Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor CHICOPEE Mayor Michael Bissonnette signed a consent degree on July 3 that provides the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) with a detailed time-table for the city's work on eliminating combined sewer overflows (CSO) that pollute the Connecticut River. The decree also details the agreement negotiated by the city that lowered the federal fines levied by the EPA against Chicopee from $6.2 million to $115,000. Bissonnette credited former City Solicitor Jack St. Clair who came back to the city to work on the issues of reduced fines Bissonnette said the city would spend $150 million over the next 20 years to correct city's sewer system. The CSOs allow raw sewage to be swept into the river during heavy rains. The city must excavate the present one-pipe system and install separate lines for sewage and rainwater. Bissonnette said that the city would get "very little assistance" from the federal government in funding this project. "Uncle Sam is pointing a gun to the heads of Chicopee ratepayers," he said. The city is not alone in the CSO problem. Holyoke and Springfield are in the same situation, Bissonnette added. The state has agreed to raise the cap on bonding to $50 million, which will help the city finance the project, Bissonnette explained. The Sewer Commission also approved rate increases. Over the next two years more than 38 streets and 450 homes primarily in the Fairview section of the city will be affected by the construction project. "About half of Fairview will be torn up over the next two years," Ronald Belair, Ward 9 Alderman, said. To give an example of the magnitude of the construction Belair said a 20-foot deep hole would have to be excavated on Britton Street to accommodate the repairs. Belair said that one positive side effect will be the re-paving of the affected streets. Streets to be affected include: Ann Street Apartments off of Montcalm Street Beaudry Avenue Beech Street Beeler Avenue Bessette Lane Blanchard Street Britton Street Cherryvale Street College Avenue Everett Street Filmore Street Furguson Street Gladdu Avenue Hamburg Street Holgate Avenue Langevin Street Lombard Street Loretta Street Manola Street Memorial Avenue Memorial Drive East Montcalm Street New Ludlow Road Old Lyman Street Pervier Avenue Quince Avenue Royal Street Russell Terrace South Winthrop Winthrop Street Woodland Avenue The CSO project in Fairview is estimated to cost $17 million and will install over 38,000 feet of pipe. The work is schedule to be completed by December 2009. A CSO treatment facility will be constructed at Jones Ferry. It will treat over 142 million gallons of CSO flow each year and will cost $15 million to build. Part of the project will also address slope stabilization and storm drain repair. Bissonnette said there are a variety of serious problems caused by the storm drains that are in disrepair. An inventory of areas the will be repaired include a pipe on Sheridan Street that has created ponding in a low area behind a storage business; street and lawn flooding on Bray Street; sinkholes on lower Exchange Street; and a potential collapse between two homes on Pembroke Place. Bissonnette stressed the importance of this infrastructure work. "A clean river is essential to the quality of life," he said. |