Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Erosion disputes intensify: MassDEP reviews BSTEM models, peer reviews and FirstLight’s stabilization plan
Summary
MassDEP presented competing analyses of bank erosion in the Turners Falls impoundment: FirstLight’s BSTEM modeling identifies dominant causes as high flows and boat wakes but attributes specific reaches to operations; an independent peer review found underreported operation‑attributable erosion. MassDEP is considering both peer reviews and FirstLight’s proposed monitoring and stabilization schedule.
MassDEP’s wetlands program spent the information session’s erosion block describing decades of study on bank loss in the Turners Falls impoundment and how the agency is evaluating whether operations attributed to FirstLight have caused or contributed to bank erosion.
David Hilgeman of MassDEP said erosion causation is complex and that MassDEP’s review is considering a broad literature spanning Army Corps work in 1979 and follow‑up reports into the 1990s and later. FirstLight’s 2024 BSTEM (Bank Stability and Toe Erosion Model) submission split erosion drivers into dominant (high flows, boat waves) and contributing causes, and reported operation‑attributable erosion on several sections of the impoundment — figures…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
