CONTACT:   Pat or Tex LaMountain, plamountain@ctriver.org ;  pattex@crocker.com 413-772-2020 X203 T and Th; 413-834-2606 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WATERSHED COUNCIL SEEKS SONGS ABOUT TROPICAL STORM IRENE FLOODING Greenfield, MA. May 14, 2012 – The Connecticut River Watershed Council, a conservation group based in Greenfield, MA, has announced it is soliciting songs inspired by the flooding from [...]

Vermont.  May, 2012.  Experienced river users often refer to rivers, streams and lakes as being part of a watershed.  We use the word because we are familiar with the notion that all surface water is connected to itself and some larger watery ecosystem. The classic definition of a watershed is: “The land area that drains [...]

April 30, 2012 Arthur S. Johnson Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Division of Watershed Management 627 Main Street, Second Floor Worcester, MA 01608 Subject:           Proposed Massachusetts Year 2012 Integrated List of Waters Dear Mr. Johnson, I am submitting comments on the proposed Massachusetts Year 2012 Integrated List of Waters on behalf of the Connecticut River [...]

April 20, 2012 Secretary Richard K. Sullivan, Jr. EOEEA, Attn: MEPA Office Holly Johnson, EOEA No. 14089 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900 Boston, MA  02114 Subject:           Final Environmental Impact Report for EOEA# 14089 Palmer Motorsports Park –Palmer, Massachusetts Dear Secretary Sullivan, I am submitting comments on the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Palmer [...]

April 5, 2012 Paul Ducheney Superintendent – Hydro Holyoke Gas and Electric Department 99 Suffolk Street Holyoke, MA 01040-5082 Dear Paul, The Connecticut River Watershed Council, Inc. (CRWC) agrees that the work proposed by HG&E as discussed on the March 8, 2012 conference call is aimed at meeting the Settlement goal for downstream shortnose sturgeon [...]

April 5, 2012 Secretary Richard K. Sullivan, Jr. EOEA, Attn: MEPA Office William Gage, EOEA No. 11202 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900 Boston, MA  02114 Subject:  Environmental Status and Planning Report for EOEA# 11202 – MassDOT Snow and Ice Control Program Dear Secretary Sullivan, I am submitting comments on the Environmental Status and Planning Report [...]

March 28, 2012 Michele Cobban Barden USEPA Region 1 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100 (OEP06-1) Boston MA 02109-3912 Subject:    South Hadley Wastewater Treatment Plant NPDES Permit Permit Number: MA0100455, Public Notice MA-009-12 Dear Ms. Barden, I am submitting comments on the draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the South Hadley Wastewater [...]

Watershed Council selected by Hadley, MA Whole Foods Market as recipient of 5% Day, Wednesday March 28, 2012 For immediate release – March 27, 2012 WHO: Based in Greenfield, the Connecticut River Watershed Council works to improve water quality and native fisheries in the Connecticut River’s 11,000-square mile watershed in the four states of Massachusetts, [...]

March 14, 2012 Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426 Re:    COMMENTS Application for a Preliminary Permit, FERC #13273-001 Proposed Canton Hydroelectric Project Farmington River, Hartford County, CT Dear Secretary Bose, This responds to your public notice, dated January 19, 2012, regarding the application for preliminary permit [...]

March 13, 2012 Paul Ducheney Superintendent – Hydro Holyoke Gas and Electric Department 99 Suffolk Street Holyoke, MA 01040-5082 Re:  Survey for Upstream American Eel Passage at Holyoke Dam, Connecticut River, Massachusetts, 2011, FERC Project No. P-2004, Agency Review Draft Dear Paul, I reviewed the agency review draft Survey for Upstream American Eel Passage at [...]

March 7, 2012 Mayor Daniel T. Drew City Hall 245 deKoven Drive Middletown, CT 06457 Re: Thank you from the Connecticut River Watershed Council Dear Mayor Drew, On behalf of the Connecticut River Watershed Council I want to thank you for your participation in New England Public Radio’s “Root for Your Radio” Campaign, which has [...]

by Andrew Fisk, CRWC Executive Director. The Connecticut River Watershed Council appreciates Vernon Representative Hebert’s engagement with our recent evaluation of Vermont Yankee’s now long-pending application to renew their long-expired thermal discharge permit.  I’m sorry however that he’s rushed into the breach without hearing what our experts said, understanding the law or listening to the [...]

March 2, 2012 George Hicks Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection 79 Elm Street Hartford, CT 06106-5127 Re: CRWC Comments on the Clean Water Fund Draft Priority List Dear Mr. Hicks, Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony. On behalf of the Connecticut River Watershed Council [...]

Putney, Vermont.  March 1, 2012.  Even as we delight in watching water dance across the riffles in a river, we fear floodwaters sweeping all before them.  We treasure a summer afternoon at a lake or seashore, splashing, boating, fishing or swimming but our need for clean water goes far beyond fear or pleasure. Despite all [...]

CONTACT: Andrew Fisk, Executive Director afisk@ctriver.org 413-772-2020 x 208 or 413-210-9207 (cell) Laura Murphy, Vermont Law School lmurphy@vermontlaw.edu  802-831-1123 or 802-829-9304 (cell) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Montpelier, VT and Greenfield, MA. February 17, 2012 – Entergy Vermont Yankee’s scientific basis for continuing its thermal pollution of the Connecticut River is significantly flawed, according to two reports [...]

February 14, 2012 Andrea Langhauser Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection 1 Winter Street Boston MA 02108 Re:      Potential Eligibility Criteria/Design Standards for Small Docks/Piers General Licenses January 25, 2012 draft submitted by CZM and Steve Mague of Durand & Anastas Inc. Dear Ms. Langhauser, The Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) is the principal nonprofit [...]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE By David Deen Vermont, February 01, 2012.  The recent Vermont Yankee court decision said the State of Vermont can’t trump the federal government when it comes to issues of nuclear safety.  But the same ruling affirmed Vermont’s continuing authority for oversight of other Yankee issues, like enforcement of the Clean Water Act. [...]

January 2, 2012.  Vermont.   This year there has been an increased amount of discussion about the Atlantic salmon restoration program. The discussions have focused almost solely on the mistaken notion that low numbers of salmon returns are the only test of the success or failure of the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program. As background [...]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Chickley River Dredging Halted by State Watershed Council Praises Action Greenfield, MA – December 2, 2011 – The Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) today praised the state’s decision to shut down further post-flood work on the Chickley River in Hawley and to order the contractor to repair the environmental damage it caused. [...]

Kenneth L. Kimmell, Commissioner Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection One Winter Street Boston, MA 02108 Mary B. Griffin, Commissioner Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game 251 Causeway Street #400 Boston MA 02114 Dear Commissioners Kimmell and Griffin, On August 26, 2011, Commissioner Kimmell issued “Emergency Regulations for Clean Up Activities Following Hurricane Irene.” Tropical Storm [...]