Mary Ann Babinski
I hope you are all enjoying your summer days and nights so far. Since fun in the sun should take precedence, I will be brief and make this my Short Summer Update!
I am happy to report that on July 6, 2017, the City Council unanimously voted to adopt a three-year moratorium on the use of synthetic fields with crumb rubber infill,including other uses of recycled tire materials on city-owned property. Since the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are currently conducting studies on this material to determine its risks, if any, to people and natural resources, it makes sense to have this moratorium in place.
The resolution was the outcome of a motion I made to City Council that was referred to the Natural Resources Committee (NRC), the Law Department and the Health Department. This resolution was definitely a collaborative effort that also involved input from residents who attended NRC meetings. Westfield now stands with other communities in Massachusetts and across the country who have passed similar moratoriums. To all of this who participated, thank you.
I remind residents that information and updates on the water contamination issue can still be found at: http://www.cityofwestfield.org/672/PFCs-Information-Updates. For those looking for updates on the ongoing private well testing being done by the MassDEP, click on Westfield MassDEP File under the section Other Helpful Information,and you will be brought to the MassDEP site: http://public.dep.state.ma.us/fileviewer/Rtn.aspx?rtn=1-0020093. There you will find past and current reports from the state agency.
The MassDEP is still doing private well water sampling. I want to encourage those who have received letters asking for permission to collect samples of their private well water to please respond in the affirmative to the request. With a broader area of testing results, the greater the accuracy in mapping the source and extent of contamination.
If anyone with a private well has gone ahead and had their well tested on their own, it would be very helpful if you would share those results with the MassDEP. This is important to do, even if your well test showed no PFOA and PFOS contamination. Your results would provide beneficial information. If you have questions or have test results to share you may contact Cynthia Pawloski at 413-755-2247 or email her at [email protected].
The Natural Resources Committee continues to work on the Water Resource District Zoning Ordinance with the goal of strengthening it to ensure adequate protection of the Barnes Aquifer, an important drinking water supply! We know that water resource protection cannot be stressed enough and that the risks to any of Westfield’s aquifers need to be reduced. Please stay tuned for postings of any upcoming meetings of the Natural Resources Committee (NRC), City Council and Planning Board dealing with potential groundwater protection issues. You can be a part of the continuing effort to protect our groundwater and drinking water supply.
I leave you once again with those two important words to keep in mind: oversight and enforcement. No matter how strong we make the water protection regulations, without oversight and enforcement it will not do what it is intended to do, protect our natural resources.
For your information, I will be holding Ward 1 office hours on Monday, August 21, 2017, in the Barnes Regional Airport Conference Room located at 100 Airport Road from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. Also, I am planning to schedule a Ward 1 meeting on September 18, 2017. The start time will be 6:30 PM. The place is yet to be determined.
Have a safe, happy and fun summer!
As always, I encourage you to reach out to me with your questions or concerns: [email protected] or 413-568-8562
Sincerely,
Mary Ann Babinski, Ward 1 City Councilor
