Blue Hills Reservoir Update, May, 2005

News from the Friends of the Blue Hills

A page-one story in yesterday's Quincy Patriot--Ledger highlighted the letters local legislators have written at our request to the Dept. of Environmental Protection asking that MWRA be required to replace the 8.7 acres of protected wetlands it plans to eliminate at the Blue Hills Reservoir in order to construct concrete water tanks.

Here are examples from Rep. Ron Mariano of Quincy and Rep. Walter Timilty of Milton. Others came from Rep. Bruce Ayers of Quincy, Rep. Geraldine Creedon of Brockton, and Sen. Brian Joyce of Milton. We thank them for supporting our efforts. The Quincy and Milton Conservation Commissions have also written to DEP with similar requests.

Many FBH members contacted their legislators on our behalf. If you are among them, we salute you!

In addition, several Reservation users have have written to local papers questioning whether the proposed tanks are strictly necessary. Here are examples from Andrew Joslin and Jamie McKnight.

One would think, given the level of public interest in the project, that MWRA would make more effort to explain why the tank project merits $31 million in public funds, and why it should be exempt from Massachusetts' long-standing "no net loss of wetlands" policy. But no MWRA official has commented publicly on the project for months. The webpage describing it has not been updated for over a year.

Last week the MWRA Board of Directors reportedly voted to reaffirm its support for the project.

We are hopeful that the judge who held a hearing on our appeal last winter will issue a decision calling for MWRA to create or protect wetlands substantially equivalent to those proposed to be lost, in conformance with the no-net-loss policy. If the decision goes against us, we are contemplating an appeal to Superior Court. In any event, we will do our best to produce a better outcome for the century-old Blue Hills Reservation. ___________________________________________________________________________
You have received this message because you are on the Friends of the Blue Hills email list of members and other interested parties. If you have any comments, corrections to this list, or would like to be removed from it, please click here.

News from the Friends of the Blue Hills
A page-one story in yesterday's Quincy Patriot--Ledger highlighted the letters local legislators have written at our request to the Dept. of Environmental Protection asking that MWRA be required to replace the 8.7 acres of protected wetlands it plans to eliminate at the Blue Hills Reservoir in order to construct concrete water tanks. Here are examples from Rep. Ron Mariano of Quincy and Rep. Walter Timilty of Milton. Others came from Rep. Bruce Ayers of Quincy, Rep. Geraldine Creedon of Brockton, and Sen. Brian Joyce of Milton. We thank them for supporting our efforts. The Quincy and Milton Conservation Commissions have also written to DEP with similar requests. Many FBH members contacted their legislators on our behalf. If you are among them, we salute you! In addition, several Reservation users have have written to local papers questioning whether the proposed tanks are strictly necessary. Here are examples from Andrew Joslin and Jamie McKnight. One would think, given the level of public interest in the project, that MWRA would make more effort to explain why the tank project merits $31 million in public funds, and why it should be exempt from Massachusetts' long-standing "no net loss of wetlands" policy. But no MWRA official has commented publicly on the project for months. The webpage describing it has not been updated for over a year. Last week the MWRA Board of Directors reportedly voted to reaffirm its support for the project. We are hopeful that the judge who held a hearing on our appeal last winter will issue a decision calling for MWRA to create or protect wetlands substantially equivalent to those proposed to be lost, in conformance with the no-net-loss policy. If the decision goes against us, we are contemplating an appeal to Superior Court. In any event, we will do our best to produce a better outcome for the century-old Blue Hills Reservation. ___________________________________________________________________________ You have received this message because you are on the Friends of the Blue Hills email list of members and other interested parties. If you have any comments, corrections to this list, or would like to be removed from it, please click here.