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Media Release

CONTACT: Christopher Curtis, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, (413) 781-6045
Stan Kulig, Connecticut River Clean-up Committee, (413) 594-3557

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2011

Clean-up of Connecticut River Hits Important Milestones

The Connecticut River Clean-up Committee (CRCC) today announced that efforts to reduce water pollution and achieve cleaner water quality in the Connecticut River and its tributaries in Western Massachusetts have achieved several important milestones.

These milestones include:

• Over the past decade, the annual volume of untreated combined sewer overflow (CSO)  discharged to the Western Massachusetts rivers  has been reduced by 1 billion gallons per year, from approximately 1.7 billion gallons per year to approximately 0.7 billion gallons per year.
• The number of CSO outfalls in the region has been reduced by more than 50%, from 149 CSO outfalls to 70 CSO outfalls. 
• In 2010, the last remaining CSO discharges and outfalls were eliminated in Ludlow and Palmer, bringing the total to five former CSO communities that have eliminated all CSO discharges. 
• The Chicopee River now has more than 18 miles with no CSOs, and an additional five miles with reduced discharges.

Over the past year, the communities of Springfield, Chicopee, Ludlow, and Holyoke, in partnership with the Connecticut River Clean-up Committee, have completed a series of Connecticut River CSO Clean-up projects, including:

• Springfield – Completed targeted sewer separation work in the North End neighborhood for two CSOs, resulting in the reduction of overflow events from more than 35 in the typical year to less than four, with a net reduction of more than 30 million gallons of CSO per year.
• Chicopee – Completed sewer separation in the McKinstry-Meadow Street neighborhood, Upper Granby Road area, and parts of Chicopee Falls.
• Holyoke – Completed sewer separation in the Jones Ferry neighborhood, eliminating a CSO there.
• Ludlow – Completed the Hubbard Street Sewer Separation project to eliminate all remaining CSOs in Ludlow.

Both Congressman John Olver and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection have played vital roles in supporting the work of the communities and CRCC in clean-up of the Connecticut River, including providing substantial funding support.

In total, over the past decade, the Connecticut River Clean-up Committee has secured a combination of $17.6 million in federal and local funds to undertake more than 46 CSO control projects, which have resulted in the elimination or reduction of 43 CSOs.

Over the past two decades, the community members of the Connecticut River Clean-up Committee have made substantial overall investments in projects to address CSO correction, including:

• Holyoke - $23,500,000 in total project funding
• Chicopee - $88,109,000 in total project funding
• Ludlow - $10,000,000 in total project funding
• Springfield – $88,000,000 in total project funding.

Improved water quality in the Connecticut River will provide enhanced opportunities for all residents of the region to enjoy recreating on the river, as well as opportunities for riverfront economic development.

The Connecticut River Clean-up Committee will continue to be a strong advocate for increased funding for Connecticut River CSO control projects. In the current economic climate, there is a need for diligent and committed efforts to maintain progress on reducing river pollution and to secure support from Congress for continued funding. Connecticut River Clean-up Committee members include Stan Kulig, Chairman, Chicopee; Bill Fuqua, Holyoke; Josh Schimmel, Springfield Water and Sewer Commission; Paul Dzubek, Ludlow; Chris Curtis, PVPC; Kurt Boisjolie, DEP; and Andrea Donlon, CRWC.

For further information, please contact Christopher Curtis, Chief Planner, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission at (413) 781-6045 or Stan Kulig, Chair, Connecticut River Clean-up Committee at (413) 594-3557.

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Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, 60 Congress Street – Floor 1, Springfield, MA 01104-3419, (413) 781-6045, Fax (413) 732-2593, www.pvpc.org