Pittsfield: Above the Law
Posted by - Bruce Winn : Category - Conservation Commissions, Pittsfield City Government, Wahconah Park, WetlandsLast week I wrote about a Pittsfield official telling the City Council that the City of Pittsfield had “elected” not to comply with state-mandated environmental monitoring regulations in an effort to save money. In case you think this is an isolated incident, let me tell you about a few things that happened over the course of the last couple weeks and are still going on.
Berkshire Environmental Action Team received an email from a resident complaining that a green substance was entering the Housatonic River under the Elm Street bridge by way of a storm-drain pipe. We investigated. The substance had the bright, neon-green look of automotive antifreeze. It turns out that Pittsfield High School was cleaning and flushing their boilers and, in the process, flushed 1,200 gallons of a solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium nitrate from two of their boilers into their floor drain which connects to the Housatonic River by way of the city’s storm drain system. The combined efforts of the Pittsfield Police Department, the Pittsfield Fire Department, and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection stopped the High School from draining a third boiler into the river. Residents and past employees of the high school commenting on the Berkshire Eagle’s website have indicated that this has been an ongoing problem.
In another part of the city, at Clapp Park off West Housatonic Street, the City is doing some excavation work. Because the City has not installed adequate erosion controls as required by the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, the West Branch of the Housatonic River ran mud-brown for miles. On June 11, BEAT had reported possible problems at this worksite to the City’s conservation agent, Caleb Mitchell, but it appears no action on the part of the agent or the Conservation Commission was taken. When BEAT inspected the site on June 18, bathers were complaining about the silt and asking about its source.
I have written many times about the city’s repeated violations of environmental law at Wahconah Park in Pittsfield (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). The violations continue. To minimize flooding in the parking lot, which is in the floodplain of the Housatonic River, the city pumps water into the nearby wetlands and into the river. The Conservation Commission, which is supposed to enforce the Wetlands Protection Act, not the city’s stake in the ball park, sees no problem with this. They have also allowed fill to be brought in, raising the level of parts of the ball field and the adjoining area. This, in effect, causes the water level to rise higher during floods.
At Deming Park, the City is once again asleep at the wheel. Residential properties abutting this park are frequently flooded. Just as frequently, residents of this community beg the City and its Conservation Commission to uphold environmental laws that would mitigate the flooding. Instead, the City and the Conservation Commission allow work that exacerbates the problem and violates environmental law. Can this have anything to do with the fact that the park is a Little League park and the chairman of the Conservation Commission is the director of the Babe Ruth League? The Conservation Commission seems to have finally taken action here. They stopped construction on a scoreboard that was being built without permits, and after years of complaints from the neighbors, the City may finally be ready to offer assistance in the form of adding fill to their properties.
Nobody is saying that the scoreboard can’t be built. But since it is being built in a floodplain, steps must be taken to ensure that the project does not contribute to flooding and to further property damage. Without the permitting process, there is no guidance for the construction crew on exactly what those safeguards are. When the process works properly, the workers apply for and a receive a permit called an Order of Conditions. This says basically that the project may proceed subject to a list of restrictions and precautions that protect the environment. Yes, this takes more time. And yes, this may cost more money. But having your property flooded costs money as well.
Nobody is saying that the City can’t do its excavating at Clapp Park. But adequate erosion controls should be provided. The Housatonic River is a resource that belongs to all the citizens of the City, including the people who want to relax and enjoy a clean, clear river.
Nobody is saying that there can’t be a normal season of ball playing at Wahconah Park, but the City’s approach not only violates environmental regulations, but also increases the frequency and severity of flooding there, and their environmentally irresponsible approaches to dealing with flooding will only pass the problem on to those further downstream.
As for the High School? Yes, we actually are telling you you can’t flush your boilers into the river.
December 1st, 2010 at 8:20 am
The City filed a report saying that the solution of sodium hydroxide, sodium nitrate, and whatever had just been cleaned out of the river did no significant harm to the river. Credible witness? DEP has fined the city $6,325 for the violation.