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Environment and Engineering

From the Ground Up

By
S. Hossein Cheraghi, dean of the College of Engineering
Environment and Engineering Sections
WNEU Creates New Civil and Environmental Engineering Program

Student Emily Lynch, seen here with Kenneth Lee

Student Emily Lynch, seen here with Kenneth Lee, says she’s always been fascinated by bridges, and ultimately decided to make civil engineering a career.

When asked about the factors that drove Western New England University’s decision to create its new Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ken Lee summoned some telling numbers.

The first were from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which is projecting an employment growth rate of 19% for civil engineers and 22% for environmental engineers — one of the fastest-growing subspecialties within the broad realm of civil engineering — between 2010 and 2020.

Another number — and probably the one fueling those BLS projections — comes from the American Society of Civil Engineers, which, when assessing the nation’s aging infrastructure, projects that $71 trillion in infrastructure investments will be made by 2030.

“Everything we make in civil engineering has a lifespan,” said Lee, chairman of the new department, in an article announcing his appointment in the university’s alumni publication, the Communicator. “Buildings and bridges are crumbling, and transportation systems need overhauling. We need plenty of engineers to plan, design, analyze, develop, organize, and manage retrofits and new construction projects.”

Couple these projections with the university’s desire to grow its well-regarded College of Engineering, and civil engineering, with a strong focus on environmental engineering, was the logical path to take, said S. Hossein Cheraghi, dean of the College of Engineering.

“We want to grow, and one of the best ways to do that is with new programs,” he said, adding quickly that existing offerings are also being expanded. “And when we looked at different programs and at statistics from the Department of Labor in terms of future opportunities for employment, we realized that civil engineering made the most sense for us.”

He told BusinessWest that talks on such an expansion were initiated about three years ago, and they culminated with a program launched last fall with 13 students.

Emily Lynch is one of them.

A Connecticut resident, she said that, while growing up, she became fascinated by bridges — “I would drive over them and just be awestruck,” she explained — and by her junior year had decided to make civil engineering a career.

“I liked math more, but I didn’t want to make that my livelihood,” she went on. After being alerted by her guidance counselor to the new program at WNEU, she made that school one of three options — Wentworth in Boston and the University of New Haven were the others — and eventually decided to became part of the inaugural class at the Springfield campus. “There’s supposed to be a huge jump in demand for civil engineers in the years to come; I want to be part of that.”

Creation of the Civil Engineering program is one of the primary drivers of a planned expansion of Sleith Hall, home to the College of Engineering, said Cheraghi, noting that plans call for 8,600 square feet of new space, as well as renovations and upgrades to the entire building.

Work on the two-story addition, projected to cost between $12 million and $13.5 million, is expected to begin this summer, he went on, adding that the new area will house laboratory space for the new program, as well as labs for Biomedical Engineering, classroom space, and a computer lab. The project also includes building-wide HVAC improvements, the installation of a new sprinkler system, and technology improvements.

S. Hossein Cheraghi, dean of the College of Engineering

S. Hossein Cheraghi, dean of the College of Engineering, says the new civil engineering program will help “internationalize” the WNEU campus.

“The addition of new programs and growth in existing programs in the College of Engineering is driving the need for additional space,” said Cheraghi, noting that the school also added a doctoral program in Engineering Management and has seen increasing enrollment in its existing engineering programs — biomedical, electrical, industrial, and mechanical.

For this issue and its focus on engineering and the environment, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at the university’s new Civil Engineering degree and what it means for both the school and those currently enrolled in the program.

 

Bridging a Gap

When asked why he left a teaching position at UMass Lowell to come to WNEU, Lee broke into a wide smile.

“Opportunities to lead a new program, especially a civil engineering program … those are quite rare today,” he said, adding that he was looking forward to the many challenges involved with getting such an initiative off the ground, from hiring faculty to recruiting students to setting the tone academically. “This is a very exciting career opportunity.”

It came about, said Cheraghi, because the School of Engineering, and the university as a whole, has set some ambitious goals for continued growth, and civil and environmental engineering represented both the most glaring area of need and the best opportunity for expansion, given those projections from the BLS.

The new program also fits nicely into a recently developed strategic plan for the university, one component of which is the goal of greater “internationalization” of the campus and thus the student population.

“We want to bring more international students to our campus,” he explained. “And this is one of the most important programs for developing countries. There is a global need for civil engineers.”

Meanwhile, an analysis of the regional market revealed that there was a need for — and thus room for — another civil engineering program.

Departments exist at UMass Amherst and UConn, said Lee, and there is an associate’s degree program at Springfield Technical Community College. A two-year degree opens some doors to employment, he went on, but a baccalaureate or graduate degree offers access to many more opportunities.

Cheraghi told BusinessWest that the new program will play a large role in helping the College of Engineering continue its pattern of growth and reach ambitious targets for enrollment. Indeed, the Engineering department had 320 students in 2009, boasts 475 at present, and would like to be at 600 within five years, he said, adding that these numbers clearly indicate the need for the planned expansion of Sleith Hall.

While the Civil and Environmental Engineering initiative is new, Lee said, the university has a long history of excellence in engineering, and this will certainly help draw people to what’s called the CEE program. WNEU’s comparatively smaller class sizes and its so-called ‘theory to practice’ approach to engineering education, which provides hands-on experience that enables students to hit the ground running as they enter their chosen careers, are also effective selling points.

These were some of the factors that helped prompt Lynch to eventually choose WNEU. She’s still wrapping up her freshman year, but already has designs on what she wants to do professionally.

“I’m leaning toward the structural side of civil engineering — building roads and bridges and fixing the many that are crumbling,” she said. “I really want to fix our infrastructure.”

Students in the program will focus on the latest advances in the design, construction, and maintenance of today’s infrastructure, including roads, bridges, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, water-treatment and supply networks, and environmental systems, said Lee, adding that students will study the many areas of civil engineering, from structural engineering to geotechnical engineering.

The WNEU program is somewhat unique, he went on, because of its separate environmental engineering concentration. Students who take that route will get a civil engineering degree, which provides great flexibility, he explained, but also a strong focus on issues involving water — from treatment to renewable energy.

Another unique aspect of the program will be the incorporation of ‘green’ engineering techniques and sustainable materials, he said.

“Until recently, efficiency and environmental impacts have not been major parts of the equation,” he told the Communicator. “But now, when you design a building, you want it to be as energy-efficient as possible and use as little water as possible.”

