The River Current

|| The River Current || February 13, 2006 || Issue XXII ||

The mostly monthly e-newsletter of the Charles River Watershed Association

...bringing our backyard river to your door...

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In this issue:

1) Public hearing on MassHighway and Mass Turnpike Authority stormwater

plans

2) Call for Volunteers for new "Find It and Fix it" Program!

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1) MassHighway and Mass Turnpike Authority: Polluting Our Waters

You're cruising along the Mass Pike or another highway in the rain (or snow)

when you hit a large puddle. The puddle sprays over the roadside, and along

with the rest of the dirt, oil and runoff on the road flows directly into a

nearby stream, or to a drain which discharges to the stream. This

stormwater carries with it all the salt and sand used to de-ice the highway,

as well as the grit and grime of road pollution and the toxics created by

gas exhaust and asphalt.

Together, MassHighway and Mass Turnpike Authority (Mass Pike) control

thousands of miles of roadways, interchanges and service areas. CRWA,

working with Conservation Law Foundation, reviewed stormwater management

plans for MassHighway and the Mass Pike, found they were grossly inadequate,

and requested that EPA hold a public hearing. For example, the Mass Pike

does not explain how it will control sand and salt runoff despite the fact

that the state has the highest annual road salt levels in the country.

The public hearing will take place Friday, February 17, 2006 at the

Worcester Public Library. To read our comments on the stormwater plans, or

for more information about the public hearing and how to submit a comment,

click here:

<http://www.crwa.org/alert/mhdmtastormwaterpermit/permithome.html>

2) Call for Volunteers!

The Massachusetts Environmental Trust has awarded both CRWA and the Mystic

River Watershed Association (MyRWA) funding to identify, monitor and help

eliminate non-point source (NPS) pollution still threatening the health of

the two rivers.

Known as the "Find It and Fix It" Program, the first step is to conduct

comprehensive shoreline surveys from Farm Road in Dover to the mouth of the

Charles at the New Charles River Dam. The visual monitoring effort will

cover over half of the 80-mile river corridor. These surveys will act as a

baseline assessment, noting unmapped outfall pipes, erosion problems and

other indicators of NPS pollution problems and help identify and prioritize

problems of an urgent nature requiring immediate action. Volunteers are

needed to conduct these surveys.

For more information on the project and the volunteer opportunity, visit:

<http://www.charlesriver.org/projects/METwMyRWA/METFF.html>