Jan 10, 2021
Editor’s note: This letter is in response to a Dec. 28 letter from Buzzards Bay Coalition President Mark Rasmussen regarding
claims from the Town of Marion over the projected cost of the lining of one of the lagoons at its wastewater treatment plant. The Buzzards Bay Coalition sued the town in 2018 for an alleged violation of the Massachusetts Clean Water Act, saying that nitrogen was reportedly leaking from the lagoons and into the nearby Aucoot Cove. The town denies this claim. The case was dropped in 2019 after the town entered into an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Environmental Protection to line one of the three lagoons.
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The Williamstown, Massachusetts board of health is requiring a town motel to close after a slow response to code violations.
Health Inspector Jeff Kennedy says The Berkshire Hills Country Inn hadn’t taken steps to respond to issues the town brought to its attention in 2020.
“I placarded the building on January 6th, saying it was closed by the board of health for violations of the housing code, which requires a potable supply of water and the environmental protection water supply code, which requires certain requirements for a transient non-community water supply as Berkshire Hills motel has, he said.
The motel cannot accept guests until the Department of Environmental Protection approves the its water supply plan. A plan has been submitted, and is under review.
Erie Times-News
Fossil fuel industry is dying and it will take us down with it
Profits and cash flow for the industry were down even before the pandemic, but Pennsylvania continues to prop up fracking with taxpayer-funded subsidies. It isn’t a jobs savior either. In 2017, the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists 4,900 direct jobs. The Department of Environmental Protection’s 2019 energy report adds 3,000 in electricity by natural gas. Combine state and federal sources for related jobs, and we only reach 26,000-50,000.
Society must move toward a circular economy that reuses, not produces more waste. While the industry wants to double plastic production by 2050, they need it; we don’t. More plastic, more fossil fuels. All they’re doing is feeding themselves and burying us in single-use plastic. Micro-plastics and pellets get into land and water during transport and production. When wildlife and humans consume these particles, they can physically damage organs and leach hazardous
State continues testing farmland in Fairfield as another resident told to stop using well water My right to clean water has been taken away from me and I didn’t have anything to do with it, Judy Poulin, 77, of Fairfield said. In October, Poulin was told to stop using the water from her well after it was shown to have high levels of toxic chemicals.
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Judy Poulin, 77, stands Monday near fields where she says sludge was spread that led to the contamination of the well that provides drinking water for her home at 403 Ohio Hill Road in Fairfield. Poulin has lived at the home since 2003.
As the 130th Session of the Maine State Legislature kicks off, PenBayPilot.com has reached out to each area state legislator to see what is at the forefront of the minds for each of them.
Representative Stanley Paige Zeigler, D-Montville, is entering his third term as a member of the Maine State Legislature representing the Waldo County towns of Belmont, Liberty, Lincolnville, Montville, Morrill, Palermo and Searsmont as part of House District 96.
During the recently completed 129th Legislative session, four bills sponsored by Rep. Zeigler were signed into law by Governor Janet Mills including the prohibiting the use of certain disposable food service containers, clarifying conflict of interest requirements for the Board of Environmental Protection, reclassifying certain waters of the State, and providing for legislative review of federally mandated major substantive rules under the Maine Administrative Procedure Act.