Original projections for the program’s first year were for 10 students, said Lee, adding that, without much (if any) advertising, 13 were chosen from roughly 75 applications. And both of those numbers project to go much higher for year two, with perhaps 140 applications and possibly 20 to 25 students admitted. The goal is to reach 100 students in the program by the time the first class graduates in 2016.

One popular route could be transferring into the program from STCC after completion of the two-year program there, he noted, adding that WNEU can begin accepting transfers when members of the inaugural class reach their junior year.

The university is set to hire a second faculty member for the program for year two, said Lee, who was the first, and add two more for the start of the 2014-15 academic year.

 

On the Right Road

Assessing his career shift and decision to both teach and administer WNEU’s new engineering program, Lee said he believes he’s in the right place at the right time.

And the same can be said of the 13 students in that program’s inaugural class and those who will enroll in the years to come.

Indeed, the projections made by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Bureau of Labor Statistics would seem to provide ample evidence that he’s right.

Time will tell if WNEU’s large investment will prove worthwhile, but already there are signs that the university is building momentum — in more ways than one.

 

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Brownfield of Dreams

By
Michael Bissonnette
Environment and Engineering Sections
Statewide Initiative Helps Chicopee Move the Needle on Uniroyal Site

Uniroyal complex in Chicopee

One of the buildings in the former Uniroyal complex in Chicopee.

Tom Haberlin, director of Economic Development for Chicopee, has been dealing with the fate of the sprawling former Uniroyal plant and neighboring property in the center of the city for more than 30 years.

And as he talked about the project and the recent progress made in readying the site for redevelopment, he chose words that were succinct yet powerful.

“We’ve had a stage-four cancer here in the heart of Chicopee for decades,” he said. “And cancer surgery is expensive.”

That cancer, of course, is the combination Uniroyal (tires) and Facemate (a Johnson & Johnson textile mill) site, a 65-acre strip of polluted land and buildings along the Chicopee Falls section of Chicopee River that, until last year, was home to 23 century-old manufacturing, administrative, and maintenance buildings in various stages of physical and environmental decay. Only 11 of the original buildings remain.

The area is officially designated by the Commonwealth as a ‘brownfield’ site, due to the high level of environmental contamination on the property — PCBs, petroleum, and asbestos have been identified there — and with this designation, as well as proper planning and considerable collaboration with state and federal agencies, the city has finally begun to see real progress in efforts to rehab the site.

Much of this momentum is due to an initiative launched by Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, who dealt with a number of brownfield projects when he was mayor of Worcester, and took that experience — and lessons learned from it — to the State House. There, in collaboration with Gov. Deval Patrick, he worked to create the Brownfield Support Team (BST), which in many ways complements the 1998 Brownfields Act by bringing together state environmental and economic-development agencies to target assistance for some of the Commonwealth’s most challenging and complex brownfield sites.

The Uniroyal/Facemate site was one of six across the state to receive assistance under Round 2 of the BST initiative; four others are in Attleboro, Chelmsford, Somerville, and South Gardner, while citywide assistance was granted for Brockton. (Springfield’s Chapman Valve site was among five included in the first round of funding).

Assistance from the BST has accelerated work on an initiative known as RiverMills at Chicopee Falls, a project that includes construction of a new senior center on the Uniroyal site, possible development of market-rate housing and office/retail facilities, and expansion of a river walk.

The BST was created to help communities clear the innumerable hurdles presented by brownfield-site redevelopment, including assistance with both charting a course for contaminated property and then dealing with — and securing funds and other support from — an alphabet soup of state and federal agencies, said Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette.

To date, the program has helped to coordinate efforts and secure support from MassDevelopment, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and others, said the mayor.

For this issue and its focus on Environment & Engineering, BusinessWest talked with Murray and city officials about the many challenges involved with brownfield development, and how the BST is helping to write a new chapter in the history of the Chicopee site.

 

Not Treading Lightly

Bissonnette said people in Chicopee often ask, “how come it takes so long to knock down those buildings?”

“I get that all the time,” the mayor sighed. “People don’t realize that it’s a very complex process that involves asbestos, mercury, PCBs, and other petroleum contaminants, and asbestos remediation, for one, can triple this long part of the process.”

He offered the example of a fictitious $2 million project to demolish an old manufacturing plant. The building looks hollow — just a pile of old bricks — but $1.3 million will be needed to properly dispose of all the contaminants, many broken down by the elements and leaching into the soil, while the actual razing of the structure costs only $700,000.

Returning to the Uniroyal/Facemate site, the mayor said, “we could sell it, on its best day, for $4 million, but it would take $20 million to get there [cleaned up], and then we’d hope for a private partner to develop it.”

The question is, who will pay that $20 million, he went on, adding that no private development would take on that burden and the municipality is certainly not in a position to do so.

Michael Bissonnette

Michael Bissonnette says local residents don’t realize how costly and complicated it is to raze a large brownfield site.

Overcoming such stalemates and achieving progress on projects that have, like the Uniroyal property, moved at a snail’s pace for decades was the specific motivation behind creation of the BST, Murray told BusinessWest. He noted that clearing such roadblocks requires high levels of patience, collaboration, accountability, and, most of all, funding, and the BST was designed to generate all of the above.

He recalled a report showing that remediating Worcester’s brownfield sites would potentially result in almost $30 million in tax revenue for the city, which in one year would provide funds to resurface every needy street, cut property taxes, and allow aggressive movement on school construction.

“This was a pretty powerful data point that struck me,” he said, “and it got me thinking that, if we had a focused and disciplined approach, and prioritized the cleanups with the highest return first, we’d be making some progress over time.”

He convened the Mayor’s Brownfield Roundtable, which met monthly with the Legislature, the private sector, and state agencies to talk about how they could prioritize sites. Brownfield sites typically require massive environmental oversight and have multiple owners, and agencies are often putting liens against landowners or fighting one thing or another in several courts. All told, the complexity before one even gets to remediation is challenging at best.

In the case of the Uniroyal/Facemate site, all of the above were in play, and assistance from the BST has helped pave the path to progress.

 

Getting a Grip

“When we started, the city did not have control of either site, and the municipality had to get control of it, a clear title,” Bissonnette explained. “And the EPA had a lien against the Facemate land.

“We were in an interesting position of arguing with them [the EPA] that they were trying to collect money from us on the one hand,” he continued, “but eventually we’re trying to get money from them to clean this up on the other hand. It didn’t make sense.”

It eventually worked out as a ‘discharge of the lien,’ which was litigated in three different courts and is something quite rare, Bissonnette said. The city then partnered with MassDevelopment for a $4 million grant to do site assessment and remediation assistance, and the EPA gave $600,000 more for asbestos cleanup. A $5 million loan was taken out by the city, and $1.4 million from a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is being used to help pay that loan.

