The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has rejected an appeal against local approval for an athletic turf field at Berkshire Community College.This past spring a citizen group appealed the Pittsfield Conservation Commission’s stamp of approval for the $2 million turf field at the West Street campus in Pittsfield. After a site visit in July Mass DEP has rejected the appeal, but outlined more conditions concerning buffer zones and work happening near wetlands that need to be met. Carol Zullo has acted as a spokesperson for the 16-member group that raised concerns about the field’s potential environmental impacts and its rubber material. She says the DEP could have done more.
“It is a great disservice to the land, wildlife and the residents of the commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said Zullo.
Zullo says she wants to talk to other group members before making a decision, but personally wants to pursue another appeal.
“I’m not going to give up,” Zullo said. “I’m not going to roll over and play dead.”
Zullo and others also raised concerns about the potential impact the rubber infill has on the human body. Some reports have drawn a link between cancer and playing on similar artificial fields.
A group of local coaches, athletic directors and others are driving the turf field project with the support of Berkshire Community College and politicians like State Senator Ben Downing. The project would replace BCC’s current grass field, adding a new grandstand and concession stand for community use. BCC President Ellen Kennedy says she is pleased with DEP’s decision.
“We know that it was thoughtfully put together with a lot of experts and we had brought a lot of professionals in to put together the plan that we submitted,” Kennedy said. “It was well vetted by the conservation commission in Pittsfield and we responded to both their suggestions, the community suggestions we received and now with DEP we have what we hope is a final version of how we should move forward to make this project happen.”
In late June, Kennedy said a decision was made to delay the project for a year in light of the appeal process.
“We had bid the project and so we could only hold the bid open for so long and we’d have to bid again,” Kennedy said. “So given we would have to go back out to bid, we felt it prudent to delay in light of this appeal process and to have a decision made by the DEP whether the project can go forward or not.”
Kennedy says the delay cost more than $70,000 to pay consultants for additional work. That money must be raised through fundraising efforts. Kennedy is hopeful for an April groundbreaking with the first players stepping on the field by late summer.
“This past weekend we had 4,000 people from the community on the campus for the soccer jamboree for Pittsfield Soccer Club and it was a really exciting weekend,” Kennedy said. “We had hoped that they would be playing on the turf field. So we’re hoping next year they’re playing on the turf field.”
Massachusetts approved $1.1 million for the field, while the city of Pittsfield is providing $200,000. The remaining cost for initial construction, maintenance and eventual replacement of the playing surface is to be covered through fundraising. Zullo is concerned upkeep will eventually fall on taxpayers and says the entire project is a waste of money. Kennedy says whoever is using the field will be maintaining it and hopes fees from private users will support upkeep. The 8-acre project is also meant to improve wetlands surrounding the field, which were damaged during earlier work.
The Pittsfield Board of Health was meeting Wednesday night and was expected to discuss the turf project. At July’s meeting the board agreed to draft a cautionary statement about the rubber infill based partially on public input.
