The ASG Newsletter includes the following articles:
- Update on MBTA cutting off public comments about Hi-Rail Tunnel near Alewife at their public meeting on March 18
- ASG Comments on MBTA Access Tunnel project
- Meeting on Thursday, April 3, 2025 About Sewage Dumping into Alewife Brook
Update on MBTA cutting off public comments about Hi-Rail Tunnel near Alewife at their public meeting on March 18
This was likely the MBTA’s last public meeting about this project and they abruptly cut off public comment at 7pm with limited advance notice, despite many attendees still wanting to comment.
The MBTA gave a presentation describing their plans for the site and then opened it up for public comment. The Boston Business Journal wrote an article about the meeting highlighting the concerns of residents and public officials expressed in the meeting, including the lack of community involvement in site selection, asbestos contamination, and the MBTA’s failure to commit to “tenting and venting” to mitigate exposure to asbestos at Russell Field and the surrounding neighborhood.
Using a tent and air handling system to contain dust is required by the Cambridge Asbestos Protection Ordinance. Site owner IQHQ successfully used “tenting and venting” across many more acres. The MBTA claims that such an approach is likely not necessary, based on a report by Haley and Aldrich that has not yet been shared with the community.
State Representative Dave Rogers was in attendance and agreed with the concerns of the community about asbestos, the need for community engagement, and the importance of serious consideration for tenting and venting. He asked the MBTA to not make this a “dog and pony show”, but rather to take notes and incorporate the feedback of the community. Approximately 60 members of the public attended, many wanting to also give public comment. Several of these people still had their hands raised to give comments when the MBTA abruptly cut off the meeting at 7pm.
For background information and previous updates, see ASG Newsletters 39-44, and in the Explore Issues section of the ASG website, see Asbestos, Transportation, and Habitat and Ecosystem.
ASG Comments on MBTA Access Tunnel project
ASG supports adding a second Hi-Rail access point somewhere on the Cambridge side of the Red Line.
However, without any community knowledge or input, the MBTA chose a bad location for this project, because of significant negative impacts, as explained in previous ASG newsletters.
ASG does appreciate that the MBTA’s community engagement on this project improved in some ways between September and November, and that the planting plan for the project area of the proposed Hi-Rail access tunnel was improved, based on input from community groups and members. However, there has definitely not been enough progress for ASG to support having the Hi-Rail Access Tunnel in the currently proposed location. We have continued to ask the MBTA for a robust two-way dialogue with the community, and some actions by the MBTA, like cutting off public comment, are inconsistent with such an approach.
ASG will be coordinating our own public meeting for community members and groups in the near future. It will be announced in a future issue of this newsletter. ASG will provide updates, and then an opportunity for everyone to ask questions, share concerns, and consider our options.
ASG further advocates that the MBTA respond completely to ASG’s and other community groups requests (including, as a first step, sharing the Haley and Aldrich study and other materials they are using to justify their decisions), and then work with the community to adequately address our concerns about the project location, asbestos exposure, loss of mature trees, and other community impacts.
A more detailed description of the permitting process with MassDEP and the Cambridge Conservation Commission can be found in our previous newsletter.
Upcoming Meeting on April 3, 2025 About Sewage Dumping into Alewife Brook
There will be a listening session on Thursday April 3, starting at 6:00 PM with the cities of Cambridge and Somerville and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) related to the Updated Combined Sewer Overflow Control Plan project. Register and receive the Zoom link here.
This event will be an opportunity for community members to speak and share their thoughts about this multi-year project to manage sewage and stormwater sent into Alewife Brook. Project staff will be in listening mode and are not presenting. This is a significant opportunity for the community to speak up for a near-term plan to manage the sewage dumped into the brook and to improve the brook’s ecology for the health of animals and people.
It is also a chance to emphasize opportunities, like the forthcoming MBTA Alewife Station rebuild, which can and should include green and grey infrastructure to help with stormwater and sewage discharges. Green infrastructure is natural wetlands, like at Alewife Reservation. Grey infrastructure is storage tanks, similar to what is under the new Tobin School. The spot where most of the sewage is currently dumped into the brook is on the Western edge of the MBTA garage (CAM401A), and the MBTA station rebuild is not currently part of this 50-year planning effort to manage CAM401A and other sewage discharge points along Alewife Brook and The Charles River.
Participants are asked to get up to speed on the project before they attend. If you did not attend the Jan 22 public meeting, you can look over the following to learn more:
| Project website | https://voice.somervillema.gov/joint-cso-planning | An overview of the project and materials from all previous public meetings. |
| Presentation slides from Jan 22 CSO Control Plans Public meeting | https://voice.somervillema.gov/19901/widgets/63634/documents/65028 | To see the presentation slides from the most recent public meeting. See slides 15-27 for the project overview. |
| Recording of the Jan 22 CSO Control Plans Public meeting | https://voice.somervillema.gov/19901/widgets/63634/documents/63868 | To watch the most recent public meeting. Includes several presentations about current work and overall timeline. See minutes 0:00-7:35 and 11:40-24:45 for a project overview. |