“The city has cobbled together pretty close to $10 million in federal and state monies and loans, with the city putting in $4 million of the $8 million needed for a senior center on the Facemate site,” said Haberlin. “In late October, we’re expecting to hear on approval of a $1.6 million MassWorks grant to finance the construction of roads, water, sewer, and a pump station to the senior center and two private parcels on either side.”

In all, the 65-acre site includes 45 acres (only 20 to 25 are buildable) of Uniroyal property, and 20 acres of Facemate, but while the Facemate area of the site is set, the Uniroyal ownership is another issue. Haberlin said it was purchased from a private owner by Michelin North America several few years ago, and the company inherited all the issues that come with a brownfields site; Michelin argues that it is responsible for cleaning up what the decaying buildings do to the soil, but not the buildings themselves.

Haberlin said he belives he has another five years of what he called the “Uniroyal saga” to contend with, and Bissonnette concurs.

“If this was easy, it would have been done before me.” Bissonnette said. “But the good news is that Michelin is coming to the table, and we are moving toward a joint agreement on how this will proceed.”

All those involved say the assistance from the BST has been instrumental in moving the process forward, and that the Chicopee project, the largest to date in terms of size to be so designated, provides more evidence that the unique initiative is working and worthy of emulation.

Murray said the Uniroyal/Facemate project was chosen for assistance because the RiverMills at Chicopee Falls redevelopment opportunity was already in motion and had solid potential for return on investment, but needed a higher level of coordination to move ahead.

“We try to target some of the bigger projects where maybe a municipality has some preliminary and conceptual plans done, so we don’t have to start from the beginning,” he explained. “But the municipality just needs the technical expertise, the resources, and the staff power to move it forward.”

Through the BST, said the lieutenant governor, a dedicated staff person from each of the agencies is assigned to the project in question, providing a level of ownership, or accountability, that is needed with such complex projects.

“They are involved in weekly conference calls and monthly meetings,” he explained. “The idea is that you’re all in charge [of your own agency], and it’s your responsibility; you’re accountable. And it’s been a very good model.”

Murray is encouraged by not only the recent remediation progress of Round 1 of the BST and now the advancement of Round 2, but the EPA reports that other states are looking at the Massachusetts model to replicate it.

“I do think we are ahead of the curve, and in the last round nationally of brownfields money [$69.3 million in assessment/cleanup grants and revolving loan funds], we got $6.75 million of that total, far and away the highest total of any state,” Murray told BusinessWest. “I think it’s because we have a track record of collaboration and coordination, and we want to get this money from the federal level as quickly as possible so communities like Chicopee are the beneficiaries.”

Round 3 is in the works, and all teams, especially the DEP and EPA, will be looking at which sites could be next. And a large number of projects are competing for funds, something Murray says is a good problem to have.

“It forces the communities to prioritize which sites they want to go forward on,” he said, “and forces municipalities to come up with consensus plans and be disciplined in their approach.”

 

Clean Slate

For Chicopee, the figurative field of dreams is quickly — at least by government standards — becoming the literal reality. Bissonnette is encouraged by the many comments from people he sees at the post office in Chicopee Falls, who no longer stare at the old, vacant Facemate buildings.

“It’s an encouraging sign for them; those buildings are gone, and it means progress,” said the mayor. “We will soon have the most beautiful walk and bikeway along that river. It’s gorgeous, but they just can’t see it yet.”

In other words, the expensive cancer treatment is working.

 

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Fueling Progress

By
Environment and Engineering Sections
MassDEP Program Will Recycle Organics for Clean Energy

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Results Program (CERP) is an innovative, first-of-its-kind new program that was launched in November 2011 by the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the Department of Energy Resources (DOER). The program is designed to maximize the combined resources of both agencies to better advance the siting and successful implementation of renewable-energy and energy-efficiency projects.
A key goal of CERP is to promote an increased capacity in the Commonwealth for anaerobic digestion (AD) — a process that breaks down food and other organic material to produce a renewable biogas (largely comprised of methane). This biogas is then combusted to generate electricity and heat. Just over a half-year from launch of this new program, the agencies are making great strides toward this goal.
Diverting commercial organic wastes (such as vegetable waste from farms, food processers, grocery stores, institutions, and restaurants) from the waste stream and converting them to a useful fuel has many significant benefits. Removal of these materials from the waste stream saves them taking up limited capacity in the state’s landfills.
In addition, because Massachusetts has some of the highest solid-waste disposal rates in the country (ranging from $60 to $90 a ton, nearly double the national average), recycling organic material for reuse can considerably offset disposal costs for the businesses that generate these materials. Furthermore, producing renewable biogas from anaerobic digestion is a sustainable, renewable energy solution. Active capture and use of methane from the breakdown of organic material reduces emissions of greenhouse gases and diminishes our dependency on fossil fuel.
MassDEP is working with DOER, the Mass. Department of Agriculture, the Mass. Clean Energy Council, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that, by 2020, the Commonwealth is generating 50 megawatts of electricity from this renewable source — up from the fewer than 10 megawatts being generated now. These partners also have a goal of diverting 350,000 tons per year of organic material from landfills and incinerators to anaerobic digestion and other organics-processing facilities; organic material represents more than 25% of the total amount of waste currently being thrown away in Massachusetts.
MassDEP and its partner agencies have identified specific steps to increase diversion of organic material for productive reuse via anaerobic digestion and other processing facilities. Those actions include streamlining and clarifying regulatory requirements, increasing diversion of food waste at large businesses and institutions to ensure a supply of material for anaerobic digestion, and encouraging appropriate siting of more anaerobic digestion projects across the Commonwealth.

