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Our quarterly newsletter captures project spotlights, conferences and events attended, and recent staff updates.
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ISSUE NO. 24 / October 2018
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 Bringing our Expertise to Bike Trails Throughout the Commonwealth |
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Towns and cities have been taking advantage of old railroad right-of-way's by extending them and creating multi-use trails that connect communities across the Commonwealth. People can use these to ride, run, or walk in a safe place away from roadways. We really enjoy seeing people utilize these trails and appreciate the benefits they bring to the communities they serve. Epsilon has been providing permitting support for numerous trails throughout the state. These include:
- The Neponset River Greenway Corridor Completion Project. A bicycle
 and pedestrian route that links urban and suburban communities along the river, from Blue Hill Ave in Mattapan to Central Avenue in Milton. This included two new bridges, a canopy walk by the MBTA station, and a new bridge over the Neponset River connecting the Ryan Playground with the Greenway. Epsilon provided support with natural resource mapping and securing extensive project approvals.
- Neponset River Greenway Segment 3 - Victory Road to Morrissey Boulevard. This segment brings an additional section to the bicycle and pedestrian route in Dorchester and includes a boardwalk over a salt marsh. Epsilon provided natural resource mapping and worked on securing project approvals.
- Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. This trail extends through the communities of Lowell, Chelmsford, Westford, Carlisle, Acton, Concord, Sudbury, and Framingham, following the 25-mile route of the old New Haven Railroad Framingham and Lowell line. Epsilon led the environmental monitoring efforts during the construction of the second portion of the trail, a 4.9-mile segment through Westford, Carlisle, and Acton, which opened in April 2018.
- Draw Seven State Park Pathway Extension. A new shared use path along the Mystic River, built in cooperation with the MBTA, connects Draw Seven Park and Assembly Square T Station in Somerville and neighboring communities with Sullivan Square in Boston. Epsilon assisted with the permitting efforts for the multi-use pathway that included leading the Chapter 91 Waterways License process.
- Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge. An 11-mile path linking Northampton,
 Hadley, and Amherst along the former Boston & Main Railroad right-of-way. Rehabilitation efforts involved replacement of the bridge deck and railings to make sure it was safe for use. Epsilon provided environmental permitting services associated with the rehabilitation of the Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge in connecting Northampton and Hadley.
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MGM Grand Springfield Opens its Doors
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 The first casino in the state of Massachusetts opened its doors in August 2018. MGM Springfield held a grand opening on August 24th with a VIP preview party on the night before, which Epsilon was pleased to be able to attend. This $960 million casino is a 2 million-square-foot complex consisting of gaming facilities, restaurants, a hotel, spa, movie theater and shops.
Epsilon assisted MGM Grand with their efforts to bring this first of its kind casino to the City of Springfield. Our permitting services included leading the Environmental Notification Form, Draft Environmental Impact Report, and Final Environmental Impact Report in compliance with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). Epsilon also coordinated the review of the project with the Massachusetts Historical Commission, led the greenhouse gas analysis, provided air quality modeling, and created the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan.
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Milford Power, LLC Secures EFSB Approval
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On October 1, the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) approved a Notice of Project Change for Milford Power's existing 146 MW gas fired combined cycle power plant in Milford, MA. The changes include the addition of wet compression technology to the combustion gas turbine; the addition of a nominal 500 MMBtu/hr natural gas fired duct burner; a steam turbine upgrade; and a facility-wide dual-function catalyst system. These are all proposed to address a growing need for reliable energy supply in New England especially as some of the older energy plants are phasing out.
Epsilon was the lead environmental consultant, preparing the technical studies to support the Notice of Project Change, filed an Environmental Notification Form leading to MEPA clearance, filed an Air Plan Approval Application leading to an Air Plan Approval, and provided expert witness support throughout the EFSB process. Epsilon also assisted at the local level including public presentations on the Project.
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| Where We've Been (And Where We're Going) |
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Presenting -
In August, Managing Principal Rob O'Neal presented at
INTERNOISE 2018
in Chicago. He presented a paper he co-wrote with Kenneth Kaliski (RSG) and Mark Bastasch (Jacobs). The paper "Regulating and predicting wind turbine sound in the U.S.," addresses the fact that many states and local governments develop noise regulations themselves due to a lack of federal oversight. This can lead to confusion, therefore the paper addresses key factors for local noise ordinances to consider in order to avoid potential future confusion. In addition, modeling techniques for predicting sound from wind turbines are discussed and evaluated.
Attending -
Managing Principal Rob O'Neal and Principal Dave Klinch attended the
Alliance for Clean Energy New York 2018 Fall Conference
. We often work in the State of New York, so this event provided a great opportunity for our principals to engage in discussion about important changes shaping the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries in New York.
Our upcoming events we will attend:
New York State Bar Association Environmental & Energy Law Section Fall Meeting
| October 19 -21, 2018 |
More Info
MACC Fall Conference | October 20, 2018 |
More Info
AMWS Annual Conference | November 9, 2018 |
More Info
Click
here
to learn more about these events.
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What's New At Epsilon
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Welcome!
Marc Bergeron joined our Ecological Sciences group in September. He is a highly regarded wetland scientist and regulatory specialist with more than 20 years of consulting experience. Over the course of his career, Marc has been responsible for the siting and licensing of significant energy projects throughout New England. In addition, we are excited to have Jennifer Alker and Bryce Palmer join as a new Finance Administrator and Staff Engineer in the Acoustics Group, respectively. Jen has a master's degree in accounting and business administration and Bryce is a recent graduate from Wentworth Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. We are excited to welcome them to the Epsilon family!
Kudos!
Senior Consultant
Dorothy Buckoski
is now a registered Professional Engineer in the State of New York, which is in addition to her Massachusetts license. Earning this additional registration enables her to further help our clients in these states.
In the community.
In August, the Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to appoint
Geoff Melhuish
to the Shrewsbury Historic Preservation Committee as a member at large. Members of the committee are tasked with looking into protecting potential historic structures located in town that are worthy of long-term protection from demolition. In addition,
William Young
has been unanimously elected to the Board of Directors of the
Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) New England Chapter
. The nonprofit ICAA is a national organization dedicated to advancing the classical tradition in architecture, urbanism and their allied arts. William was a founding member of the Chapter in 2005 and looks forward to resuming his activities in support of its institutional mission.
Congrats Steve!
Principal Steve Slocomb participated in the
Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk
on September 23rd. This was Steve's 6th consecutive year participating in the walk where he walked the entire 26.2-mile Boston Marathon route in support of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's mission to conquer cancer.
Bocce for a good cause.
We were pleased to participate for a third year in the Annual Samaritans Upper Cape Bocce Festival that took place at Falmouth Academy in September. Epsilon is pleased to sponsor and participate in this event where all proceeds benefit the Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands. Senior Scientist Jack Vaccaro helps to plan the event each year and Epsilon is happy to be able to support his efforts. Other Epsilonians competing in this year's event included Les Smith, Dwight Dunk, Dave Hewett, and Amanda Atwell. Although the team failed to qualify for the championship trophy, our players (occasionally) displayed exceptional bocce skill against some very tough competition. More importantly, the team helped raise over $10,000 for this worthy organization.
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