTA Busses Will Carry Bikes

by Press Release | Dec 9, 2009 7:34 pm | Comments (0)

Through the hard work of the MassBike Pioneer Valley Chapter, 29 new buses owned by the Pioneer Valley Transit Agency will be fitted with bike racks.

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Die Hilton Die Part Two: Jena Wikler Dances Her Politics

by Guest Columnist | Dec 9, 2009 5:28 pm | Comments (0)

“all of our efforts to date to stop the hilton having failed, we are left with no recourse but to bring out the big guns: interpretive dance.” Jena Wikler’s MischiefRobot.

MA Biomass Sustainability and Carbon Policy: Public Meeting in Holyoke

by Press Release | Dec 8, 2009 2:19 pm | Comments (0)

Public Meeting Announcement
Massachusetts Biomass Sustainability and Carbon Policy
Thursday, December 17, 2009
6:30 – 8:30 P.M., Holiday Inn, 245 Whiting Farms Road, Holyoke, MA

In November 2009 the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) commissioned a team of experts to conduct a comprehensive study of issues related to biomass sustainability and carbon policy. Launched at the direction of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Ian Bowles, the six-month study will result in a “white paper” that brings the best science to bear as DOER considers the path forward for biomass energy policy, including the preparation of new regulations to establish sustainability criteria biomass facilities must meet under the Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard.

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State Biomass Sustainability and Carbon Policy Study Launches

by Press Release | Nov 7, 2009 10:19 am | Comments (0)

Patrick-Murray Administration Launches Biomass Sustainability Study: White paper will inform Department of Energy Resources regulations for qualifying biomass facilities under the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard

BOSTON – The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) today announced its selection of the Manomet Center for Conservation Services of Plymouth to lead a comprehensive study of issues related to biomass sustainability and carbon policy. Launched at the direction of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Ian Bowles, the six-month study will result in a “white paper” that brings the best science to bear as DOER prepares new regulations to establish sustainability criteria biomass facilities must meet under the Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard.

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Geologist Robert Newton Landfill/Aquifer Presentation

by Mary Serreze | Nov 2, 2009 11:50 am | Comments (0)

From the Archives: Geologist Robert Newton of the Barnes Aquifer Protection Advisory Committee addresses the Easthampton City Council last year on the topic of the proposed Northampton municipal landfill expansion. The landfill is located over the Zone II Aquifer Recharge Area for Easthampton’s Maloney Well, a secondary drinking water source for Easthampton which is located within the vast Barnes Aquifer. The Massachusetts DEP has granted the City of Northampton a waiver of its groundwater protection regulations that prohibit landfill uses in Zone II areas.

Barnes Aquifer Protection Advisory Committee (BAPAC) Position Paper

by Guest Columnist | Nov 2, 2009 7:30 am | Comments (1)

The Barnes Aquifer supplies water to four municipalities within the Connecticut Valley of western Massachusetts including the cities of Westfield and Holyoke as well as the towns of Easthampton and Southampton. Currently 11 municipal wells supply 5 million gallons of water per day to 60,000 people in these communities and the aquifer serves as the sole source of drinking water for the City of Easthampton. Water in the aquifer is held within sand and gravel deposits which were laid down approximately 14,000 years ago by a retreating continental glacier. Meltwater streams flowing off the ice deposited sands and gravels into glacial Lake Hitchcock, where in part, they were then overlain by lake clays (varves).

Recharge to the aquifer is restricted to areas where these sand and gravel deposits outcrop on the land surface.

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Northampton’s Built Environment: Squandered Public Equity

by Tris Metcalfe | Nov 1, 2009 2:52 pm | Comments (0)

By Tris Metcalfe

I am an architect who has been practicing in Northampton for 29 years, spanning three mayors and three planning directors. I have been professionally involved in eight publicly-owned properties under various contract—Professional, Volunteer, Pro-bona and with the Northampton Historical Commission.

This mayoral crossroads will decide how our public equity is developed for future generations. I report here in my duty to serve the public’s interests under my Architectural Registration, which defines a responsibility to help create the best possible built environments. I will use facts as I know them to the best of my knowledge to illustrate what mayoral power can do to our public equity.

Summary of Public Properties Exhibiting Poor Mayoral Management

1. Northampton State Hospital: 700,000 sf of high-quality design & construction wasted.
2. Memorial Hall: Unnecessary expenditures. Historic windows destroyed.
3. City Hall: Asbestos ignored, cracks remain in stucco absorbing water to mold, gutters rotting trim, falling ice guards at entries still missing. Third floor remains unused.
4. Pulaski Park: Design and construction budget inflated beyond needs. Access between the Park and Veterans Field is lost because of the flawed and unimaginative Hilton Garden Inn Hotel site plan design.
5. Round House Lot and Proposed Hilton Garden Inn Hotel: Very poor site design. Illegal zoning process enabled by political rubber stamp. Owners of neighboring historic properties sued the City, winning many tax dollars from a judge angry at the city’s actions.
6. Railroad Bed Bike Path: An emergency safety transportation link to 25% of Northampton was eliminated. Traffic from three neighborhoods and a campus forced through a narrow funnel.
7. Proposed Police Station: Poor site planning. Expense added in site location by ignoring existing building equity. Neighboring propoerties adversely impacted.
8. Downtown Homeless Shelter: Our city insulted the developer who created the project.

Continue reading ‘Northampton’s Built Environment: Squandered Public Equity’ »

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