Annual report of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection

22 Pages·1993·1.8 MB·English

by  Massachusetts. Dept. of Environmental Protection

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15 Years
Later:
Looking
Beyond
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Fiscal 1990 Annual Report
Massachusetts
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A
Message from
Greenbaum
Commissioner
y*m
m:-
IN ineteen ninety has been a year ofresurgence forthe environmental movement; an ecological revival which began
in the months leading up to the 20th Earth Day. On April 22, tens ofmillions ofpeople from across the nation and
around the world flocked to gatherings, large and small, to celebrate our bountiful planet and rededicate themselves
to its defense. Energized by this renewed spirit ofenvironmentalism, volunteer groups spent the summer cleaning
up beaches and parks, launching conservation and recycling programs, and mobilizing even more volunteers by
educating people about their personal stake in clean air and water.
The 20th observance ofEarth Day was by no means the only significant environmental milestone reached in 1990,
however. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency marked its 20th anniversary by placing its institutional
emphasis on pollution prevention; a step the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, which
celebrated its 15th birthday this year, took in 1988.
Since its infancy, DEP has grown and matured in its approach to the task at hand. In its early years, the agency reacted
to problems one at a time. Ifthere was an oil spill, DEP would do a professionaljob ofcleaning it up and then wait
for the next one to happen. Under the laws then on the books, there was a limit to just how much environmental
protection the agency could achieve: factories ordered to cut airpollution, for example, were allowed to compensate
by increasing their discharges ofwastewater. Little thought was given to prevention.
But two years ago, in its early adolescence, DEP started thinking ahead. Its professional staffbegan looking for ways
to prevent pollution rather than for methods to control it at the end of the pipe. And in the summer of 1989, the
DEP
legislature gave a powerful tool to require meaningful reductions in the commercial and industrial use of
chemicals that pollute: the landmarkToxics Use Reduction Act.
During its 15th year, DEP has taken steps to maximize the efficiency ofits permitting programs and substantially
reduce the waiting time for applicants. Under a new fees-for-services program to be implemented over the next
several months, businesses and developers will pay forthe agency's review oftheirprojects. But fees will be refunded
ifDEP fails to act on permit applications within stipulated timetables. This approach will lighten the regulatory load
on business and industry without sacrificing environmental protection or increasing the burden on taxpayers.
Our strategy forthe future is clear. We need to look beyond tomorrow ~ beyond the slogans ofEarth Day - to a lew
order of personal commitment to conservation. It is incumbent upon us to harness and sustain today's renewed
ecological fervor, to help the individual make a difference for the common good. We have to promote economic
growth that is environmentally sound. And we must deliver maximum environmental protection at minimum
taxpayerexpense. Our greatest challenge ~ making that strategy work ~ lies ahead as DEP embarks on its second
15 years.
Daniel S. Greenbaum
Commissioner
DEP'sWetlands Conservancy Program, reactivated in fiscal year 1990, will preserve saltmarshes (left),swamps (right
and otherwetlands byplacing restrictionsonthe typesofdevelopment allowed onmanypropertiescontainingwetlands
Not
Mission: Impossible,
But an Increasing Challenge
A
ccording to Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution, Inthewakeofastatefinancialcrisisthatlefttheagencywitha
"Thepeopleshallhavetherighttocleanairandwater...andthe operatingbudget20percentsmallerthantheonewith which
natural, scenic, historic andesthetic qualities oftheirenviron- began fiscal year 1990, many believed DEP was facing
ment." It is DEP's mission to guarantee thatrightby: mission impossible. The task was indeed ominous and som
critical programs had to be eliminated so others even moi
• Identifying andprotecting criticalnatural crucial couldbe saved.
resources;
Phasedoutinfiscal year 1990wereDEFsOfficeofRight-Tc
• Responding to oilspills, chemicalfires Know, a clearinghouse for information on toxic chemicals i
andotheremergencies which threaten human the workplace; the Clean Lakes program, which the previoi
health andenvironmentalquality; yearprovidedcommunitieswithmorethan$850,000forelim
natingsourcesofwaterpollution;androutinetestingofmimic
• Planningforandimplementingpermitting, pal watersupplies, aservice theCommonwealth hadprovide
compliance andenforcementprograms that its cities and towns free of charge for nearly a century. Tfi
ensure clean airand waterby emphasizingthe agencyalsoclosed itswatertesting laboratory in Amherstan
needforreduction ofwaste atthe source; stopped routine inspections of some 7,000 businesses th;
generate so-called "small quantities" ofhazardous waste (i.<
• Overseeingassessmentandcleanup of underone ton permonth).
