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Pittsfield's COVID-19 Metrics Continue to Improve

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city remains in the green risk category for having less than four COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people and is one day away from entering the lowest risk gray category for having less than five reported cases.

Pittsfield has a nine-day pattern of zero hospitalizations and its estimated active case count is currently at 2. It's possible the city will drop into gray once the new figures are released on Thursday evening, bringing the entire county into the gray.

In addition, the 14-day average and percent positivity rate has dropped dramatically in the last two weeks.

Mayor Linda Tyer was pleased to present these metrics to the City Council in her bi-monthly update on Tuesday.

"We have a very, very positive downward trend," she said. "Very promising trends in both our average cases and positivity rates."

The 14-day average case rate is now 1.79 percent compared to the case rate of 6.5 percent at Tyer’s last update on May 25.

The 14-day average positivity rate is now 0.44 percent, down from 1.23 percent.


As of Tuesday, 64 percent of Pittsfield residents have received at least one dose and 51 percent have been fully vaccinated.  At Tyer’s last update, she hoped the city would be at 50 percent fully vaccinated but it was not yet reached.

Pittsfield has reached a milestone with testing, as more than 100,000 tests have been administered to Pittsfield residents since testing began back in March 2020.

In accordance with the positive data, Tyer asked the councilors if they see it fit for her to continue these updates.

Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio said he would prefer Tyer to continue with City Council updates until two weeks after the Fourth of July and Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon said she preferred if updates were continued through the month.

Last week, the Board of Health voted to rescind two local emergency orders that were set in place during the pandemic. The first was enacted in May 2020 and outlined occupancy, social distancing, and facial covering guidelines, and the second was enacted in December 2020 and outlined additional safety standards for indoor dining to reduce possible exposure.

The December order included a table size restriction of six people and required eateries to take contact information from diners.


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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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