I think there are few people who would disagree with the only true thing he said during the entire press conference. No one in this country has ever seen anything like the year we have just endured.
Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin noted that it was hard to justify the rate increase without more details about repairs and upgrades – and the schedule to implement them.
Removing contaminants attributable to Ried Cleaners may cost up to $1.6 million. "We have to hold the responsible parties’ feet to the fire but also be practical. We want it cleaned up and on the tax rolls.”
--- Great Barrington Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin
“From a practical standpoint, and from a health and safety standpoint, if we cap rather than bioremediate, there is virtually no impact on development schedule. This project has an incredible benefit for the entire community and entire region."
--- Tim Geller, executive director, Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire
Any time a state agency performs such an abrupt about face, it’s reasonable to suspect the presence of an unseen actor. Who got to the DEP? Consider this: the Log Homes site has another neighbor, the Housatonic River, which as we all know is the special responsibility of a certain Fortune 500 corporation.
While the Community Development Corporation is “committed to the bioremediation process,” it will do whatever it has to move ahead with the the construction of the 100 Bridge Street complex. That may mean “capping” –– or covering –– the polluted soil to eliminate exposure.
It is “disappointing” that while there will be some drainage improvements to Great Barrington’s Main Street from the reconstruction project, there aren’t more significant changes. He expressed concern about a large stormwater pipe that releases into the river, near the skateboard park off Bridge Street.
---Landscape designer Craig Okerstrom-Lang
Great Barrington Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin said it will soon be a question of whether to continue the pilot bioremediation, cap the site, or do a combination of both. State Rep. Pignatelli said that it would be “great” if the pilot cleanup worked. “If not, we move on to the next thing.”
“There is no room for error when you’re dealing with a public water supply. There was insufficient regulation around public drinking water in Great Barrington until this zoning code was put in."
-- Richard Dohoney, attorney for Building Inspector Edwin May
The land in question falls under Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) regulations that prohibit working land within 100-feet of a reservoir and wetlands, and the town’s rules that put a 500 foot buffer between a reservoir and any permitted activity.
"Any significant structural work to the road — beyond a simple paving job -- will require the extensive environmental permitting."
-- Town Planner Christopher Rembold
Selectmen and life-long Lenox resident Dave Roche invoked the concept of an environmental legacy. “Let’s leave something better for our children,” he said.
Bioremediation at the Log Homes site costs only a fraction of the traditional dredge-it-up and haul-it-away method of toxic waste management. Preliminary results should be available by the end of September.
