Water lesson: Milford case shows DEP is on guard
An unusual but instructive case played out in Worcester Superior Court last week, when a former Milford Water Company manager was found guilty of tampering with water samples in an effort to end a boil-water order in 2009.
Cutting Red Tape: How Regulatory Reform Is Working in Mass. 
People love to complain about government. But sometimes streamlining happens. Regulations are simplified, compliance is made easier. Occasionally the rules even change – for the better.
State plugs in electric car program
GREENFIELD - What better day than Earth Day for the state to announce its new grant program to help towns and cities buy electric vehicles and what better place than Greenfield, in front of two recently installed electric car-charging stations near the Greenfield Energy Park?
MassDEP's 2012 Accomplishment Highlights file size 5MB
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) achieved numerous important accomplishments in 2012, while continuing the agency’s vital work to protect the environment of the Commonwealth and the health of its residents.
Bipartisanship is elusive in greenhouse gas initiative
IF BIPARTISANSHIP ever emerges in the national fight against climate change, the guiding light will likely come from the Northeast. But even here, it is only a glimmer. The prime vehicle is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
A Move to Save Water Sources
Boston Globe - Massachusetts officials are scheduled to unveil a new framework Thursday to allocate water from streams and rivers, a long-awaited plan that aims to prevent waterways from running dry but could translate into higher water rates and more bans on lawn watering. Burning Questions
A MODEST proposal by the state Department of Environmental Protection to relax the moratorium on new trash incinerators is sending the Sierra Club, Conservation Law Foundation, and other environmental groups around the bend. 
Gov. Patrick Outlines Regulatory Changes
Gov. Deval Patrick on Monday described a significant overhaul of regulations that impact small businesses across the state, including legislation he plans to file to streamline or eliminate several licensing boards to make doing business simpler for owners and professionals. 
A FAST Response from MassDEP to Environmental Disasters in Woburn and Boston
A potentially explosive situation loomed in the hours after a gasoline tanker truck overturned on Route 128 South in Woburn last month. About 7,500 gallons of gasoline spilled from the tanker...
Northeast States Launch Voluntary Turf Fertilizer Initiative
U.S. EPA estimates that roughly half of the nation's water bodies suffer from some level of water pollution caused by excessive amounts of the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus entering waterways.
Proposed rules aim to reduce commercial food waste in Mass.
State environmental officials are preparing to ban hospitals, universities, hotels, large restaurants, and other big businesses and institutions in Massachusetts from discarding food waste in the trash beginning in 2014...
MassDEP's 2011 Accomplishment Highlights
The year 2011 has been a challenging, but very exciting and productive year as the agency has continued to protect the people and the environment of the Commonwealth. Through the hard work of MassDEP's dedicated staff....
Celebrating Our Progress - Earth Day 2012
For Earth Day 2012 - during the week of April 16 - MassDEP has posted a daily highlight celebrating environmental progress in Massachusetts.
Organics Diversion and Clean Energy in Massachusetts
Special Guest Column from the MDAR Farm & Market Report: Massachusetts became an early leader in unifying energy policy and environmental protection in 2007 when Governor Deval Patrick brought the state's energy agencies into the Environmental Secretariat.
Cleaning the Air: New air quality rules would build on the state's pollution limits
For years, the Northeast has been called the "tailpipe of the United States" - a place where air pollutants from across the country foul our skies and lungs. That negative moniker is due to to no fault of our own, but is a causualty of our location downwind of pollution sources..
EPA To Unveil Stricter Rules For Power Plants
More than 20 years ago, Congress ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate toxic air pollution. It's done that for most industries, but not the biggest polluters - coal and oil-burning power plants.
Fox News 25 Interview: Home Heating Oil Safety Law
It's almost unheard of in the Midwest and and other parts of the country. But here in New England, the charm of historic homes often also comes with not-so-charming oil burners. And if your home uses oil heat, you may need to make an update.
