Explosives Removed from Monterey Home

10:38AM / Saturday, October 03, 2020Print Story | Email Story

MONTEREY, Mass. — Law enforcement officers discovered dozens of explosive devices and parts during the execution of a search warrant at a West Road home on Friday.

A statement from the offices the Berkshire district attorney and the state fire marshal did not identify the home's owner or persons involved with the devices other than to state a "Monterey man" will be summonsed to "face multiple charges on the illegal possession, manufacture, and sale of explosive devices."

State police assigned to both offices and the Monterey police executed the search warrant as part of an investigation of the illegal manufacturing and sale of homemade M Class explosive devices.

The state police bomb squad and fire investigators secured dozens of completed destructive devices and explosive components, according to the statement. The bomb squad transported and safely countercharged the devices and explosive powders in a secure location.

Investigators say they do not believe there is a direct threat to the public at large and the state police investigation remains ongoing.

According to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, these homemade fireworks and explosives can be "extremely sensitive to heat, shock, electrostatic discharge and friction that may initiate, unexpectedly causing serious injury or death. The risks associated with these devices are further compounded because the persons manufacturing, transporting and using these devices often do not have the knowledge, skills and experience required for such activities."

Authorities said the investigation began when a concerned citizen reported suspicious activity and that there have been several such incidents in the state this year of people making their own explosives.

Anyone aware of someone making explosives can contact their local police department or the Arson Hotline at 1-800-8682-9229.

Multiple agencies assisted in the investigation and execution of the search warrant including: Monterey Police, Fire and Public Works Departments, the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit, State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit, State Police Crime Scene Services, State Police Joint Terrorism Task Force, State Fire Marshal's Office, Berkshire County Sheriff's Office, the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Connecticut State Police, HazMat technicians from the Joint Hazard Incident Response Team and the Special Operations Unit of the Department of Fire Services and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

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Lee Wants Bioremediation in Housatonic River Vernal Pool Study

05:24AM / Thursday, September 03, 2026

LEE, Mass. — The town has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric to include PCB bioremediation in its vernal pool study on the Housatonic River.

Lee officials are urging the EPA to require GE to add a bioremediation treatment arm to the vernal-pool study or provide the public with a clear explanation for why such testing is being excluded.

"This is exactly the kind of question EPA and GE should be asking before final remedy decisions are locked in," Select Board Chair Bob Jones said in a statement released to the press. "The town is not asking to slow the cleanup. We are asking EPA and GE to make the cleanup smarter, less destructive, and more protective over the long term."

An open house was held in Pittsfield earlier this summer for the Vernal Pool Pilot Study on Reach 5A of the Housatonic River, a five-mile stretch between the river's confluence and Lenox border.

EPA has required GE to conduct a Vernal Pool Pilot Study as part of the Housatonic River Rest of River remediation, comparing excavation and restoration with activated-carbon-based treatments, including a product called SediMite and powdered activated carbon, the town said.

Ten vernal pools will be cleaned of polychlorinated biphenyls in total, five with excavation and five with active carbon, and seven additional vernal pools will be monitored as controls. Construction will be complete around October, but the pools will be left to their natural processes and monitored with surveys and sampling for three years.

The Lee PCB Advisory Committee wrote a letter calling for the 21st-century approach it said could reduce long-term toxicity, avoid unnecessary destruction of sensitive habitats, and improve the effectiveness of the cleanup.

It states that Lee supports the study's purpose and agrees that EPA and GE must understand how cleanup activities affect sensitive vernal-pool ecosystems.

"The current pilot includes 10 treatment pools and seven control pools, while local officials understand that roughly 100 vernal pools may occur in the broader remediation corridor," the Aug. 27 letter reads.

"That makes the pilot study consequential: the methods tested now could shape how many sensitive wetlands are excavated, reconstructed, treated, or left with PCBs managed in place."

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