1Berkshire Accepting Applications for 2023-2024 Youth Leadership Program

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — 1Berkshire's Youth Leadership Program (YLP) announced the launch of the application process for the YLP class of 2023-2024.
 
The 1Berkshire Youth Leadership Program, open to all current sophomores in the Berkshires, selects a cohort of up to 30 motivated students from all backgrounds for this ten-month experience that will help them to explore the regional economy and develop their leadership skills. Once selected, students will begin the program with a 2.5-day, 2-night retreat in June 2023.
 
At the retreat, students will meet for the first time, begin to build deep connections, and learn about and advance their individual leadership skills.
 
Over the following ten months, students will reconvene for one full-day each month, at various locations across the Berkshires (or virtually, in the case of severe weather conditions). During these sessions, students will meet with business leaders and dynamic community members to learn about sectors and careers in the regional economy, including but not limited to advanced manufacturing, healthcare, the creative economy, outdoor recreation, and hospitality and tourism. Students will develop leadership traits through activities within the sessions, and as a class, will develop and execute a collective community impact project that will enhance life in the Berkshires. 
 
"After a highly-successful relaunch of YLP this year, we are excited to welcome applications for another fantastic class this coming year," Ben Lamb, director of Economic Development at 1Berkshire, and program coordinator of the Youth Leadership Program. "Through the program students have a unique opportunity to grow as individuals and as members of a community spanning the Berkshires, while both cultivating a deep understanding of career opportunities available to them in the region and working together on a project that makes a positive impact in the region they call home."
 
This program is made possible through the ongoing financial support of Berkshire Bank, Greylock Federal Credit Union, NBT Bank, and others. The 1Berkshire Youth Leadership Program is coordinated by 1Berkshire with the support of the volunteer Youth Leadership Program Steering Committee, composed of professionals from across the region who commit their time and expertise to develop and facilitate the entire program.
 
Until the Feb. 10 deadline, sophomores from any school in the Berkshires, and equivalent-aged home-schooled students, may submit an application for the program.
 
The application can be found at: https://form.jotform.com/223393584230152
 
Contact economicdev@1berkshire.com with any questions, and encourage any Berkshire County sophomores you know to apply.

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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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