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CHANGE IN MEETING DATE Mass. Environmental Officials Reschedule Informational Meeting to Outline Commonwealth's Plan to Cleanup PCBs in Housatonic River 'Rest of River' Remedy Proposal Session Changed to Oct. 12 at Lenox Town Hall BOSTON - Massachusetts environmental officials have postponed the original informational meeting scheduled for next week and will, instead, host a public information session on October 12 to outline the Commonwealth's proposed plan to remediate PCB contamination in the Housatonic River in western Massachusetts and accept comments on the plan. The meeting will be held from 6:30-8 p.m., at Lenox Town Hall, 6 Walker Street.Officials from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) will be on hand to discuss the Commonwealth's proposed remedy for the Housatonic's "Rest of River" segment. After extensive review of remedies proposed by the responsible party, General Electric, the Commonwealth determined that none of the proposals meets the desired cleanup goals without causing irreparable damage to the ecology of the river and nearby floodplain. The Commonwealth has developed a remedy that fully protects public health and at the same time takes into account the unique ecological resources in this area of critical environmental concern. The state's remedy would include excavating Woods Pond to remove approximately 286,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment, removing PCBs from 33 acres of floodplain to meet human health protection standards, avoid excavation in highly sensitive rare species habitat when unnecessary to meet human health goals, and instead use other controls such as fish advisories and outreach programs, and transport all excavated material off-site and deposit it in a licensed out-of-state hazardous waste landfill. At the October 12 meeting, state officials will present details of the remedy, answer questions from the public and receive input on the state-sponsored remedy. For more details on the Commonwealth's remedy plan, turn to: http://www.mass.gov/dep/cleanup/sites/housatonic.htm
MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and spills, and the preservation of wetlands and coastal resources.
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