The General Electric Co. is betting that two legal challenges will fail to stop the agreement it reached in early 2020 with the Environmental Protection Agency to bury sediments tainted with PCBs on a site in Lee. Last month, the company spent $6.2 million to buy 75 acres from Lane Construction Corp. The land included in the sale is located in the center-right area in this photo, which is looking north, with October Mountain to the right. EAGLE FILE PHOTO
LEE â The General Electric Co. now owns the place in Lee where it expects to bury a million cubic yards of toxic sediments pulled from the Housatonic River.
A stretch of the Housatonic River winds through Lenox. Legal filings are stacking up at the Environmental Appeals Board in Washington, D.C., as fights continue over the nature of the long-awaited Rest of River cleanup project. Photos by STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN â THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
LEE â âIpse dixit.â Thatâs the Latin phrase lawyers for a group of elected officials use to rebut claims that Berkshires residents âoverwhelminglyâ oppose a proposed PCB landfill in Lee.
It means âdogmatic and unproven.â
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As briefs begin to stack up at the Environmental Appeals Board in Washington, D.C., the legal players are front-loading their arguments.
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A public Q&A session with the EPA last night about the controversial Housatonic River cleanup plan last night underscored ongoing frustration among Berkshire County residents. WAMC Berkshire Bureau Chief Josh Landes has more.
The EPA signed the final draft of the plan it brokered between corporate polluter General Electric and communities along the river south of its former plant in Pittsfield in December. Despite that, frustration and concerns around the 15-year, almost $600 million project persist in Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington and Sheffield. Environmental groups like the Housatonic River Initiative quickly pledged to appeal the plan in court, and the town of Lee – where a new landfill for toxic materials would be built – has been roiling with complaints from residents to elected officials over the deal. At Wednesday night’s quarterly Citizens Coordinating Council meeting, EPA representatives like Dean Tagliaferro answered questions about the cleanup –
The Select Board approved Cease & Desist notices to be sent to the occupants residing in the seasonal homes of Woods Pond campgrounds, located on King’s Way, at the Jan. 25 Select Board meeting.
The board emphasized that it is not safe for residents living past season due to the lack of potable water, and they must leave the premises.
It was previously reported that several occupants residing at these seasonal homes have been living there illegally year-round. Many of these cottage-style units in this part of Woods Pond are restricted to seasonal use from April 16 – October 10.
Most of the campgrounds consist of shared communal wells and septic systems, both of which aren’t designed and sustainable for year-round use.