What’s Next?
MassDEP is in the final stages of amending its solid-waste regulations to facilitate significant expansion of the state’s capacity to process and recycle source-separated organics and other recyclable materials. Concurrent amendments to regulations governing municipal wastewater-treatment plants will allow those facilities to accept appropriate source-separated organics for AD processing, which will in turn boost their energy production and reduce their operating expenses. The agency has been working with stakeholders to address the thoughtful comments received on draft regulations earlier this year, and MassDEP’s final AD regulations are expected to be published by this fall.
In addition, agencies have made great progress conducting a preliminary evaluation of sites on public lands that may be well-suited for new anaerobic-digestion facilities. We have narrowed the sites to a manageable list of eight, and are meeting with the state Division of Capital Asset Management, agency heads, and host communities to talk about the feasibility for siting these demonstration projects.
Massachusetts has already made significant progress in diverting organics from the waste stream and has been a leader in working with commercial generators of organics on building an infrastructure for collection. Over the past decade, MassDEP has worked extensively with major supermarket chains in Massachusetts, and as a result more than 300 of the 600 supermarkets are diverting organics (produce and breads) from disposal for compost at nearby farms. MassDEP has also worked with a number of other business sectors that generate significant quantities of food waste to help them establish diversion programs. Sectors with active diversion programs include hotels, colleges and universities, convention centers, hospitals, and large restaurants.
Given the importance of diverting organic materials away from landfills and into beneficial renewable energy, the Commonwealth will soon be proposing adding commercial organics to the other materials currently banned from landfills and incinerators.
The Patrick-Murray Administration seeks to put all of these pieces together so that, before too long, all commercially generated organic waste is diverted from disposal and processed through AD to harvest the renewable fuel source.
In many European countries, large-scale anaerobic digestion of organic waste has proven successful in the creation of jobs, improving energy independence, stimulating economic growth, and being an important component of the renewable-energy strategy. Through the combined efforts of DOER, MassDEP, and other key stakeholders, Massachusetts is leading efforts to make this a reality in the Commonwealth.

Kenneth Kimmell is commissioner of the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection.

It’s a Safe Bet

By
Daniel W. Morton-Bentley
Environment and Engineering Sections
New OSHA Compliance Rules for Employers Are on the Way

Daniel W. Morton-Bentley

Daniel W. Morton-Bentley

After years of deliberation, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will soon release a rule requiring employers to develop a written injury and illness prevention program (IIPP). This requirement, already in place in several states, is a proactive measure designed to help employers find and fix hazards in the workplace.
The rule is also likely to include additional requirements, such as developing a system for communicating with employees and conducting employee trainings.
OSHA is the federal agency that administers the Occupational Safety and Health Act. OSHA’s duty is to ensure that workplaces are safe and free of hazards. To that end, it prescribes safety regulations and engages in site investigations. While these efforts have largely been remedial in nature, OSHA’s new rule represents a significant step toward preventative regulation.
Generally, IIPP programs require employers to develop, communicate, and carry out workplace injury-prevention plans. More than a dozen states have adopted such programs, including, most notably, California. Thirty-four states either require or encourage employers to adopt IIPPs (15 require them), and many large organizations have voluntarily done so. OSHA has identified six elements crucial to any IIPP program:
• Management leadership;
• Worker participation;
• Hazard identification and assessment;
• Hazard prevention and control;
• Education and training; and
• Program evaluation and improvement.
OSHA has not yet released a draft of its IIPP program, but it is likely that the federal program will resemble California’s influential program, first instituted in 1991. That state’s IIPP initiative requires that plans be in writing and satisfy the seven following criteria:
• Accountability (identifying the person(s) responsible for administering the program);
• Compliance (creating a system that recognizes compliant employees and requires regular training and retraining);
• Communication (ensuring employee awareness of the IIPP and developing a system for communicating with employees that informs them of their right to complain without fear of reprisal);
• Identification (identifying and evaluating workplace hazards, including scheduled periodic inspections);
• Investigation (implementing a procedure to investigate occupational injury or occupational illness);
• Methodology (developing methods and/or procedures for correcting unsafe or unhealthy conditions); and
• Instruction (providing training and instruction at specified times).
California’s law also contains exceptions for small employers. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees can satisfy the communication requirement by orally informing employees about potential hazards, and businesses with fewer than 20 employees are exempt from certain documentation requirements.
California’s IIPP plan also contemplates, but does not require, the establishment of a labor/management health and safety committee. If California employers have a labor/management committee that meets often enough and satisfies certain requirements, this satisfies the employer’s communication requirement. OSHA’s rule could include a similar provision, or mandate the creation of such a committee.
What will this rule mean for your business? If you don’t already have an IIPP, developing one will certainly cost time and money. But, despite these short-term costs, OSHA anticipates that the rule will produce savings in the long run. A study cited in a January 2012 OSHA white paper indicates that IIPP programs have consistently increased productivity, reduced costs, and improved both employee retention and morale.
The effect of OSHA’s proposed rule on small businesses deserves special note.  This new requirement will be yet another legal hoop for small-business owners to leap through. However, as explained in the OSHA white paper noted above, the rule will likely be procedural and not mandate specific, quantifiable results.  Therefore, small businesses must only develop a plan suited to meet the needs of their specific workplaces (which may be relatively simple).
Small businesses should also be aware of the effect of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA). This law affords small businesses greater input into the regulatory process and eases the burden of enforcement and administrative penalties on small businesses.
When a proposed OSHA rule (such as this one) is expected to have a significant impact on small entities, OSHA initiates a consultation process with the Small Business Administration. A review panel is convened and considers comments from industry representatives. After this meeting, a written report is prepared and submitted to OSHA within 60 days. OSHA then reviews the report, incorporates suggestions, and publishes the rule in the Federal Register for public comment. OSHA’s IIPP rule will undergo this process shortly (it was delayed late last month).
Businesses will be able to weigh in on the IIPP rule. Small businesses may contact the U.S. Small Business Administration’s small-business ombudsman at (888) REG-FAIR in anticipation of, or during, the SBREFA review process.  And once this process is complete and a final version of the rule is published in the Federal Register, any business (or interested member of the public) may submit written comments to OSHA during the rule’s notice and comment period.
OSHA has been pushing for a federal IIPP requirement for years, and it will likely be here before we know it.  Businesses both small and large now have opportunities to offer their thoughts on the rule and to plan for what a written IIPP plan will mean for their organizations.

Daniel W. Morton-Bentley, Esq. specializes exclusively in management-side labor and employment law at Royal LLP, a woman-owned, boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm; (413) 586-2288; [email protected]

Attention to Detail

By
Michael Schafer, left, and Senior Engineer Gregory Henson
Environment and Engineering Sections
Huntley Associates Takes Pride in Its Diversity and Long History

Michael Schafer, left, and Senior Engineer Gregory Henson

Michael Schafer, left, and Senior Engineer Gregory Henson take pride in offering alternative designs and approaches to each of Huntley’s projects.

