The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs 251 Causeway Street, Suite 900 Boston, MA 02114-2119 Mitt Romney GOVERNOR Kerry Healey
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Tel: (617) 626-1000
Fax: (617)626-1181
or (617)626-1180
Ellen Roy Herzfelder
SECRETARY
January 23, 2003 CERTIFICATE OF THE SECRETARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL NOTIFICATION FORM PROJECT NAME
PROJECT MUNICIPALITY
PROJECT WATERSHED
EOEA NUMBER
PROJECT PROPONENT
DATE NOTICED IN MONITOR
Arborway CNG Bus Maintenance &
Storage Facility
500 Arborway - Boston
Boston Harbor
12898
Massachusetts Bay Transportation
Authority (MBTA) November 9, 2002 Pursuant to the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act
(G.L. c.30, ss. 6l-62H) and Section 11.06 of the MEPA
regulations (301 CMR 11.00), I determine that this project does
not require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) .
The proposed project does not meet any mandatory
Environmental Notification Form (ENF) filing threshold, nor does
the project automatically require an Environmental Impact Report
(EIR).
However, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA)
has voluntarily submitted an ENF for review, in accordance with
301 CMR 11.05(8), to ensure public review and input into the
planning process.
The project will require several state
permits, including an Access Permit from the Metropolitan
EOEA on the Word Wide Web: http://mass.gov/envir
( } Printed on Recycled Paper
District Commission; a Sewer Connection Permit from the
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); and a Sewer Use
Discharge Permit from the Massachusetts Water Resources
Authority (MWRA).
The proposed project, a bus maintenance and storage
facility for new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)buses, represents a
major milestone in advancing the Commonwealth's commitment to
utilize cleaner technologies for its bus fleet.
It will ensure
that the air quality in neighborhoods served by the MBTA will
improve as old diesel buses are removed from service and
replaced by cleaner CNG buses. Nonetheless, no matter how worthy
a project may be, MEPA must examine a project to ensure that
damage to the environment is avoided, or minimized and mitigated
to the maximum extent practicable.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
According to the Environmental Notification Form (ENF), the
proposed project consists of the construction of a 342,470
square foot (sf) CNG Bus Storage and Repair Facility for about
118 vehicles. The Facility will include CNG fueling equipment,
bus-washing operations, an employee parking garage with 250
spaces, service bays and shop facilities with support for
operations, and 44 surface parking spaces. This proposed
facility will replace the existing Bartlett Street Garage in
Roxbury. The 19.02-acre Arborway site contains an existing
72,747 sf office building that will remain.
It also contains a
commuter parking area with 200 spaces, which will be
discontinued. The proponent has signed a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) with the City of Boston to provide 8 acres of the site for
use as parkland and for other community-based development along
Washington Street.
The proposed maintenance facility will accommodate 118 CNG
buses and 330 employees (200 employees at the eXisting office
building at 500 Arborway) working on two shifts. The bus fleet
will be comprised of 44, 60-foot articulated CNG buses and 74,
40-foot eNG buses (these numbers include spares).
The CNG buses
include those to be operated on the Washington Street corridor
between Dudley Square and Forest Hills, and CNG buses for
additional routes, such as Routes 39 (Arborway - Back Bay), 28
(Mattapan-Ruggles), and 32 (Wolcott Square - Forest Hills) could
be supported at the Arborway facility.
Temporary Facility and Other Land Development
Approximately 15,750 sf of the site near Washington Street
will be used as a temporary CNG fueling area with six
maintenance bays for minor maintenance and bus washing until the
permanent facility is operational. According to the MBTA, the
temporary facility will be operational for 24 months. Bus access
to the temporary facility will be provided from Washington
Street. If use of the temporary facility extends beyond 24
months after beginning operations, I will require the proponent
to submit a Notice of Project Change to reexamine the impacts
and any further commitments that may be necessary to mitigate
potential long-term impacts.
After the Arborway Facility becomes operational, 8 acres of
the site is proposed to be transferred to the City of Boston for
community-based development and parkland. Another portion of
the project site, about 0.8 acres, is being reserved for the
construction of a maintenance facility for restored Green Line
service along Center Street to the Arborway.
I commend the MBTA
for incorporating Arborway light-rail restoration into the
design of this facility and encourage the proponent to maintain
this commitment through any further refinements to the site
design.
Fuel Storage
Three fuel types will be stored on the site:
1) A 5,000-gallon above-ground gasoline tank with dispenser
will be provided for non-revenue vehicles;
2) Two 10,000-gallon above-ground tanks will be installed for
storage of diesel fuel for non-revenue vehicles; and
3) Two 20,000-gallon CNG buffer tanks will be installed for
revenue vehicles.
Water, Wastewater and Stormwater
The Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) will supply
the project with public water and wastewater service. The
project will consume approximately 8,350 gallons per day (gpd)
of water, and generate approximately 7,581 gpd of wastewater.
