Solid Waste Forum Urges Support for Mattress Recycling BillBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:44AM / Tuesday, July 18, 2023 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Panelists at last week's solid waste forum at the Berkshire Innovation Center urged support for upcoming legislation to address the solid waste crisis. Event organizer Thomas Irwin said the forum is the continuation of mass public education on potential solutions for the solid waste crisis. Justine Fallon, director of operations for the Mattress Recycling Council, discussed proposed recycling legislation, the program's process, and its impact. "The Mattress Recycling Council is a nonprofit that was created by the International Sleep Products Association," Fallon said and that the association started to >> Read More |
Grant Opportunity to Enhance Environmental Justice in New England| 08:21AM / Saturday, July 15, 2023 | |
BOSTON (July 3, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Region 1 Office is announcing a grant competition for an "Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center" (EJ TCTAC) to help New England communities and other environmental justice stakeholders access federal technical assistance and resources to address environmental and energy justice concerns. EPA Region 1 includes the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and 10 Tribal Nations. In April of this year, the agency announced $177 million in investments for the creation of EJ TCTACs across the >> Read More |
BEAT Receives International Stewardship Award| 05:17PM / Monday, July 10, 2023 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Environmental Action Team received a stewardship award for its work protecting and re-connecting wildlife habitats in the Berkshire Wildlife Linkage area. The award was presented June at the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation. The local environmental organization's habitat effort is part of a larger Staying Connected Initiative: a partnership of many conservation organizations that work together to maintain landscape connectivity across the Northern Appalachians in the Acadian Region of the United States and Canada. >> Read More |
Governor Announces Support of 'Greener' Commercial Refrigeration| 03:09PM / Sunday, July 09, 2023 | |
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that more than $581,000 in Commercial Refrigeration Grant Program funding has been awarded to eight retail food businesses and a food bank in Western Massachusetts. The grant program, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), will support the use of climate-friendly refrigerants in commercial refrigeration equipment. Many commercial refrigeration systems use potent greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), with global warming potential up to thousands of times that of carbon dioxide (CO2). These harmful refrigerants leak into the atmosphere over time, >> Read More |
BRTA Gets 'Clean Bus' Grant | 02:38PM / Wednesday, June 28, 2023 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority (BRTA) recived a $2,212,747 grant to purchase diesel-electric hybrid buses to replace older buses and new hydraulic heavy duty vehicle repair lifts at its maintenance facility. The project will improve transit worker safety, state of good repair, and increase service reliability for riders.? The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Low- and No- Emission Program (Low-No) award of approximately $31.3 million total to four Massachusetts Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) for the purchase of hybrid-electric and battery-electric >> Read More |
Dalton Select Board Turns Down Citizens' Energy Credit OfferBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
02:35PM / Monday, June 26, 2023 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board voted last week to decline a proposal from Citizens Enterprises Corp. for a solar alternative on-bill credit agreement under the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target program. Citizens Energy, a non-profit energy company, is planning a 13-acre solar farm off Bridle Road. The town already has sufficient net metering credits for its current electricity supply through Rockwood and would not be able to absorb the credits offered by Citizens, Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson’s preliminary report said. The net metering and on-bill crediting are largely the same in that they allow for excess energy generation from one account >> Read More |
Mass Leads Request to Establish Interregional Transmission Collaborative | 11:28AM / Sunday, June 25, 2023 | |
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) a request on behalf of all the New England states, New York, and New Jersey to form a Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission, a new approach to planning for electric transmission infrastructure across multiple regions. Under the proposed structure, DOE would lead the states in planning activities that may include investigating opportunities for mutually beneficial options for increasing the flow of electricity between three different planning regions in the Northeast and assessing offshore wind infrastructure needs and solutions. Greater interconnectivity >> Read More |
Governor Announces Creation of Community Climate Bank| 12:45PM / Sunday, June 18, 2023 | |
BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey announced the launch of the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank, the nation's first green bank dedicated to affordable housing. This initiative, seeded with $50 million in state funds from the Department of Environmental Protection, is designed to maximize investment in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. "The Massachusetts Community Climate Bank will be our financial engine for moving forward on our climate goals, relieving the pressure of high housing costs, and creating good jobs and healthier communities," said Governor Maura Healey. "This first-of-its kind initiative >> Read More |
Governor Launches New Climate-Focused Forestry Initiative | 11:09AM / Saturday, June 10, 2023 | |
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced a new initiative to ensure Massachusetts' forests are managed to optimize carbon sequestration and mitigate climate harms as part of meeting the state's aggressive climate goals. "Forests as Climate Solutions" will expand existing state programs, invest in forest conservation, enhance a network of forest reserves, and develop forest management guidelines based on the latest climate science. These guidelines will apply to state lands, and the administration will also provide incentives for private landowners to use them to maximize the climate benefits of their forests. "The >> Read More |
Pittsfield Community Development Supports Chicken OrdinanceBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:22AM / Wednesday, May 17, 2023 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Affordable chicken permitting is reaching its final stretch. On Tuesday, the Community Development Board unanimously supported a zoning amendment to permit six fowl through a $25 license. It takes the process out of the Zoning Board of Appeals' purview, which cost more than $500, and requires a license similar to that of a dog. Resident Melissa Corbett has been working on this initiative with Councilor at Large Karen Kalinowsky for almost a year. "The City Council, specifically the Ordinance and Rules committee has done a lot of work trying to find the best solution to the problem of cost for how much it costs to keep chickens
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