Huntley Associates, P.C. is a Northampton firm that dates back to 1870 and specializes in surveying and engineering projects. The scope of its work is diverse, but whether the job in question is a multi-million-dollar operation or simply involves giving advice to a municipality, integrity is the company’s cornerstone, said President Michael Schafer.
Specifically, he makes it a point to shake a client’s hand, look him or her in the eye, and give his word that his company will do everything possible to stay within budget and complete the project through carefully orchestrated teamwork. “It all boils down to proper planning and preliminary design. People who see the end product often don’t understand all of the steps that went into it. And in today’s economic times, proper strategic planning is important for a project to be cost-effective,” Schafer said, adding that clients are presented with alternative designs, ideas, and approaches to ensure that they are satisfied.
“When I write out a proposal, it’s very detailed. It lays out every step required from planning to finish. It also allows the client the opportunity to see the cost, which is particularly important because it can determine whether they decide to proceed,” Schafer said. For example, if a residential housing complex will intrude on wetlands, it may become cost-prohibitive or more than a client wants to spend.
“It really depends on the complexity and location, but if a project involves environmental concerns or reviews from state or federal agencies, the scope and fees can become a little fuzzy,” he continued. “For example, if a road has to cut through a swamp, there may or may not be endangered species living there, such as turtles or frogs. Wetlands are a big concern, and you have to work around them, which can mean moving the project or a building to a different location.
“A successful project can no longer be defined in purely technical terms,” he went on. “Regulatory, economic, and administrative issues are now major concerns.”
Therefore, it’s critical to lay out roadblocks to reduce the potential for change orders during construction, Schafer said.
He prides himself on creating a working relationship with everyone who will play a role in or on the job. “I promote a team approach,” Shafer said. “It involves the owner, client, and contractor as well as regulatory agencies, including towns or cities.”
They sit down together, which is important, as it allows different sectors to have input “sooner rather than later, after construction has begun,” Schafer said.
His staff members are not typical engineers. “We’re people who have been in the construction industry, so we understand the complexities involved, which makes it a positive experience for everyone. And if we help each other, the end result is typically an exceptionally constructed project that is completed within budget,” he told BusinessWest.
Schafer said unexpected issues often come to light during the building phase. “But if we work with the contractors, they work with us, so we end up with fewer change orders due to our relationship. And we like to take a project from start to finish to ensure that our clients are truly getting everything they are paying for. It helps that we know the local boards, conservation commissions, and regulations, because we have worked here for 50 years and are surveying the area in which we live.”

In the Beginning
Huntley Associates was founded by E.E. Davis in 1870, and is one of the oldest continuously practicing surveying and engineering firms in New England. “Our employees live in the area, so they are committed to making this a better place to live,” Schafer said.
The company was purchased by Almer Huntley in 1963. “At that time, the company’s main forte was surveying. The first engineering project was done in the late ’60s,” Schafer said.
The additional scope led to growth, and a second office was added in Maine. “By the late ’80s, the company had gone from a two- or three-man show to 80 employees,” he noted.
Huntley reached its peak during the ’70s and ’80s when it was called upon to do a number of projects across Western Mass. A large portion of the work was the civil and structural engineering and mechanical and electrical planning required to build wastewater-treatment plants.
“They were turnkey projects,” said Schafer, noting that the boom continued during the Reagan administration. “There was a lot of money pumped into the economy which was targeted for wastewater plants and infrastructure.”
But after Reagan left office, jobs became harder to get. There was a downturn in the economy, so Huntley closed its Maine office, and the firm stopped doing structural, mechanical, and electrical work, focusing instead on site development via civil engineering and surveying.
When Huntley made the decision to retire, Schafer purchased the firm. He had established Schafer Engineering Associates in Albany, N.Y. in 1994, and the men had worked together.
At that point, Schafer incorporated the services of his two companies. “It was done to consolidate resources and provide a larger capability to clients,” he explained, noting that today, the two companies share resources. “It allows us to keep our rates reasonable.”
Local clients who employ Huntley’s services find they can save time and money when historic records are needed, since their files date back to the mid-1800s. “We have old prints as well as plans and records from subdivisions in many communities, including Springfield and Holyoke. It’s a valuable resource,” Schafer said.

Changing Focus
In 2002, much of Huntley’s work was focused on new residential subdivisions. However, once the recession hit in 2008 and those jobs began to decline, the company’s focus changed again. Today, it’s working on subdivisions in Granby and New York as well as a nine-building apartment complex with 54 units in Amherst.
Other projects include new public-safety buildings in Granby and Montague. “And we are in the final stages of construction of a public-school expansion,” Schafer said.
His two companies have also collaborated on projects for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and they have done work on parks in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York.
Road construction is another forte, and a recent $1.3 million project involved improving a 1.3-mile stretch along Parker Street in Springfield. “There was an overhead railroad bridge which was very narrow, so the street narrowed at that point,” Schafer said.
As a result, the crossing and bridge both had to be rebuilt, which meant the train track had to be temporarily relocated. It was a complex project and involved many agencies, as it was federally funded.
The company was also responsible for the portion of the Manhan Rail Trail that runs through Northampton. Three bridge crossings were included in the initial plan, but a reduction in budget meant it had to be changed to a street crossing. Providing access to the pathway also proved problematic due to elevated stormwater levels and telephone poles which stood in the way and could not be moved. “It took a lot of coordination and communication,” Schafer said.
But these large undertakings are only part of what the company does. “We consider ourselves a multi-disciplinary firm and have always been known as an icon in the area. But most of our work is not recognized. We do structural inspections of municipal and private buildings and a lot of assessments of historic structures,” he explained. There is also storm mitigation work, which has occurred frequently since the June tornado and major rainstorms that followed.
“A major stream bank that collapsed in Whately is threatening the water supply there, so we are helping there,” Schafer said. The company also spends time with officials in municipalities who call on them seeking advice about their treatment systems, grant applications, and landfill monitoring.
“Smaller projects are our bread and butter. We do everything from single-home surveys to surveys of 200 acres or more. And we have worked for many government agencies on the state and federal level,” Schafer said.
The company tries to be creative whenever it can, and uses environmentally sensitive approaches, such as a rain garden it designed for the Amherst apartment project that will divert the runoff of water from the buildings to the garden. “It’s an eco-friendly approach that we can use within the available budget,” he noted.

Back to Basics
The company has evolved continuously during its 142-year history, but through all that change there have been many constants.
“We’re still here and have been here for a long time,” Schafer said. “We have worked in every arena and every county, and are economical.”
But to him, what matters most is the company’s reputation.
“When I shake hands with someone or tell them something, my word is golden,” he told BusinessWest. “I get a real kick of out of helping people and enjoy solving problems. In the end, it’s not just a business. It’s what I believe in.”

