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MassDEP News Briefs
EFFORT TO RETROFIT ALL DIESEL BUSES:
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MassDEP Acting Commissioner Arleen O'Donnell holds up the sign drawn up by the "Bold Teen" group of Dorchester as part of the school and transit bus diesel retrofit announcement. |
The commitment of MassDEP and the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) to reduce diesel emissions across the state recently received a big boost with an agreement to fund diesel retrofits of 8,400 public school and regional transit buses by 2010. The Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) will provide the $22.5 million in funding as part of the mitigation package that reaffirms the Commonwealth's commitment to urban transit expansion with the construction of Phase II of the Silver Line. EOT will provide $7.5 million over three years to accomplish the retrofit program. The agreement is a key component of the state's efforts to reduce the health impacts of diesel fuel emissions. Diesel emissions pose a number of short- and long-term health impacts, including asthma, bronchitis, heart disease and lung cancer. Retrofitting school buses is especially important because the children who ride them are particularly susceptible to damage because their lungs are not yet fully developed. For more information about diesel emission reduction efforts and the impacts of diesel exhaust, turn to: www.mass.gov/dep/air/community/schbusir.htm
ECOS presented this award to MassDEP for the agency's work on perchlorate and emerging contaminants. |
ECOS HONORS MassDEP FOR PERCHLORATE WORK: The Environmental Council of States (ECOS) recently presented a State Program Innovation Award to MassDEP and Acting Commissioner Arleen O'Donnell for MassDEP's approach on the chemical perchlorate and emerging contaminants. Massachusetts is the only state to set a drinking water standard and a cleanup standard of 2 ppb for perchlorate. Among the MassDEP staffers taking part in the perchlorate effort were: Ed Kunce, Carol Rowan-West, John Fitzgerald, Paul Locke, David Terry, Damon Guterman, Rich Lehan, Oscar Pancorbo, John Bardzik, Gary Moran, Martin Suuberg, Jim Persky, Deirdre Cabral, Tsedash Zewdie, Mark Smith, Michael Hutcheson, Dave Ferris, Richard Chretien, Alan Slater, Marc Laplante and Ed Coletta.
WESTERN MASS. RECYCLING PAYMENTS TOTAL NEARLY $652,000: MassDEP Acting Commissioner Arleen O'Donnell recently presented nearly $652,000 in municipal recycling payments to 78 western Massachusetts communities that are part of the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) partnership with Waste Management Recycle America (WMRA). The funds were awarded for the communities' delivery of recyclables to the Springfield MRF from July to December of 2006. Communities receive a flat rate of $15.67 per ton in addition to the revenue share when recycling markets are good. Since these contract terms began in April 2005, WMRA has paid out $2.2 million for the 78,482 tons of recyclables delivered by MRF communities. The communities have also saved an estimated $5.4 million in solid waste disposal fees that municipalities have avoided by recycling their newspaper, junk mail, cardboard, aluminum, glass and plastic at the Springfield MRF. Commissioner O'Donnell praised the western Massachusetts communities for maintaining higher recycling rates than the state average, and pointed to adoption of the Pay-As-You-Throw program was a major reason.
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Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan addresses the crowd at the MRF presentation, as MassDEP Acting Commissioner Arleen O'Donnell (left) and MassDEP Deputy Director of Consumer Programs Greg Cooper (right) look on. |
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Shown with Acting Commissioner Arleen O'Donnell (left) are municipal officials receiving their recycling awards , including: Barry Brouillard of Chicopee, Greg Superneau of Springfield, Barry Searle of Westfield, Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan, Peter McErlain, Amy Gilburg, Eric Weiss of the MRF Advisory Board, Kathy Martin of Granville, Arlene Miller of MassDEP, John Pepi of UMass-Amherst, Michael Pattavina of West Springfield, and Karen Bouquillon of Northampton. |
OVER $523 MILLION AWARDED IN 2007 SRF PROGRAM: The 2007 Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program has awarded more than $523 million in low-interest loans to 80 Massachusetts communities, wastewater districts and water supplies for 93 environmental infrastructure and planning improvement projects. The Clean Water SRF will provide $397.8 million in financing for 66 construction and planning projects aimed at eliminating combined sewer overflows, upgrading wastewater treatment facilities, extending sewers and developing long-term wastewater management plans. An additional $125.7 million in loans from the Drinking Water SRF will finance 27 drinking water treatment, storage and distribution projects. The funds are under the control of the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust, administered by MassDEP, the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, and the State Treasurer's Office. Massachusetts has awarded nearly $3.9 billion in Clean Water SRF loans since the program's inception in 1991. The Drinking Water SRF, initiated in 1999, has financed more than $1 billion in projects.
$147,655 IN GRANTS TO FUND NPS POLLUTION ASSESSMENTS: MassDEP has awarded five projects a total of $147,655 as part of the federal Section 604b Clean Water Act grant program to conduct watershed non-point source pollution and assessment projects this year. The grants were awarded to the Martha's Vineyard Commission ($20,119), Town of Sandwich ($21,100), Towns of Provincetown and Truro ($47,730), Town of Leominster ($33,300), and the City of Boston ($25,406). These projects will help to protect Massachusetts' water resources by supporting the six-year, $12.5 million Massachusetts Estuaries Project and activities identified in Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Watershed Action Plans.
GOLLEDGE RECEIVES CIVILIAN SERVICE MEDAL: Former Environmental Affairs Secretary and MassDEP Commissioner Robert W. Golledge was recently honored with the "Outstanding Civilian Service Medal" by the U.S. Army for his work to protect the environment at the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR) on Cape Cod. U.S. Army official Geoff Prosch presented the award during a ceremony in the Pentagon, saying that "Secretary Golledge played a critical role in working with the Department of Defense and all the Services on a host of important environmental tissues, including significant accomplishments at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Camp Edwards and Otis AFB." Sec. Golledge was presented with the award just before flying to Ghana in West Africa, where he is now the country director for the U.S. Peace Corp.
IN PRAISE OF THE CIRCUIT RIDERS: The MassDEP Circuit Rider Program provides a direct link and badly needed technical assistance to local conservation agents and commissions, who at times need assistance with wetlands and watershed issues. The program recently proved its worth in the city of Waltham. Gloria J. Champion, clerk of the conservation commission, sent a letter offering praise for the Circuit Rider Program and former Circuit Rider Jason Lederer. Ms. Champion said that there are times when her own knowledge of the Wetlands Protection Act did not cover an issue, and she turned to MassDEP and the Circuit Riders to get the right answers. "Sometimes it feels very lonely down here in the trenches! Our link through our Circuit Riders to DEP is a valuable and essential resource. It makes my job much easier to know that any technical or regulatory questions that may come up during our review of wetlands filings can get answered quickly and efficiently through our Circuit Rider," Champion said.
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