|
"The allegations by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
(PEER) that Berkshire Community College not only destroyed wetlands
in the process of building a soccer complex..."
|
On May 24, 2001 the Berkshire Eagle printed a story entitiled "BCC
fixes fields to save salamanders." According to the Eagle story,
"By changing the slope of the soccer fields and the makeup of the
soil, the work altered how water will run off to the vernal pool... [BCC
president Barbara] Viniar announced that the school has agreed to regrade
the soccer fields in an effort to protect the vernal pool. It is hoped
that by returning the fields to their original slope, the water runoff
from the new fields will be identical to the old drainage, guaranteeing
that the vernal pool will return each spring." More than three years
later, the
college has still not kept its promise, and the vernal pool habitat
has been destroyed. |
| "...but falsified data to cover it up are serious
and PEER had better have them well-documented. Supporting facts are so
far absent,..." |
BEAT agrees that the allegations made by PEER are serious
and believes that PEER has documented its charges. We wonder if the Eagle
staff actually visited the PEER Web site. It is hard to imagine that anyone
studying this issues could see anything other than falsified data.
But we offer our Web site as further documentation of the irregularities
and errors that were involved in the soccer field project. |
| "...and PEER has not accounted for the decisions
of the Pittsfield Conservation Commission..." |
The Pittsfield Conservation Commission's involvement in
this project began with a site visit in which agent Caleb Mitchell decided
he did not even have to walk across the soccer fields to look at the vernal
pool and other relevant wetland resources. Then Mr. Mitchell accepted
the strangely altered map, failed to prevent the worksite from extending
into endangered species habitat, failed to demand a wetland delineation
for the site, and then gave the college permission to begin work.
Despite ongoing investigations by state and federal regulators,
and despite the fact that Berkshire Community College was being required
to implement a remediation program to restore wetlands and habitat, and
without waiting for these issues to be resolved, the Pittsfield Conservation
Commission issued the college a Certificate of Compliance. BEAT isn't
surprised that PEER has trouble accounting for the decision of the Pittsfield
Conservation Commission. We wonder how the Conservation Commission accounts
for their decisions. |
| "...and the state Department of Environmental Protection
to sign off on the project..." |
In October of 2000, the DEP sent a letter to the college
stating the Department's concerns with work done on the soccer fields.
Those concerns were not addressed by the college. Unfortunately, DEP has
a policy of letting local Conservation Commissions make final determinations
on projects. Although DEP did not step in and stop the soccer field project,
neither did they "sign off on the project." |
| "...unless, of course, they are in on the conspiracy." |
BEAT can find no reference to a conspiracy on PEER's Web
site. There has, however, been a failure of the public process intended
to protect wetlands. |
| "The soccer project will benefit the school, city
and region,..." |
BEAT can understand how the Eagle would have believed that
spending $169,000 to upgrade soccer fields at the college would "benefit
the school, city and region". However, we hope that now that the
bill for the project has reached at least $343,100.79 and now that it
is clear that this expensive project has made
the fields unuseable, the Eagle will reconsider its position. |
| "...and PEER's reference in its statement to problems
between outgoing BCC President Barbara Viniar and the faculty - a reference
strangely out of place in an environmental report - suggests its last-minute
intrusion is overkill in the campaing to sabotage Ms. Viniar." |
To suggest that PEER's involvement in this matter is an "intrusion",
suggests that the Berkshire Eagle misunderstands the function of PEER
as an organization, the tension generated on campus by the soccer field
controversy, or both. PEER describes itself as "a private, non-profit
organization that protects the government employees who protect our
environment. PEER works with and on behalf of these resource professionals
to effect change in the way government agencies conduct business."
In other words, PEER protects the environment and whistleblowers who
are protecting the environment. PEER's role in the BCC soccer field
matter is therefore not an intrusion, but is instead an appropriate
intervention on the side of environmental ethics and government accountability.
BEAT finds the Eagle's characterization of PEER as cynical, and believes
that the Eagle's attitude contradicts expectations raised by the Eagle's
earlier reporting (such as in "BCC fixes fields to save salamanders").
Although Barbara Viniar did agree to remediation, and was quoted in
the Eagle as saying about the remediation, "I think this was the
right thing to do", the college has yet to implement the plan.
PEER is involved largely because of the broken promises of the Viniar
administration.
|
| BEAT can understand that the Berkshire Eagle sees its role
as reporting news stories and making editorial comments rather than investigating
news stories, however, to suggest that there are no problems with a project
simply because regulatory agencies have not stopped it, does a disservice
to the community and to journalism. |