It's Time to Update the Bottle Bill
Every year across Massachusetts, more than 30,000 tons of non-carbonated beverage bottles are buried in landfills, burned in waste-to-energy plants, or tossed onto our streets, parks and beaches. That's enough plastic bottles to fill Fenway Park - from the press box to the Green Monster - five times.
Environmental cuts are bad for local business and economy
Over the last decade, funding for environmental programs has been slashed, and disproportionately so, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Without funding, the process for obtaining approvals necessary for business activity and job creation grinds to a slow crawl and produces unpredictable...
Testifying on Behalf of the Bottle Bill
Thank you to Senator Downing and Chairman Keenan, and through you to the Committee. On behalf of the Patrick-Murray Administration and the Department of Environmental Protection, I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you today in strong support of an Expanded Bottle Bill in Massachusetts.
Nutrient Loading a Challenge for Cape Cod Waterways
I am pleased to be here this morning to talk about the number one environmental challenge Cape Cod faces - nutrient loading to our waterways. The Cape's water bodies, particularly the estuaries on south facing beaches but also in our ponds and other waterways, are degrading due to the dramatic increase in population...
Protecting the Environment in the Central Region of the State
It was April 8, 2011, when an accident at the Suttles/Dana Transport site in Grafton caused a nitric acid vapor cloud to emerge from the rear of the property on Westborough Road. The initial concern was that the acid vapor was heading towards the nearby North Grafton Elementary School.
MassDEP on-guard in Northeast Region of the Commonwealth
A quiet Sunday night in March was suddenly disturbed by a massive explosion at the Bostik manufacturing plant in Middleton. The explosion blew apart one of the buildings, and officials and residents feared the subsequent fire might release chemical contaminants into the air and into the Ipswich River...
Our View: DEP cuts bad for business
It's not every day the real estate community and the environmental community share common ground. Increasingly, however, we understand a healthy economy and a healthy environment are mutually beneficial.
Op-Ed on MassDEP Efforts in Western MA
It was July 27, 2010, when a tractor-trailer carrying approximately 40,000 pounds of waste acid pulled into the Blandford service plaza along the westbound lane of the Massachusetts Turnpike. The truck driver noticed liquid leaking from the back of the trailer, and he contacted state police.
Op-Ed on MassDEP Efforts in Southeastern MA
It was just before 8 a.m. last Wednesday when two reactive chemicals were mistakenly mixed by workers at the G&W Foundry in Rehoboth. It resulted in an out-of-control exothermic reaction that ignited a fire in the rear of the 60,000-square-foot building at 128 Bay State Road. The four-alarm fire spread quickly...
EPA Awards Former MassDEP Employees Merit Awards
Glenn Haas and Barbara Kwetz, recently retired from MassDEP are recipients of the U.S. EPA's Prestigious Regional Environmental Awards. Following are excerps from the EPA news release as well as photos from the event.
Environmental Business Council Urgent Budget Request
The Environmental Business Council of New England and their Executive Director Dan Moon sent out the following e-mail to EBC members supporting a MassDEP budget level of $48 million. I appreciate the support from Dan and the EBC.
Bipartisanship is elusive in greenhouse gas initiative
IF BIPARTISANSHIP ever emerges in the national fight against climate change, the guiding light will likely come from the Northeast. But even here, it is only a glimmer. The prime vehicle is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Last week, nine participating states agreed to...Read more >>
Regulatory Reform Initiative
In recent years, MassDEP's budget has been significantly reduced, from a high of $62 million in 2002 to $46 million in fiscal year 2011. Staffing has been cut commensurately, from 1200 full time equivalents in 2002 to 840 today. Yet MassDEP's responsibilities have increased rather than contracted during...
A Plan for the Housatonic
Holding General Electric accountable for 40 years of pollution by requiring the company to clean up the Housatonic River is a critical matter of generational responsibility. Governor Patrick and his environmental agencies are committed to doing everything in their power to see this natural resource...