hazardous waste sites;
DEP made progress, however, on its efforts to improve a
• Conducting research andanalysis to assess quality, preserve the coastline and deal creatively with th
the impacts oftoxic materials onpublic health state'sburgeoning solid wastecrisisdespitebudgetcuts whic
andthe environment; robbed it of staff and capital dollars. DEP also continued t
monitorambient environmental quality across the state; ovei
• Providing municipalities with thefinancial see assessmentand cleanup ofhazardous waste sites; respon
andtechnicalassistance they need to move to oil spills, chemical fires and other environmental emerger
forward with recyclingprograms and water cies; and issueairquality, hazardous waste, solid waste, watt
andsewer improvements; and pollution control and wetlands permits, as well as waterway
license. Butin allofitsongoingactivities, DEPmadechange
• Educating citizens, public officialsand thatemphasized efficiency and, where appropriate, attempte
regulatedbusinesses about the needfor toshiftcostsfrom taxpayerstothosewhobenefitmostdirectl
environmentalprotectionprograms. from the agency's services.
Cradle of Liberty... and Ecology
Justas Massachusetts was a leaderin the struggle forAmeri- state government. Among the secretariats created in that
can independence that began more than 220 years ago, it has, reorganizationwasoneforEnvironmental Affairs. Anditwas
long been apacesetter in thebattle againstpollution. The De- under that umbrella that a new agency, the Department of
partment of Environmental Protection may be only 15 years Environmental Quality Engineering, wasborn in 1975.
old, but the Commonwealth has been on the leading edge of
protecting the environment for more than 140 years. DEQE was theproductofaconsolidation among the Division
-
ofEnvironmental Health, the state's Division ofWater Pollu-
Long before the outbreak of the Civil War, in 1849, state tion Control and variouspartsoftheNaturalResources.Public
Sanitary Commission chairman Lemuel Shattuck called for HealthandPublicWorksdepartments. Itwasthejobofthenew
integration of public health and environmental protection agency's first Commissioner, David Standley, to skillfully
efforts. No other state in the Union had in place aprogram as combine those diverse parts into aproductive whole.
ambitious and diverse as the one Shattuck envisioned, and it
tookhim20yearstoconvincehissuperiorsthatMassachusetts Sevenyearsafteritscreation,DEQEwasrealignedbyCommis-
should be the first to embark on such acourse. sioner Anthony Cortese into seven divisions: air quality con-
trol,environmental analysis, hazardouswaste, waterpollution
When the Commonwealth assembled its very first Board of control, water supply regulation, waterways licensing and
Health in 1869,thepanel wasgiven sweepingresponsibilities; wetlands protection. Also during Cortese's tenure, in 1983,
toomany,infact,tobeeffectiveoverthelongterm. Seventeen Massachusetts became one of the first states in the nation to
years later, the board was reorganized and charged with two create its own Superfund program for ensuring timely assess-
very specific duties: ensuring the quality of Massachusetts mentand cleanup ofhazardous waste sites.
water supplies and monitoring municipal sewage disposal
practices. Oneoftherevampedboard'sfirstofficialactswasto ThestateSuperfundlawwasamendedin 1986whenvoters,by
requirecitiesandtownstotesttheirdrinkingwaterforbacterial a3-to-1 margin,approvedaballotinitiativerequiringDEQE to
contamination once a month. meet stricter timetables for waste site discovery, assessment
andcleanup. Thefollowing year, state lawmakerscreated the
In 1887,theBoardofHealth'sCommitteeonWaterSupplyand $25 millionEnvironmentalChallengeFundtogivetheagency
Sewerage, headed by engineer Hiram Mills, convinced the moreresourcestoimplementtheambitiousprogrammandated
Essex Company ofLawrence to rent to the Commonwealth a byvoters. Italsowasin 1987,afterGovernorMichaelDukakis
small laboratory on the banks ofthe Merrimack River. Thus signed the landmark Solid Waste Act, that DEQE - under
"wasfounded theLawrenceExperimentStation. Knownasthe CommissionerS. Russell Sylva — assumedprimeresponsibil-
"birthplaceofenvironmentalresearchinAmerica,"thatfacility ityforthestate'ssolidwastemanagementprograms,whichuntil
pioneered manynewmethods forfiltering,treatingandtesting then had been administered chiefly by the Department of
waterand wastewater. (Much later, in the 1960s and 70s, the Environmental Management.
