Friday, September 15, 2000
EPA advises total review of base plan; Wants smaller project studied
By STEVE ADAMS
The Patriot Ledger
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants a "no-holds-barred" look at smaller-scale redevelopment of South Weymouth Naval Air Station than the $570 million bundle of building projects now in the works.
The agency yesterday urged state environmental authorities to require a complete review this fall of how the reuse plan for the former air base will effect the South Shore's traffic, water supply and air quality.
The EPA's concern about growth at the 1,450-acre base is heightened by the prospect of other massive developments. Those include A.D. Makepeace Co.'s proposed village-style community on 9,600-acres in Wareham, Carver and Plymouth, and the approved Pine Hills project in Plymouth, which will include 2,800 houses and a hotel.
"In the past year we've seen a number of projects come forward in that part of Massachusetts," EPA senior policy adviser Elizabeth Higgins said. "The potential of all of them, when added up, to transform the region is very significant."
Yesterday's statement indicates the EPA's wary view of the base reuse plan has softened little since former Regional Administrator John DeVillars last year denounced it as a pending "disaster."
A reuse plan and zoning bylaws approved by the towns of Abington, Rockland and Weymouth in 1998 allow construction of a shopping mall, offices, golf course, senior citizen housing and research facilities. But the projects also need state and federal environmental approvals.
The EPA will report its findings to the Navy, which must make a final decision on whether to transfer the land to developers.
"The only new information we've seen suggests the impacts are even more significant than originally thought," Higgins said. "We're concerned that no new solutions have been developed in the past year."
In a 17-page letter to state Secretary of Environmental Affairs Robert Durand, EPA Regional Administrator Mindy Lubber said a growth plan that is less dependent on automobiles and expands mass transit options should be considered.
EPA also questions whether the state should grant a variance allowing the $120 million connector road from the base to Route 3 to cross streams and wetlands in Hingham.
According to the environmental notification form filed in July, the four-lane road will cross several streams, including two within the ramp system for the Derby Street exit in Hingham.
State environmental rules require that wetlands variances only be granted for "an overriding community, regional, state or national public interest."
"To the best of our knowledge, no variance has ever been issued for a private economic development project," Lubber wrote. She said the project will require a "no-holds-barred" review.
Durand was expected to announce today what he will require be studied in the base's environmental impact report. The $2 million study will assess the environmental impact of $570 million worth of building projects at the former air base, including the $250 million Mills Corp. shopping mall.
Durand will review that document, to be completed sometime next year, and decide whether to approve the projects.
South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp., which is redeveloping the base, has asked for a special review procedure under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act.
The special review would allow the corporation to approve construction of some projects, such as 400 units of senior citizen housing and recreation facilities, before upgrades to roads and utilities are completed.
EPA does not oppose the request for the phased review.
But EPA wants the corporation to include alternatives to the current reuse plan, which was drawn up to maximize fiscal benefit to local communities.
"If retail development of this scale is going to necessarily involve this much traffic, than alternatives to major retail development ought to be looked at," Higgins said.
Kenneth Goff, executive director of the development corporation, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Copyright 2000 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted September 15, 2000