| GOOD NEWS AT
BLUE HILLS RESERVOIR
On August 29th an administrative judge upheld the Friends of Blue Hills’ claim that the MWRA has proposed inadequate wetland mitigation in its project to construct two 10-million gallon water tanks in the Blue Hills Reservoir. FBH appealed the state permit granted to the MWRA to fill over half of the 16.5-acre Blue Hills Reservoir on Chickatawbut Road in order to construct two concrete water storage tanks 40 feet high and 240 feet in diameter. The judge ruled in favor of FBH, stating that the project violates the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act because it will not replace any of the 8.75 acres of protected wetlands it will destroy. The ruling by judge Mark Silverstein cites the commonwealth's long-standing "no net loss of wetlands" policy, and concurs with FBH that the November, 2003 permit issued by the Department of Environmental Protection does not comply with the policy. FBH has never been happy with the MWRA's insistence on a site in the heart of the Reservation for this massive project. Over a century ago Charles Eliot, Jr., the architect of Boston's metropolitan park system, stated that "Reservations are lands acquired to preserve scenery or landscape, free from buildings, for the enjoyment and refreshment of the people." Nonetheless, we have consistently offered our support if MWRA would agree to add to the Reservation resources comparable to what would be lost, as is consistent with law. The decision puts the onus on MWRA to revise the project so that it will not produce a major net loss of wetlands. However, the ruling is subject to review by DEP Commissioner Robert Golledge, who issued the original permit, and could be reversed. The Commissioner has received numerous letters asking that he require the project to comply with the commonwealth's no-net-loss-of-wetlands policy. With the help of our membership, Friends of the Blue Hills successfully solicited such letters from the Quincy and Milton Conservation Commissions, and also from state senator Brian Joyce and state representatives Bruce Ayers, Geraldine Creedon, William Galvin, Ronald Mariano, and Walter Timilty. Many individuals also contacted DEP. The MWRA Advisory Board has stated it will no longer support the twin 10-million-gallon tanks if the anticipated $30 million cost is increased by a requirement to replace lost wetlands. An FBH member observed in the Milton Times that the MWRA has yet to provide local ratepayers with "a convincing demonstration of need" for the project. We wonder if local water supplies could not be protected by a less ambitious and costly alternative--one that made use, for instance, of the existing reservoir, which is one of the cleanest and clearest water bodies in eastern Massachusetts. |
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