Experiment Station conducted groundbreaking studies on
emerging problems such as mercury and paralytic shellfish With thearrivalofCommissionerDaniel Greenbaum in 1988,
DEQE
poisoning.) changed its focus from end-of-the-pipe regulation to
A
preventionofsolidandhazardouswastesatthesource. year
\s Massachusetts began toconfrontnew environmental prob- later, in recognition of its new activist role, the agency was
lemsassociatedwiththeindustrializationandpopulationgrowth renamed the DepartmentofEnvironmental Protection. ~
of the 20th Century, the Committee on Water Supply and
Sewerage was required to broaden its scope. Eventually re- Today, three bureaus guide DEP toward implementation of
namedtheDivisionofEnvironmentalHealth,itwasjoinedover several keyWastePrevention,ResourceProtectionandWaste
the yearsby an array ofnew entities responsible forregulating Site Cleanup initiatives: the 1989 Toxics UseReduction Act,
agriculture, natural resources management, sanitation, solid committingMassachusettsindustrytoa50percentcutin toxic
waste disposaland waterfrontactivity. With such aprolifera- discharges and emissionsby 1997; a SolidWaste MasterPlan
tion ofagencies and divisions, however, the Commonwealth whichcallsforrecyclingnearlyhalfofthestate'strashby2000;
wasgettingawayfrom thecoordinatedapproachLemuel Shat- changesinDEPpermittingaimedatimprovingservicetoregu-
tuck had advocated. latedbusinesses and lowering taxpayer costs; newregulations
intended to preserve maritime industry and enhance public
Environmental protection finally was broughtback into focus access to the coast; a reactivated Wetlands Conservancy Pro-
in 1974 when the legislature passed and Governor Francis gram to stem the tide of wetlands loss; and a comprehensive
Sargent signed a bill giving Massachusetts a cabinet form of restructuring ofDEFs Waste Site Cleanup Program.
3
Look
Commissioners
Past
Back and Ahead
•
r ifteen years ago, I was granted the op- opedtoenhancetheefficiencyandaccount;
portunity to head the new-entity which is bilityoffieldpersonnel,and toimproveth
now the Department of Environmental speed and certaintyofDepartmentaction;
Protection; toworkwithpeoplewhountil
then had functioned within a half dozen Inthoseyears,theDepartmentrespondedt
agenciesscatteredthroughoutBoston,from problems and crises which were ominoi
NashuaStreettotheTheatreDistrict,with harbingers ofissues with which DEPdea
responsibilitiesrangingfromairpollution routinelytoday,suchastheSilresimhazarc
control to wetlands protection. ouswastesiteinLowell,theArgoMerchai
oil spill off the Massachusetts coast, an
At the same time, I had to sort out the re- chemical contamination of water supplie
lationshipsbetweenthevariousnewenvi- The Blizzard of78, with its disastrous in
ronmentalagenciesandtheiroverseer,the pactontheshoreline,testedourcapabiliti<
Executive Office of Environmental Af- inwaysIhadnotexperiencedsincethehu
fairs. That was and still is the most fulfilling and exciting ricanes and floods of 1955.
challenge I can imagine myselfbeing involved with.
Disasters,likebudgetcrises,recur. Theyaretheacidtestsofar
It is worth recalling, too, that the Department was born in the organization and provide unparalelled opportunities forlean
We
midst of a state budget crisis in 1975. had to reassess ingandinnovation. Changehasalwaysbeenthehallmarkoftl
policies and regulations not only in light of growing public agency and now is acrucial moment. DEP is currently unde
concern over the loss of environmental resources, but in going change in response to longstanding and legitimate coi
A
recognition of theagency'schronicshortageofstaff. decen- cernsaboutthespeedwithwhich itmakesdecisions. Iapplai
tralized,regionalapproachtoprogrammanagementwasdevel- the Department's direction and sense ofurgency.
