In my last posting, I suggested that perhaps the Pittsfield Conservation Commission was relying too heavily on the expertise of the applicants who come before them for advice on regulatory and technical issues. In this posting I would like to propose a solution to the problem.
Pittsfield’s Conservation Commission holds hearings every three weeks to consider applications for permits to perform work in and around wetlands. Although the commissioners are asked to familiarize themselves with the relevant regulations, primarily the Wetlands Protection Act, it is understandable that members of the commission, who are volunteers, sometimes find themselves in over their heads.
This is why the City of Pittsfield has provided the commission with a full-time (37.5 hours-per-week) technical consultant who has a background in environmental science. This salaried city employee with a degree in environmental science is supposed to be the commission’s go-to guy. So how is this working? Read more…
A few months ago enginneer James Scalise, representing Valley Mill Corporation, appeared before the Pittsfield Conservation Commission. He was there because Bonded Concrete wanted to build and operate a cement plant in Pittsfield, and since Valley Mill already had been issued a permit to operate a waste transfer station at the same site, couldn’t they just amend Valley Mill’s permit and avoid all those tedious delays and reviews. The commission said “fine with us.” How this was allowed to happen is an exercise in dysfunctional civics. Read more…
I recently toured the facilities of County Concrete in Dalton. I’m not the easiest person to please environmentally, but I have to say, County Concrete’s operation impressed me. Their chemicals are behind double-walled structures in case of spills or leaks, their trucks are washed down before they are allowed to go out on the roads, and the water from the wash is captured in such a way as to protect the nearby stream. County Concrete has been a Dalton-Pittsfield business for a long time. They’ve recently been purchased by a larger parent company, but they are still under the same local control.
So why is it that the City of Pittsfield is bending environmental rules to the point of breaking in order to allow an out-of-state competitor to move in right across the street from County Concrete? Read more…