State takes heat for pollution of Charles River: DCR's stormwater management efforts are called 'abysmal'By Michael Kunzelman / Daily News Staff Wednesday, February 16, 2005 BOSTON -- Still reeling from complaints about its shoddy snow removal, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation also is taking fire from environmental advocates who accuse the agency of neglecting plans to prevent stormwater from polluting the Charles River. At a hearing in Boston yesterday, an attorney from the Conservation Law Foundation told federal Environmental Protection Agency officials that the embattled state department's stormwater management efforts have been "abysmal." "They have too much to do and not enough funding and staff," said the attorney, Carol Lee Rawn. "It's obviously not a priority for them -- and it should be." The EPA's New England regional office is reviewing stormwater management plans submitted by DCR and nine communities in the Charles River's lower basin -- Brookline, Cambridge, Dedham, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Watertown, Wellesley and Weston. The plans are designed to ensure that state and municipal leaders are properly managing stormwater -- the nation's leading source of water pollution -- in compliance with the federal Clean Water Act. DCR manages many of the parks and roadways in the Charles River watershed, including the 17-mile-long Charles River Reservation. The department's crumbling roads, clogged catch basins, collapsed storm drains and eroding river banks are contributing to the pollution of the Charles River, testified Kate Bowditch, senior environmental scientist for the Charles River Watershed Association. "The infrastructure is in disrepair. The operation and maintenance is inadequate or not even happening at all," Bowditch said. The department also allegedly has failed to meet many of the EPA's deadlines for filing records detailing its stormwater management plans. "DCR has basically done nothing, ignoring deadlines and failing to put even the most basic information in their (EPA filings)," Rawn said. Nobody from DCR testified at the hearing. A department spokesman was not available for comment yesterday afternoon. Rawn and Bowditch agreed that officials from the nine cities and towns in the Charles River's lower basin have done a much better job of complying with the EPA's stormwater management process. "In general," Rawn said, "the towns exhibited a good-faith effort to implement this program." Cities and towns have been "working hard" to comply with the Clean Water Act, Bowditch said. "DCR has a lot more to do than the towns because they haven't even really begun," she said. The department has had more than its share of critics in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Gov. Mitt Romney ordered MassHighway to take over the department's snowplowing duties after four high school students were hit by a truck along a poorly plowed DCR-maintained road. Romney also asked for and received the resignation of DCR Commissioner Kathy Abbott. "DCR does have a lot of problems on their plate," Bowditch said. "Unfortunately, stormwater is yet another area where they haven't put anything close to adequate resources." A handful of city and town officials attended yesterday's hearing at the Tip O'Neill federal building, but none of them testified. David Webster, chief of the industrial permits branch of the EPA's regional office, said the agency will review the testimony and decide whether any changes are needed in the stormwater management plans. |