Stream of Consciousness

By
Environment and Engineering Sections
Rivers Protection Act Balances Needs of Development, Environment

Melissa Coady paused before explaining the Rivers Protection Act. Because there’s a lot to explain.
“Of all the pieces of wetlands protection regulations, the section about riverfront protection is the most convoluted,” said Coady, project environmental scientist for Tighe & Bond in Westfield. “There’s so much ‘if this, then this’ that has do with when a parcel was created or when the land was subdivided.”
The Rivers Protection Act, initiated by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), was passed into law in 1996 with a number of goals in mind, from preventing water pollution to erosion control; from protecting wildlife to preserving shellfish supplies. It does so by barring or heavily regulating development along the edges of rivers and streams.
“The riverfront area exists to protect the functions and value of those streams and the adjacent areas, in terms of water supplies, groundwater, flood control, prevention of floor damage, wildlife habitat, and fisheries,” Coady said. “It’s trying to roll all these into one area.”
Any understanding of those regulations begins with the riverfront area itself, which is defined as the area along any perennial stream — roughly defined as a stream or river that runs all year, except in extreme drought — between the water line’s annual high-water mark and a parallel line measured 200 feet offshore (except in certain urban areas; more on that later).
“The initial purpose of the Rivers Protection Act was to provide a buffer zone along streams and rivers that are considered perennial — that is, they don’t dry out,” said John Prenosil, president of JMP Environmental Consutling in Springfield. “The idea is to provide wildlife habitat protection, water quality, flood protection, nutrient removal, benefits of that nature.
“A perennial stream,” he explained, “is defined as a stream that’s shown on the most recent USGS [U.S. Geological Survey] mapping as a solid blue line. A dashed line represents an intermittent stream, meaning it dries out.”
And protected property doesn’t necessarily have to be, well, wet. According to the DEP, “riverfront areas may contain wetlands and flood plains, as well as what have traditionally been considered upland areas. As a result, the features of the riverfront area vary by location: from asphalt and landscaped greenways in urban areas to woods, lawns, and farm fields in suburban and rural areas.”

Melissa Coady says the state’s riverfront rules are among its most complex regulations in the realm of wetlands protection.

As Coady noted, “even though it can be comprised entirely of an upland, non-vegetated area, it’s still considered a wetland resource area under the act.”
That can make life tricky for developers, and even thornier for individuals who purchase their dream property, only to find out it’s essentially useless to them.

Multiple Goals
The DEP, however, decided 16 years ago that the value of protecting waterways outweighed the needs of developers. It argued that unspoiled riverfront areas prevent pollution by filtering and trapping sediments, oils, metals, and other pollutants, as well as cleaning water through toxic chemical breakdown in soils and plant roots.
It also asserted that riverfronts protect water supplies by removing pollutants that are carried in runoff from nearby commercial sites, roadways, housing developments, and parking lots before they reach surface water, as well as allowing water to seep down into the ground to replenish groundwater supplies and maintain base flows in streams and wetlands. More than 60% of Massachusetts communities are at least partly dependent on surface water as their primary source of drinking water.
In addition, according to the DEP, riverfront areas protect fisheries and land containing shellfish by moderating stream temperatures, reducing erosion, and filtering sediments and pollutants before they reach rivers — important, because these fisheries and shellfish beds are critical for recreational and commercial harvesting, as well as providing food sources to support the aquatic food chain.
Riverfront areas also protect wildlife habitats by providing food, shelter, and water for many plants, birds, and animals; serving as travel corridors year-round and during seasonal migrations; and harboring rare or endangered plants and animals.
Finally, the DEP noted, riverfronts control flooding and prevent storm damage by absorbing and storing water during storms and releasing the water slowly back to the river.
The law does take into account the fact that urban development tends to spring up alongside waterways. The protected area is reduced from 200 feet to 25 feet inland from the high-water mark in cities with a population above 90,000 or areas of smaller communities with a certain population density; in Western Mass., only Springfield merits that distinction.

John Prenosil

John Prenosil says navigating the nuances of the act is difficult because every site and proposed development project is different.

Prenosil said the 25-foot urban zone “makes sense from a development standpoint; it’s difficult to work in a riverfront area that’s never developed. The point of the act was to protect an undisturbed buffer from the edge of streams and rivers. I think the original intent and purpose was not so much to provide protection along developed areas. It’s for when you go up to the hilltowns and have that proverbial 30-foot-wide trout stream, to provide some protection from development.”
Historically, Coady said, urban areas were built up along rivers to begin with, “so the function and value of undeveloped riverfront areas are virtually absent. But there’s still a need to regulate to a certain extent how those areas get developed.”
However, Prenosil noted, “that being said, the Rivers Protection Act does make development in urbanized areas difficult for sure,” even in municipalities that qualify for the 25-foot protected area.
Of all the resource areas designated by the DEP, Coady said, riverfronts are probably the trickiest to deal with. “The burden is always on the applicant no matter what the filing is — to demonstrate that you’ve met the performance standards, that you won’t have an adverse impact, and if you do have an impact on the resource area, that you’re mitigating it in the way the regulations call for.”

Some Exceptions
But what about properties purchased before the act went into effect? It turns out the law offers a bit of wiggle room.
“If you are working on a parcel of land that was recorded on or before Oct. 6, 1997, then you are allowed to alter 5,000 square feet, or 10% of the total riverfront area, whichever is greater,” Coady explained. However, “you have to keep at least 100 feet of undisturbed vegetation between the high-water line of the river and the limits of your disturbance. So, even though the provision allows for the development of the riverfront area, they’re still trying to protect the corridor along the river.”
And what if someone purchases a previously developed parcel along a river or stream? As it turns out, the state grants some leeway for development, as municipalities and state agencies are always seeking to improve neglected properties while still adhering to the intent of the 1996 law.
“If you’re not looking at a pristine landscape, if you’ve got an area that already has roads, or has an old parking lot, or is devoid of topsoil — dumping grounds, that sort of thing — if you clean that up, you can develop that area,” Coady explained.
“They’re trying to give an incentive to improve the existing conditions,” she added. “But there are some caveats. The total footprint of the work can’t exceed the total amount of degraded area, and you have to provide some sort of restoration of the degraded riverfront area.
“It could be that people have been dumping things there, and you could be removing the dumped material. You could plant native herbaceous or woody species to enhance the existing riverfront area,” she continued. For instance, if the previously developed area encroaches to within 75 feet of the river, but the 50 feet closest to the water line is undisturbed, a developer might provide new plantings over the intervening 25 feet.
“When you’re redeveloping a piece,” Prenosil noted, “as long as everything stays the same footprint, it’s relatively straightforward, as long as you’re getting no closer to the waterfront.”
Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, Coady added. “That’s one of the reasons this set of regulations is so lengthy and complex. It’s very difficult, even with a clear-cut case, to fit these projects into neat little boxes. A lot of headscratching goes into it, and sometimes, there’s a lot of gray area.”

