Reports: Executive Director’s Reports

July 19, 2005

  1. Funding - The City has sent us the first installment of our FY06 funding ($94,500 includes $12,000 for FY05). Jim Hunt was able to get $50,000 in FY05 money from the State EOEA, which was added to the EBB funding contract and allowed us to fund some of the items that originally had to be cut from the FY06 budget plan. The US EPA has awarded the City a $192,400 FY05 matching grant "to continue its efforts to address lowering groundwater levels in certain Boston neighborhoods". This money is likely to flow through the Trust after consultations with Jim Hunt and David Chin of EPA.
  2. The Clarendon - The project has made several commitments on groundwater issues that were memorialized in the Certificate of the Secretary of Environmental Affairs on the DEIR. The Secretary required the proponent to file certification on an annual basis to the Trust that no groundwater has been pumped or drained from the site. They will be required to include in the FEIR an inventory of existing foundations in the area, to document the elevation and condition of existing wood pilings that exist on the site, and report on potential causes of reduced groundwater in the area. They have also committed to provide six permanent observation wells on site to the Trust and to make a contribution of $75,000 to the Trust. According to the BRA, the contribution, which would pass through the Authority, would be made as soon as they draw their first building permit.
  3. Silver Line Phase III - I spoke at the MBTA’s public hearing on the Silver Line on June 30. The statement is posted on our website. I will also be speaking at a meeting on the Silver Line that the Back Bay Association is holding on July 25.
  4. Simmons College - Simmons has proposed the construction of a new School of Management building and a five level underground garage on their main campus in the Fenway. I attended the BRA scoping session that followed the filing of the DPIR and subsequently filed comments (posted on the website). This is a sensitive site, near the wood piling supported Gardner Museum as well as the main academic building at Simmons, also on wood piles.
  5. MBTA Copley Station - I received a response to my letter to the T from Dan Grabauskas, the new General Manager. He promised additional coordination with the Trust around groundwater issues at the station. I subsequently met with George Doherty, project manager, to go over the best sites for the four observation wells to be installed by the T, as well as other issues we had raised in our comment letters on the project. Mr. Grabauskas has also offered a meeting; we are trying to set a time.
  6. Lovejoy Wharf - I will be commenting next month on the DPIR and DEIr for this project, located on a sensitive site near the Bulfinch Triangle.
  7. BRA Cooperation Agreements - The BRA has involved us in the drafting of groundwater related language on the Columbus Center and 700 Harrison Avenue projects. It appears that we will have more opportunities to have input (and see the results) at this most crucial final stage in which most commitments are finalized.
  8. Ad Hoc Commonwealth/City Committee - Andrew Gottlieb has scheduled a meeting of this committee for July 26 at his office. He plans to look for commitments toward actions rather than just reports. It’s unclear exactly who will attend, but one commitment is from Dan Grabauskas to be there.
  9. Senator Wilkerson - I met with Rich Giordano, Community Liaison for Senator Wilkerson, to bring him up to date on our activities.
  10. Well Drilling Visit - David Chin and a group of interns from the US EPA, as well as Nancy Grilk, Jim Hunt’s Chief of Staff, and an intern from his office, observed the installation of a new well on Stuart Street. They then came back to our office for a discussion on the purposes behind the well network and the work of the Trust.
  11. Press - I was interviewed for a six minute segment on Neighborhood Network News. We had recent coverage in The Boston Courant and the Beacon Hill Times. A recent cartoon in the City Section of the Boston Sunday Globe referenced groundwater problems.
  12. MBTA Well Monitoring Information - We received a report from GEI about their observations at one of the three wells to which they had requested access. Because the information was inadequate to explain the wide fluctuations experienced at that well, and because the T chose not to monitor the other two wells, we anticipate installing level logging units in all three wells to develop our own data.
  13. Recharge at St. Charles St. - In our most recent monitorings, we noted a substantial drop in the level at one of the wells near the recharge site at St. Charles St. Upon inquiry, we learned that BWSC had cut back the recharge after a request from a nearby homeowner who had to use his sump pump after recent rains. The cutback to half flow had almost immediate effect on the nearby observation well.
  14. Beacon Street - John Sullivan reported back after his crew was able to get a video camera into the sewer in front of 166 Beacon St, where we have recorded very low levels. While they couldn’t see actual inflow, the condition of the sewer was such that they will be looking for funding to line it from Brimmer St to Dartmouth.
  15. Technical Advisory Committee - The committee met to review the contour maps from BWSC as well as go over well readings. We also discussed BWSC’s sewer lining plans.
  16. Health and Safety Policy - Mike Paster is working with me to develop an employee health and safety policy that would be a modified and scaled back version of that in place at GEI.
  17. Capital Funding - We used the additional state funding secured by Jim Hunt to purchase level logging equipment, new well caps for some of the wells inherited from other sources, and software to allow direct access to well level data from the maps on the website. We have some fit problems with the level logging equipment and are working with our vendor to straighten that out; it should be resolved shortly. The software is scheduled to be tested and in place by September.
  18. Strategic Planning - Peter Sherin and I have met with two consultants who thought they might be a fit to help us with our strategic planning process. We recommend the engagement of Ann Donner.
  19. 501(c)3 - The IRS had two questions about our application. Responses are due this week. I’ve been working with Bruce Wickersham on this. It doesn’t look like a major roadblock.
  20. Financial Review - We have engaged Raphael and Raphael to once again conduct a financial review. They will also prepare our tax filings.
  21. Outreach - At their request, we have furnished several copies of the map showing our most recent well readings with the colonial shoreline superimposed to the Citywide Groundwater Emergency Taskforce. I have offered to work with them on presentations to community groups.
  22. Website - Traffic at the website has remained steady at high levels. We have gotten many compliments on the information on the site. I look forward to a positive response to the updated software that will make it considerably easier to use.