The proponent has agreed to implement a Water and Sewer Use
Reduction Program at the proposed facility with water-saving
devices and fixtures or take other measures to reduce wastewater
flow into the sewer system. The proponent will install a
recycled-water bus washing operation.
The quality of stormwater runoff generated by the project
will be improved by the implementation of Best Management
Practices. Existing site runoff is sheet flow to the BWSC
stormwater system. The project will reduce the amount of
impervious area by 6.83 acres. Runoff from the proposed
driveways and parking areas will flow to catch basins equipped
with deep sumps and hoods. The roof runoff will be captured and
recycled. The rate of stormwater discharging from the site will
be less than existing peak runoff rates. The proponent has
committed to perform an annual inspection and maintenance
program for the stormwater collection system and a seasonal
sweeping program of the driveways.
Site Remediation
Many commenters have raised concerns regarding known
contamination on the site and the potential to find additional
contaminated areas during construction.
I note that the MBTA is
already working on remediation issues in accordance with the
Massachusetts Contingency Plan, under DEP's supervision.
I
encourage the proponent to continue to work with its Licensed
Site Professional and to continue its commitment to meet with
concerned neighbors to present and future results of its site
assessment and its proposed remediation efforts to clean-up the
project site.
Noise
In the ENF, the proponent included noise canopies and
barrier walls in the building design as a mitigation component
of the project.
During the ENF·review process, the proponent
improved the design of the canopies to further reduce the
decibel level of noise emanating from the project site.
The
noise studies prepared by the proponent demonstrate that the
noise impacts from the facility will not have a significant
impact on noise levels, and will not violate any DEP noise
standards.
This mitigation is an integral component of the
project; if there were a material change to this commitment in
the future, it would require the filing of a Notice of Project
Change and MEPA review.
Historic Parkway and Traffic
Bus access to the proposed Arborway Facility is being
proposed from the Arborway, an MDC parkway, via a new
signalized, bus-only, "English Syste~' roadway below the Casey
Overpass to the North and South Arborway Frontage Roads. Private
vehicle access for employees and visitors will be by separate
entrance and exit driveways along the North Arborway Frontage
Road. The proponent is proposing a 25 to 30-space visitor
parking area in front of the existing office building. It is
proposing a subsurface parking garage with 250 spaces restricted
to employee use. The facility is expected to generate about
2,365 daily trips, with approximately 1,028 new trips. This
number includes employee and bus trips. Relatively few trips
occur during the morning and evening weekday peak hours.
The Arborway is an integral component of the Emerald
Necklace Park system, a significant cultural landscape that
reflects the genius and vision of Frederick Law Olmsted,
America's preeminent landscape architect.
This parkway was
designed as part of the Emerald Necklace linear park system to
connect Franklin Park with the Arnold Arboretum and Jamaica
Pond. The Arborway is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places as part of the Olmsted Parks System National
Register District. Admittedly, various developments,
inappropriate intrusions, and deferred maintenance over time
have significantly altered the character of the Commonwealth's
historic parkways.
There is no greater example of the effects
of this neglect than the quarter-mile stretch of the Arborway
from Forest Hills Street to Washington Street, which has been
adversely affected by the Casey Overpass, the Forest Hills MBTA
Station, the District Courthouse parking, and potentially by
this proposed development.
The proposed MBTA Arborway Facility can and should improve
the Arborway, without compromising the MBTA's use of the site.
Given the existing condition of this section of the Arborway,
this can be accomplished without additional cost and without
significant impact to MBTA operations.
Through the MDC permitting process, the proponent must
reexamine relocating its proposed visitors parking area with 25­
30 spaces from along the front of the existing office building
to another area or within the proposed subsurface parking
garage. This will enable the proponent to increase the
landscaping and setback to the existing 500 Arborway site to
approximately 50 ft.
The MBTA should consult with the MDC and
the Department of Environmental Management (OEM) on how to
landscape this area along the Arborway to be consistent with
landscaping along this historic parkway.
I recommend using the
forthcoming document, "Guidelines for Parkway Preservation,"
currently being developed by the Historic Parkway Initiative.
DEM has provided the Boston Parks Department with a grant to
develop a Master Plan for the Arborway, and this proposed
facility should not significantly impact this proposed planning
effort or delay the proponent's efforts to service its clean­
fuel buses.
The MBTA should meet with the MOC to address its concerns
regarding buses using the Arborway.
I remind the proponent that
all parkways are required to be maintained for pleasure vehicle
use only.
The proponent must reconsider its proposed design of
bus access and egress onto the Arborway and consider relocating
bus access and egress to Washington Street only. The MBTA's
traffic analysis states that more than 80% of all pull-ins and
pull-outs begin or terminate via the Washington Street corridor.