Common Good
The DEP claims that the legislation “took a measured approach to environmental protection — work in the riverfront area is not prohibited, but applicants must demonstrate that their projects have no practicable alternatives and will have no significant adverse impacts.”
With her background in this field, Coady said, it was natural for her to consider flood plains and wetlands and rare species when she purchased property, but not everyone seeks professional help before making a purchase, and many have been stuck with undevelopable land.
“It would absolutely be recommended to have a feasibility study done beforehand,” she said. “If the property has any wetlands or riverfront area, it would be advisable to take into consideration what uses someone wants to get out of that property in the future, because it may not be feasible under the current regulations.”
The law can be particularly thorny in cities that don’t meet the population threshold for the 25-foot exception, Prenosil said.
“This works great up in the hilltowns, but Pittsfield is problematic when working with residential areas,” he noted. “It’s difficult to apply one standard to everyone because there’s always unique situations.
“Basically,” he continued, “the DEP said, ‘look, we need more protections along the streams and rivers.’ The regulations are always changing; they’re dynamic. Maybe the next iteration of this will address some of those problems.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Time is Money

By
Environment and Engineering Sections
Environmental Compliance Can Come at a Steep Price

John Prenosil

Massachusetts has adopted numerous laws and regulations to protect the quality of its natural resources. These laws provide a baseline of protection and are bolstered by municipal regulations that provide supplemental protection to state laws.
I think we all agree that environmental protection is paramount. However, this protection often comes at a significant monetary cost. Why? Compliance with environmental laws and regulations can require a significant outlay of capital and time and is reflected in the price of land. It is the role of the land-development consultant to address these laws and regulations and assist developers through the permitting process.
This article is not meant to suggest that environmental laws should not be levied or provide less protection, and does not provide a comprehensive outline of environmental regulations. It should provide, however, a basic primer on typical environmental-development constraints and their respective roles in driving up land-development costs.
Let’s consider a theoretical parcel of land purchased by XYZ Land Development. XYZ believed it could save money and decided not to hire a land-development consultant prior to purchasing its parcel. XYZ purchased an exceptional parcel encumbered by a slew of environmentally related development issues. The parcel is interspersed with wetlands, located within an area identified by the Commonwealth as containing rare species, located predominantly within the 100-year flood plain of a nearby river, and is downgradient from a gasoline-storage facility. If we consider an identical parcel of land without these issues, you will see how these constraints drive up the development costs for this parcel.

Wetlands
Wetlands in Massachusetts are protected under the state’s Wetlands Protection Act and, in many cases, by additional municipal bylaws. Municipal bylaws are more restrictive and often impose no-build zones and/or additional requirements beyond the Wetlands Protection Act. Let’s assume our parcel is also subject to a municipal wetland bylaw that stipulates a 50-foot no-build zone from wetland boundaries.
By the time XYZ hired a consultant to identify wetlands on the property, leaves had fallen, and most vegetation was dead. Let’s assume it’s late November. Although a competent wetland scientist can identify the edge of most wetlands in late November, most conservation commissions require wetland boundaries to be verified when vegetation is actively growing. It should be noted, however, that certain types of wetland boundaries cannot be accurately identified without vegetation. And yes, you guessed it: the wetlands on our parcel can’t be accurately identified without vegetation.
Because identifying accurate wetland boundaries is one of the first critical steps in developing the parcel, XYZ must now wait at least five months before an accurate and defensible wetland boundary can be determined. Wetland issues (assuming the regulating agencies have no other concerns) have cost XYZ at least an additional five months of wait time, carrying costs, and potential lost revenue.

Rare Species
Concurrent with preliminary identification of wetland boundaries, the consultant filed an information request with the Mass. Natural Heritage Program (NHESP), the state agency tasked with enforcing the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. A response letter from NHESP typically takes 30 days and provides only basic information on the identity of the species thought and/or known to occur on the parcel.
To provide a response, NHESP must understand the major components of the proposed development to determine if impacts to rare species may occur. This response requires the consultant to prepare a site plan illustrating, at a minimum, the proposed development, development limits, and other major site improvements. Upon initial review of the site plan, NHESP may request additional information, including the type of soils on the parcel, forest type, and other environmental characteristics.
A formal investigation of the parcel, called a Habitat Assessment, may also be required. For the sake of discussion, say a rare turtle and rare plant species occur on the parcel. It’s late November, and the turtle is snuggled down in the ground, and the plant is dormant for the winter and unidentifiable. Rare-species issues have cost XYZ a minimum of five months and up to one year of additional wait time, resulting in increased carrying costs and potential lost revenue.

Flood Plains
Although the parcel is not immediately adjacent to a river, more than 95% is located entirely within the 100-year flood plain. In Massachusetts, work within the 100-year flood plain has specific regulations and requires that the flood plain not be filled in. Generally speaking, fill within the flood plain, from grading, site work, and construction, results in displacement of floodwaters (at altered elevations) downstream at those same elevations.
This is a difficult concept to grasp. But let’s think of our flood plain as a cup of water. Imagine the cup is two-thirds full before you pour in a half-cup of sand. The water will overflow because it is displaced by the sand. A flood plain is no different. If you fill it in, its capacity to store a given volume of flood water is decreased.
This issue can be addressed more easily when a parcel has areas located outside (upgradient of) the flood plain. To meet the regulatory criteria for working within the 100-year flood plain, ‘compensatory storage’ must be provided. If you fill in 100 cubic yards of a flood plain, you need to offset this by providing 100 cubic yards of storage. This is accomplished by digging a hole at the same elevation to create what is referred to as compensatory storage.
The XYZ parcel does not have sufficient land located outside the 100-year flood plain to provide compensatory storage, and, unfortunately, the proposed development will require significant amounts of fill to be placed within the flood plain. If compensatory storage cannot be provided on the parcel, it must be provided at the same elevations on an adjacent parcel. To locate compensatory storage on an adjacent parcel requires additional surveying, engineering, and, obviously, landowner approval. Obtaining off-site compensatory storage cost XYZ six months.

