BEACON HILL BEAT
AUGUST 2006
GOVERNOR ROMNEY APPOINTS BOB GOLLEDGE SECRETARY OF EOEA
On August 16th, Governor Mitt Romney appointed Bob Golledge Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA), replacing Steve Pritchard, who was appointed to lead the Governor’s Central Artery/Tunnel Project Safety Review. For the past three years, Golledge has served as the Commissioner for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), an agency that he will continue to oversee as EOEA Secretary along with the Department of Agricultural Resources, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Department of Fish and Game.
Under the leadership of Golledge, Massachusetts was the first state in the nation to establish a drinking water standard for perchlorate. He is a career environmental professional with more than 20 years of experience serving in a variety of positions in state and municipal government including Regional Director of DEP's Worcester Office, Chief of Staff, and Director of Wetlands and Waterways, Town of Dartmouth Conservation Agent and the City of Lowell’s Environmental Affairs Coordinator.
UCANE looks forward to continuing to work with Golledge in his new role as Secretary of EOEA.
BEACH CLOSINGS INCREASE DUE TO CSO’s, FAILING SEWER PIPES, STORMWATER RUN-OFF
According The Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) sixteenth annual survey of water quality, testing at the 496 public beaches in Massachusetts resulted in 680 beach closings or advisory days in 2005, a 4% increase from the 653 days the previous year. Elevated levels of bacteria were the cause of 91% of those days and 9% were due to pre-emptive rainfall advisories because of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO).
The NRDC study found that the number of beach closings throughout the country in 2005 was the highest it has ever been because of bacterial contamination. In 2005 there were over 20,000 days of closings and advisories at oceans, bays, and the Great Lakes, an increase of 5% compared to 2004. The study also found that 200 beaches in America violated public health standards at least 25% of the time, and that 75% of all beach closings and advisories stemmed from high levels of bacteria associated with fecal contamination.
Following the release of their report, the NRDC filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to protect the beaches across America from contamination, due to outdated testing standards. In 2000, Congress passed the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act, requiring that the EPA create new standards for measuring water quality by October 2005. That deadline has passed without new regulations being adopted, prompting NRDC to file the lawsuit.
The NRDC’s report, Testing The Waters: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches can be found on their website at www.nrdc.com
In a related story, The Boston Globe reported on August 13, 2006 that over the past two months swimmers were allowed to swim at three popular Boston beaches when it was unhealthy to do so because of high levels of bacteria that were found a day after the testing occurred. The Globe reported that testing the water at public beaches takes 24 hours, and by the time the water was determined to be unsafe for swimming, people had already been exposed to the water contaminated by sewage.
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BOSTON NAMES NEW CHIEF OF PUBLIC WORKS & TRANSPORTATION
REPLACING COMMISSIONER CASAZZA
Mayor Thomas Menino named Dennis Royer Boston’s Chief of Public Works & Transportation replacing Joseph Casazza, who served as Commissioner of Public Works for over 38 years. Mr. Royer will be responsible for developing, implementing, and managing all projects and policies associated with the esthetics and efficiency of Boston’s infrastructure along with the mobility of vehicular and pedestrian traffic throughout the City. The new position was created by merging the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works, to eliminate any overlapping responsibilities between the two agencies and improve efficiency of service. Mr. Royer is the former Deputy Manager of Operations for the Public Works Department of Denver, CO.
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BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
REPORTS FEWER WORKPLACE FATALITIES
The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that workplace fatalities in 2005 declined from the previous year by roughly 1%. The study reveals that a total of 5,702 fatal work injuries were recorded last year, down from 5,764 in 2004. Among the key findings of the study were that fatal work injuries among workers under the age of 20 increased by 18% to 166 cases and that fatal falls declined by 7%. The report also noted that the number of work injuries in private construction continue to be the most of any industry sector, although the number of fatalities in private construction declined by 4%. Additional information on safety statistics can be found at http://stats.bls.go
DEP ENFORCES MA WATER POLICIES
Stow, MA Shopping Center Violates Title 5 Regulations
The DEP entered into a consent order with Linear Retail LLC to correct violations of the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act at the company's Shopping Center in Stow, MA. The company operates a commercial strip mall which is served by an on-site Title 5 system, consisting of eight separate leaching fields. Inspections performed as part of a property transfer revealed that one of the eight septic fields was failing, and that all eight leaching fields were located within the water supply protection area of the drinking water well serving the facility. As a result of negotiations with DEP, the company entered into a consent order that establishes a November 30, 2007 deadline for action. The owners have the option to obtain a groundwater discharge permit, or to phase out the discharge and connect to a public sewer. In the interim, the owners will pump out the failed septic system to prevent sewage breakout and conduct periodic inspections of the system components. As part of the settlement, the company has agreed to pay a penalty of $2,875.
Belchertown, MA Golf Course Fails to Comply with
Water Management Act Requirements
The DEP fined Four B Development Corp., the owner of Cold Spring Golf Course in Belchertown, MA for failing to comply with its Water Management Act water withdrawal permit and failing to apply for a permit amendment for its irrigation pond source. The conditions of the order require the company to apply for a Water Management Act permit amendment and perform required environmental monitoring and reporting. The company was fined $6,000. The DEP held an additional $19,000 in suspension, contingent upon the company’s compliance with the order.
Water withdrawal permits are required whenever withdrawals exceed 100,000 gallons per day on average over three consecutive months for any purpose. Water Management Act permit conditions require permittees to monitor the impacts from their activities for the protection of wetlands and other resource areas, endangered species, and the rights of other water users. Permit conditions also require implementation of conservation measures, integrated pest management practices, stormwater controls, and metering of usage. Four B's permit allows it to withdraw 163,000 gallons per day on average over its operating season.
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