When
I became Commissioner in 1979, there was limited bettertrained workforce today than ten years ago. Butin spi
understanding of and support for environmental protection of those gains, the gap between public expectations and tl
programs. The Department was largely in the position of resources available to meet them has actually widened.
having to convince the decision makers in government and
industry that environmental protection was one of society's Nowthereisanunderstandingthattheenvironmentalproblen
corevalues,andthatstategovernmenthadtoplayastrongrole we face are not only local, but regional and global. DEP h;
so as to protect public health and sustain economic growth. beguntothinkholisiticallyabouttheenvironment;toanticipa
problemsandpreventthem. Reducingthe generation ofpolli
Hazardouswasteandacidrainhadonlyrecentlybecomeissues tion and waste as well as the consumption ofresources is tl
of importance to policy makers and the public. Little was only way to get ahead of the curve and have a sustainab
understood about indoor air pollution, economic future.
toxics in the environment or global prob-
lemssuchasstratosphericozonedepletion Ongoing problems such as the solid was
and the greenhouse effect. Protection of crisis, theBostonHarborcleanupand we
ecosystems such as wetlands and coastal lands destruction,alongwithacidrain,cl
estuaries wasjustbeginning toreceiveat- mate change and smog, make it clear th
tention. The Department was largely ori- we mustcontinue looking tosourceredu
ented toward reacting to environmental tion,recycling,waterandenergyconserv
problems after they had occurred. tion,andpollutionprevention forsolutioi
thatmakesense. AndDEPmustcontinue
Today, DEPexists inaverydifferentcon- view itsjobas lookingageneration ortw
text. Public supportand demand forenvi- ahead instead ofdeveloping strategies ai
ronmental protection has never been implementing programs that will beeffe
DEP
stronger. is twice as large and has a tive only in the short term.
1 inheritedtwoimportantresourceswhen Statute - which enabledittogoafterenvi-
I became Commissioner in 1984: a highly ronmental scofflaws without having to
professional staff and an organization ac- resorttocostlyandtime-consuming litiga-
customedtodealing withnewanddifficult tion. These changes altered the Depart-
problemsincompressedtimeframes. DEP ment's course and laid the groundwork for
will always need those two fundamental progress in the ^Os.
capacities - expertise and expediency -
DEP
since it will never be an agency for which still has a long road to travel, but it
everything isroutine. Newenvironmental appears to be well-equipped-for the-jour-
problems and technologies are emerging ney. I admire the agency and thevision of
all the time. So, too, are new mandates. ?k itsleadersincarryingoutoneofthetough-
mi- est mandates in state government. And
During my tenure, both voters and law- while vision is important, thekey toDEP's
makers left a lasting mark on the agency. continuedsuccessmaywellbethecommit-
First,votersamendedthestateSuperfundlawin 1986,commit- ment and staying power ofits staff.
ting the Departmenttoambitious hazardous wastesite assess-
ment and cleanup timelines. The following year, legislators Perhaps the greatest threat to the future of environmental
approvedandGovernorDukakis signedtheSolidWasteActof protection is the current atmosphere ofanti-governmentpoli-
1987, which gave the Department primary responsibility for tics which has begun to erode the confidence of DEPs many
regulating incinerators and landfills, and for developing a capableanddedicatedprofessionals. WhileIbelievethepublic
statewide recycling plan. supportsandappreciatesthestate'songoingeffortstosafeguard
healthandtheenvironment,itismysincerehopethatthepublic
At about the same time, the agency was given a new and will likewiserecognize the need toprovide arealistic level of
~
powerful enforcement tool the Administrative Penalties funding forthose efforts.
A DECADE OF LEADERSHIP IN TOXICOLOGICAL RESEARCH
When • . • • •' i$iiiiii| ll :O• RS iiii
the Massachusetts Department of Environ- waste site cleanup initiative* developed the-techt
ria and Standards in February 1980, it was among the upon which DEP makes assessment and cleanup deci-
first state environmental agencies in the nationto take sions today. And in 1988, in response to federal Safe
steps toward establishing a permanent toxicological Drinking Water Act amendments, ORS established
researchunit. Onlytwoprofessionals wereassigned to new health risk assessment and standard setting raeth-
the office in its early days, but they made significant ods for Massachusetts water supplies,
stridesindefining acceptablelevelsofhumanexposure
;
to toxic substances, Even now, D£P Is one of only a handful of state
.
environmental agencies with a pcrmareri, full-time
In 1982, the office was given the additional charge of officedevoted totoxicological research andhealth risk
coordinating a departmental research program. Atthe analysis. Cabfomia and NewJerseyhavesimilarunits,
same time, it was renamed the Office of Research and But in most other states, environmental agencies are
Standards (ORS). In subsequent years, ORS helped forced to rely upon sister departments or the U.S.