Hazardous Waste
XYZ did not perform correct due diligence when purchasing its parcel, and decided to finance the sale privately. An environmental site assessment was not conducted, and XYZ assumed that, because the parcel was never developed, there would not be any hazardous-waste-related issues. XYZ did not consider the possibility that underground storage tanks on the adjacent, upgradient gasoline-storage facility may have leaked.
Well, guess what? They leaked. A lot. The extent of the leak was determined by installing a test well, sampling soil and groundwater, and performing laboratory analysis for contaminants. A significant volume of contaminated soil had to be removed, and long-term monitoring systems had to be installed to meet regulatory criteria. The legal costs of coordination with the owners of the storage facility cost tens of thousands of dollars and took almost a year. Disposal of contaminated soils was also expensive due to a particular type of contaminant.
This example clearly illustrates that compliance with environmental regulations can result in significant outlays of capital and time. I should note that the XYZ property actually exists and was successfully permitted. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

John Prenosil is a land-development consultant with more than 14 years of experience. His company, JMP Environmental Consulting Inc., provides an array of land-development services throughout Massachusetts; (413) 272-0111; www.jmpec.net

Burning with Energy

By
John Lombardi (left, with Assistant Director of Facilities Scott Johnson)
Environment and Engineering Sections
Cooley Dickinson Cops National Award for Sustainable Practices

John Lombardi (left, with Assistant Director of Facilities Scott Johnson)

John Lombardi (left, with Assistant Director of Facilities Scott Johnson) says CDH has long made it a priority to promote healthy living and a healthy environment.


Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton has long taken what it considers a leadership position in terms of green practices and operating philosophies. And now, it has some paperwork to back up those claims.
Indeed, the Volunteer Hospital Assoc. (VHA), a national health care network, recently presented John Lombardi, director of Facilities and Engineering at CDH, with its 2011 Leadership Award for Sustainability. That term ‘sustainability’ means using a resource so it is not depleted or permanently damaged, and the hospital has proven it has a burning desire — exemplified by its wood-burning co-generation system — to protect the environment and the health of the community.
Cooley Dickinson was one of only 13 health care facilities across the nation recognized at VHA’s recent annual conference in La Jolla, Calif. with a Sustainability Excellence/Best in Class Individual Program award.
In fact, its system is so unique and successful that Lombardi was asked to speak about it the week before he accepted the award at the Sustainable Hospitals 2011 conference in San Diego, sponsored by Active Communications International. The purpose of that conference was to help hospital officials understand how creating a sustainable environment can reduce operational costs, improve staff retention, and enhance the patient experience.
“It’s always been a Cooley Dickinson initiative to promote healthy living and a healthy environment,” Lombardi said, adding that it is the first hospital in New England to use woodchips to heat and cool its facility. “Hospitals use a lot of energy and resources to keep up with patient care, and it would be easy to burn oil and use nasty plastics and not be conscious of ecology. But we have been ahead of the game since 1980.”

Firing Up
Cooley Dickinson has been burning woodchips to heat and cool its campus for 25 years. “The hospital applied for a grant to install its first wood-burning operation,” said spokesperson Christina Trinchero. It was approved, and in 1985, the federal government funded half the cost of a new woodchip plant. The chips are purchased locally and consist of scrap wood from milling operations or old trees.
“Our boiler was designed and installed to eliminate the need to burn high-sulfur fuel oil when oil cost less than 50 cents a gallon,” Lombardi said. “The design of the hospital’s power plant has been in the forefront of running on sustainable energy since the ’80s.”
In 1996, a 500-ton steam-absorption chiller was added to provide chilled water for air conditioning. Lombardi explained that the steam supply for the chiller comes from the woodchip plant and reduces the electrical power needed for air conditioning.
In 2006, hospital officials made the decision to continue to expand their green initiative. Before building a new 110,000-square-foot surgery center, they invested in a second woodchip boiler. It was designed with an efficient-emissions package approved by the Mass. Environmental Protection Agency and the city of Northampton.
Lombardi said this was no small investment, as the unit costs about $2.5 million. But it offers many benefits. The wood chips are purchased locally, and since much of the material comes from waste, it reduces the load on landfills. The operation also creates jobs that Lombardi says would not otherwise exist, and the ash produced by the boiler system been donated to farms for fertilizer.
In 2008, the hospital employed an agency to conduct an energy study. As a result, additional measures were implemented to help produce electricity and continue to reduce Cooley Dickinson’s dependence on energy from other sources. Modifications were made to the power plant, which included drilling a new well, and today CDH’s energy-saving measures benefit the environment and save the hospital approximately $450,000 each year.
Recent energy initiatives that began in January of 2010 include installing 4,600 energy-efficient light fixtures, along with new heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning controls, and upgrading the steam-distribution system. In addition, the hospital launched a food-waste composting program in February, which reduces costs by taking waste out of the trash system.
“We realize that waste is inefficient and there is a lot of waste in things we do. So, the right thing to do is to minimize our waste,” Lombardi said. “We also believe in a healthy environment, and wood is cleaner to burn than oil.”
The hospital operates its burner under an Environmental Protection Agency permit that requires it to remove dust particles from the smoke. “So the emission from the smokestacks is mostly steam,” Lombardi explained.
He told BusinessWest that the new clean-energy features, along with micro-turbines installed in 2009 and 2010, save approximately 825,000 gallons of fuel oil and prevent 1,534 metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions from being released into the atmosphere.
“That equates to 301 passenger cars not being driven for a full year, or 179 typical households being taken off the energy grid, or 469 tons of waste recycled,” he said.

Winning Idea
When he decided to fill out the application for the award, Lombardi never thought the hospital would win.
“It was a national competition, and there were a lot of other hospitals involved. I thought there would be bigger hospitals with bigger stories than ours at Cooley Dickinson,” he said. “Our story is simple — we burn wood and make electricity and heat and cool with it.”
So he was very proud when he was introduced at the gala. “We were honored to receive the award because it takes a lot of work on the part of our staff members and engineers to maintain the system. There are a lot of components and technology that affect many people at the hospital who have to coordinate their efforts to keep the system running at capacity and efficiently. So it was nice to be recognized nationally.”
During the conference, participants from other medical facilities expressed admiration and awe. “They didn’t understand how we could generate air conditioning out of wood. But to us, it’s easy,” he said.
Lombardi is proud of CDH’s system, and credits hospital officials for their support.
“Our senior leaders had confidence in the facilities team that the investment would pay off,” he said. “The old-school hospital mentality is to spend money on bigger machines and state-of-the-art technology. But that continues to waste energy, which is needed to run the machines. Instead, we are spending our money wisely in regard to sustainability and the environment, and it has paid for itself and also provided jobs for people.”