Berkshire County Fire Departments Awarded Grants

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STOW—The Baker-Polito Administration announced $5 million in grant awards to 308 fire departments from the FY23 Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program.
 
In Berkshire County Adams, Dalton, Great Barrington, Lanesborough, Lee, Lenox, New Ashford, New Marlborough, North Adams, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, Sheffield, Stockbridge, and Williamstown all received grants.
 
"We ask so much of our firefighters, and no matter how dangerous or difficult the situation, they always do whatever it takes to help," said Governor Charlie Baker. "This program is an opportunity to make sure they are properly protected every time they answer a call for help."
 
The program provides local fire departments with a variety of equipment that makes the dangerous job of firefighting safer. This is the third year that funding has been awarded for this purpose as part of a five-year, $25 million bond bill filed by the Administration to support firefighter safety and health in the coming years.
 
Below are the grant amounts awarded to Berkshire County fire departments:
  • Adams Fire District: $15,500.00
  • Dalton Fire District: $15,500.00
  • Great Barrington: $15,271.00
  • Lanesborough: $6,736.21
  • Lee: $15,500.00
  • Lenox: $15,500.00
  • New Ashford: $10,500.00
  • New Marlborough:$6,765.00 
  • North Adams: $19,000.00
  • Peru: $10,500.00
  • Pittsfield: $25,000.00
  • Richmond: $19,598.14
  • Sheffield: $12,500.00
  • Stockbridge: $10,500.00
  • Williamstown Fire District: $11,651.35 
Fire departments in Massachusetts were able to apply to this program for 121 different types of eligible equipment, including ballistic protective clothing, thermal protective clothing, gear washers and dryers, thermal imaging cameras, assorted hand tools and extrication equipment, communications resources, hazardous gas meters, fitness equipment, and more. In many cases, the purchase of this equipment will help departments attain compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration or National Fire Protection Association safety standards.
 

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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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