make the Commonwealth anational leaderinenviron- Environmental Protection/
More recently, ORS has developed cnteri? < :id guide* air water and sell: develops risk assessment prouxMs;
lines ior evaluating the health effects of toxic "'r andconductswastesitecharacterizationwork. Through
Environmental Protection
By The Numbers
*.Protecting the environmentand public health is no easy task. DEPalsoworked with theHouseand Senatetoencourage 1
The Department of Environmental Protection -nvith enactmentofscoresofnewenvironmental bills, including c
headquarters in Boston; regional offices in Lakeville, thatwouldgivetheagencyandlocalconservationcommissic
Springfield,WoburnandWorcester,laboratoriesinLawrence, broader enforcement powers under the Wetlands Protecti
TewksburyandWestborough;andatrainingcenterinMillbury Act and another that would bring to Massachusetts the sai
—
hasfewerthan 1,000employeesstatewide. Yetinfiscalyear toughest-in-the-nation standards that California imposed
1990,thosepeoplewereresponsibleforpermitting,compliance automobile tailpipe emissions in the 1970s.
and enforcement at some 15,000 industrial and municipal
ENVIRONMENTAL MONrTORO
facilities and sources of pollution; offering more than ':
$136,000,000 ingrantsand loansto cities,townsanddistricts; iiiii. ,,,,,,,, : _: ' -••• • ' : \
tracking 250,000hazardous waste shipments; reviewing close Throughouttheyear,DEP--throughitsOfficeofResearchz
to 7,000 local conservation commission rulings; overseeing Standards and its laboratories in Lawrence, Tewksbury e
~
assessment and cleanup of more than 4,000 confirmed and Westborough conductsmonitoringtomeasureambienten
suspected hazardous waste sites; and"responding to nearly ronmental quality and to assess the status of natural e<
4 4,500 oil spills and other environmental emergencies. * systems. Thoseongoingeffortsenabletheagency toestabl
baselinesforenvironmentalprotection. Lastfiscal year, DI
Although budget cuts have left DEP with fewer engineers,
scientistsand technical experts today than ithadone yearago, • Completed86site specific surveys across
the agency has seen an increase in virtually every phase ofits Massachusetts, including26 ofriverbasins; am
activity over the same period. DEP's fiscal year 1990
accomplishments are enumerated in the pages that follow. • Gatheredairtoxics andground-levelozone
datafrom 125 monitoring instruments across
NEW BOUGIES & REGCJLATIOMS the Commonwealth.
Always evolving in response to emerging environmental PE"Rv":MV:'xI""Tx'-'-S" & -L. I—CEN^-S— E-rSr. ! r*
issues, DEP is constantly developing new strategies for
protecting natural resources and safeguarding human health — DEP reviews thousands of permit and license applicatu
through new or modified legislation, policies andregulations. every year, approving projects that employ state-of-the-
In fiscal year 1990, theagencypromulgated21 neworrevised pollution controls and will not significantly degrade the en
regulationsandimplemented28 newpolicies. Among them: ronment. Theagency'sgoalistoensureeconomicdevelopm
that is environmentally sound. In fiscal year 1990, DEP:
• A requirementthatmore than 2,500 service
stationsin Massachusetts install vapor-capturing • Granted nearly 4,400permits, licensesand
nozzles on theirgasolinepumps by 1993; plan approvals, andregisteredmore than 8,000
sources ofpollution.
New
• rules that willstreamline airquality
•
permitting bycutting in halfthe numberof • Reviewednearly 6,700 notices ofintentfiled
projectsgiven extensive regulatory review; bydevelopers andissued672 superceding order,
ofconditions in response to appeals oflocal
A
• series ofchanges in hazardous waste projectapprovals ordenials; and
managementrules allowingfor "amnesty"
collections ofoutlawedpesticide stockpiles • Issued4,361 certifications, chieflyto waste-
andmaking iteasierforbusinesses tofile watertreatmentplantoperators.
shipment manifests; and
wmm
COMPLIANCE ASSURANCE*!
• Updatedsurface water qualitystandards •:•:•:•:•:•:•::•::•: '''-''•'•'•'•
aimedatachievingfishable/swimmable status All facilities whichdischargewastewater,emitairpollutior
in allofthe Commonwealth's waterwaysand generate hazardous waste are required to comply with
bodies ofwaterby theyear2000. state'senvironmentalprotectionlawsandtomeetotherrequ