Furthermore, this adjustment should not significantly impact
traffic on Washington Street because virtually all bus trips
from the proposed Arborway facility will occur in off-peak
hours, between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. and between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Automobile trips to the facility could continue to enter the
facility on the Arborway.
If feasible, this design improvement
would reduce the vehicle miles traveled by buses, leading to
reductions in fuel use, staff time, and bus emissions.
It will
also significantly reduce the size of curb cuts on the Arborway,
enhancing the use of the Arborway for its originally designed
purpose.
The review of the ENF has served to adequately disclose
impacts and mitigation associated with this project.
I am
confident that these two design changes, relocating bus access
to Washington Street and removing the visitor parking area from
along the Arborway, or an appropriate equivalent can be
accomplished through the MOC permitting process without delaying
this much needed project.
Based on a review of the information
provided by the proponent, after reviewing the comment letters,
and after consultation with the relevant public agencies, I find
that the potential impacts of this project do not warrant
preparation of an EIR and any remaining issues can be adequately
addressed through the MOC, OEP and MWRA permitting processes.
January 23, 2003 DATE
cc: Ralph Hinricks, OEP/Boston
John Felix, OEP/NERO
Comments received:
Eric Berg, 11/11/02
Marc Lipsitch, 11/13/02
Ellen Roy Herzfelder Louise Johnson, 11/15/02
Karen Wepsic, 11/19/02
BWSC, 11/19/02
Sarah Freeman, 11/20/02
Karen Caplan Doherty, 11/21/02
Angels of Boston, 11/21/02
AMSNA, 11/21/02
Rails to Trails Conservancy, 11/21/02
Representative Liz Malia, 11/21/02
Community Planning Committee... , 11/22/02
The Jamaica Pond Project, 11/23/02
Brigham & Women's Hospital, 11/23/02
Friends of Leverett Pond, 11/25/02
Karen Caplan Doherty, 11/25/02
John M. Tobin, Jr., City Councilor, 11/25/02
Franklin Park Coalition, 11/25/02
Karen Wepsic, 11/26/02
Sarah Freeman, 11/26/02
Douglas Evans, 11/26/02
David A. White, 11/26/02
Jamaica Plain Asthma Environmental Initiative, 11/26/02
John D. & Bonny J. Mears, 11/27/02
DEP/NERO, 11/26/02
DEM, 11/27/02
DMF, 11/27/02
Central Artery Environmental Oversight Comm., 11/27/02
MBTA, 11/27/02
CRWA, 11/27/02
Sarah Freeman, 11/27/02
Jane Holtz Kay, 11/29/02
Sarah Freeman, 11/29/02
MWRA, 11/29/02
BED, 12/2/02
American University, 12/2/02
MBTA, 12/3/02
Boston Greenspace Alliance, 12/9/02
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy, 12/10/02
MBTA, 12/11/02
Linda M. Cox, 12/11/02
David A. White, 12/11/02
William E. Reyelt, 12/13/02
Joyce Perkit & James Chamberlain, 12/16/02
Joyce Perkit & James Chamberlain, 12/17/02
Arleyn Levee, 12/22/02
J. Thomas Kerner, 12/23/02
David J. Spiller, 12/23/02
Sonia Ellerhue, 12/26/02
Al Wing, 12/27/02
Artis Fleming & Erik P. Kraft, 12/27/02
Dawn Singh, 12/28/02
Parkland Management Advisory Committee, 12/30/02
MBTA, 12/31/02
Eunson Landscape Design, 1/4/03
Melissa B. London, 1/6/03
Senator Brian A. Joyce, 1/6/03
Brian Gallagher, 1/8/03
Janice Dampkinais, 1/8/03
Deborah Sunderman, 1/8/03
Susan Worgaftik, 1/8/03
David & Lynda Bassett, 1/8/03
AMSNA, 1/8/03
Dawn Singh & Barbara Hammerlind, 1/8/03
Dedham Historical Society, 1/9/03
Arboretum Park Conservancy, 1/9/03
Sarah Freeman, 1/10/03
MDC, 1/10/03
BRA, 1/10/03
Sarah E. Freeman, 1/10/03
Anne Ghitman, 1/11/03
Elaine J. Rigas, 1/11/03
Allan Ihrer & Petitioners, 1/12/03
Jamaica Hills Assoc., 1/12/03
Herbert Nolan, 1/13/03
MHC, 1/13/03
Michael Reiskind, 1/13/03
Sam Abbot Sherwood, 1/13/03
Douglas J. Mink, 1/13/03
Sarah Freeman, 1/13/03
Sarah E. Freeman, 1/13/03
Kevin J. Handly, 1/13/03
Carole White, 1/13/03
Carl, 1113/03
Carole Anne Meehan, 1/13/03
MHC, 1/13/03
Bryan Glascock, 1/14/03
Allan Ihrer, 1/16/03
E12898
ERH/WTG