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Massachusetts Towns Dumping Snow into Ocean
2/11/2015 3:57:30 AM
Snow in Massachusetts hasn't had a chance to melt as three major storms have hit the state in the past two weeks, leaving feet of snow on the ground. All that unmelted snow has caused a problem for many Massachusetts town officials, who just don't have a place to put it anymore. Roads need to be cleared and sidewalks and parking lots need to be shoveled, but the side of the road is already piled high with snow. Some cities and towns have resorted to pushing all of their snow into vacant or rarely used land, calling the areas "snow farms." Swampscott dumps all of it's snow in a snow farm in Philips Park and Lynn pushes theirs to an impound lot. Boston has opened five snow farms to deal with their excess snow. But snow farms aren't a viable solution for all Massachusetts towns, leaving some struggling to keep roadways clear. The solution seems simple. Why not dump all of that unmelted snow into the waterways that surround Massachusetts? It's just putting water into water. Unfortunately, it's a little more complicated. Snow that sits on roadways isn't just frozen water. It's a mixture of chemicals from motor oil and asphalt, road salt and dog poop among other things that could pollute both fresh and ocean water. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection asked towns and cities in the state to avoid dumping snow into waterways in 2001 because of the environmental impact it could have. But the current state of emergency, with some Massachusetts towns seeing snowbanks more than eight feet tall, has sent some Massachusetts towns begging for a waiver that will allow them to push snow into the ocean, rivers and other bodies of water. Five towns have been granted waivers so far, some already starting dump truckloads of snow into surrounding water. Newburyport joined Marblehead, Salem, Lawrence and Lowell Tuesday morning as the fifth town granted with a waiver, according to the Newburyport News. Newburyport's mayor, Donna Holaday, told the Newburyport News that the Department of Environmental Protection granted her request only a couple hours after she sent it. "There's just no place to put the snow," Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton told Item Live. "So we are offering this as a solution."
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