WHAT IS AN ENF?

from the MEPA (Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act) website - http://www.state.ma.us/mepa/

The Environmental Notification Form (ENF) is intended to provide the Secretary of Environmental Affairs and other reviewers with notice that a project is planned which may cause damage to the environment.

THE PURPOSE OF AN ENF IS TO:

• Describe briefly but succinctly the project (location, existing environment, programmatic and design alternatives, time schedule and any phased construction plans) oIdentify the full range of potential environmental impacts, prior to completing the project’s final design or conducting detailed analysis.
  
  
• Provide an opportunity for public review and comment in order to assist the MEPA Office and the Secretary.
  
  
• Identify projects that are likely to have significant impacts. oDetermine whether additional review is necessary to avoid or minimize and mitigate those impacts, and to focus any further review on significant issues.

HOW TO GET A COPY OF THE ENF
Download it ! ENF Document (MS Word format - 400K) Or obtain a paper copy

The South Shore Tri Town Development Corporation (SSTTDC) filed its ENF in late July. A month is usually then allowed for public comment. The SSTTDC ENF is spiral bound and paper-covered, containing about 56 pages, with several appendices which add approximately another 40 pages. It's not light reading, but if you are serious about the base redevelopment issue, it's good to have all the information that it contains, even though it's information that has mostly been prepared by the SSTTDC and its consultants.

If you want your own copy of the ENF, contact the SSTTDC right away and ask for one. They have to provide a copy to everyone who wants one during the public comment period.

The SSTTDC contact info is:

South Shore Tri-Town Development Corporation Box 211 South Weymouth, MA 02190

phone - 781-682-2187 fax - 781-682-2189 e-mail - [email protected]

You can also go over to their office at the base, which is in the building next to the plane monument a short distance inside the gate. Call before you go to make sure they have a copy there. The woman who answers the phone, Mary, is very nice.

The ENF states that copies have been sent to the Planning Boards, Boards of Health, and Boards of Selectmen of the three towns and Hingham, so theoretically you could look at a copy of the ENF at those places. We would think that your town library might have a copy; if they do not, suggest to them that they should acquire one.

If you contact the SSTTDC and they do not have a copy of the ENF for you, you should place a phone call to Dick Foster at MEPA and say that you are having trouble getting a copy of the ENF from the SSTTDC. Mr. Foster's number is (617)626-1026.

If you ordered a copy awhile ago and still have not received it, call Mr. Foster at the above number and tell him you still have not received your copy of the ENF. It is important for us to hold the SSTTDC accountable for their obligation to provide the ENF to the public. Then you should call the SSTTDC and tell them you still haven't received your ENF.

The ENF is also available on our website: www.geocities.com/nomegamall/ We can't guarantee that you'll be able to download it and open it with your system but you can give it a try.

HOW TO COMMENT ON THE ENF:

The public comment period for the SSTTDC's ENF has been extended until September 8, 2000. This is good news. Theoretically the more time we have, the more people will write to the EOEA (Executive Office of Environmental Affairs) about the SSTTDC's ENF. The more people that are heard from, the more information the EOEA will have to put together their EIR (Environmental Impact Report), You don't have to be a scientist, a VIP, or an expert on anything to comment on the ENF. If you are concerned about the effects of the proposed base redevelopment, you are qualified, and entitled to express your opinions. "The whole purpose of the public comment period is for people to provide the secretary (of the EOEA) with their issues of concern," says Seth Kaplan of the Conservation Law Foundation.

Your comments can be very detailed or very general depending on your level of knowledge, experience, how much time you have to spend writing your letter, or whatever. The important thing is that EVERYONE SHOULD WRITE. You MUST reference the CASE NUMBER for the SSTTDC's ENF when you write.

The case number is: EOEA 11085R

You MUST address your letter to a certain address. That address is:

Secretary of Environmental Affairs
Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
ATTENTION: MEPA Office
Dick Foster EOEA 11085R
251 Causeway Street Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114

(see: http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/mepa/em-homep.htm#sub )

If you don't reference the case number or don't send your letter to the proper address, your comments may not be read and counted.

WHAT SHOULD YOU WRITE?

If you have a copy of the ENF and you have time to go through it, write comments on what you read. If you have a copy of the ENF and you feel there's no way you can read it or understand it, don't worry. If you DON'T have a copy, don't worry. Pretty much anything that concerns you about the base redevelopment is probably mentioned in the ENF and is fair game for comment if it has some relation to the quality of life in our area. Some general areas of concern are:

• traffic impacts
• preservation of open space
• the ridiculously huge and expensive roadbuilding project which will go through wetland areas and neighborhoods
• neighborhood impacts of the project
• negative impacts on area water supplies and infrastructure in general
• possible existence of and potential destruction of vernal pools and protected species on the base
• pollution concerns - noise pollution, light pollution, air pollution, pesticide contamination from golf course
• the creation of sprawl

DEMANDS TO MAKE:

• We want NO SPECIAL CUSTOMIZED TIMETABLES, NO SPECIAL REVIEW PROCEDURE, NO LENIENCY to be given to the SSTTDC for their project. Because of its size and scope, because of the presence of Superfund sites on the base, because of the huge potential impacts to the entire region, the project should be subjected to the most rigorous inspection and review. We demand that a FULL and THOROUGH EIR be done
• All the figures supplied by the SSTTDC in the ENF should be checked for accuracy because they have been compiled by parties who have a vested interest in seeing the project come to full fruition according to THEIR agenda and THEIR plans.
• In the ENF, the SSTTDC is recommending that members of the SSTTDC's Citizen Advisory Board be chose for a Citizens' Advisory Committee as permitted by MEPA regulations. We want to express our EXTREME DISPLEASURE at this. Seven of the people on the SSTTDC's CAB are former members of the Naval Air Station Planning Committee and as such are responsible for the situation that presentl y exists. These people are Mary McElroy, Jackie Ranous, John Ward, Bill Koplovsky, Dick Cooke, Dave Chandler and Eugene Blanchard. We DO NOT WANT these people, nor ANY of the other SSTTDC CAB members (some of whom are governor's appointees), acting as MEPA Citizen's Advisory Committee members. They have already demonstrated that they do NOT represent the best interests of the three towns, the South Shore, or area residents.

…and so on.

If you are still uncertain what to write, attend the MEPA Consultation Meeting that is being held at the Bowling Alley at the base on Tuesday, August 22, at 7pm. This consultation meeting is being held to receive advice and comment from agencies, officials, and citizens regarding significant environmental issues relating to the base redevelopment project. Attending the meeting is NOT a substitute for written comment, it's just another way to make your voice heard and show your concern. Don't miss this chance to speak up and get ideas for your ENF comment letter.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

COMPARE Box 890024 Weymouth, MA 02189

[email protected]

781-335-4163

http://www.geocities.com/nomegamall/