USFWS

Mass EOEEA
 

Woodlot
Alternatives, Inc.

As part of the October 2000 Consent Decree, General Electric also paid over $15 million in natural resource damages, which is managed by the Natural Resources Trustees (the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the State of Connecticut, the Department of Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).  This sum has been divided between the geographic regions of Massachusetts and Connecticut so that roughly half of the $15 million will be available for restoration projects in each state.  According to federal regulations, natural resource damages must be used to restore, in some manner, the natural resources and services that were impaired.

Before the funds allocated to Massachusetts can be used to implement natural resource restoration projects, the Natural Resource Trustees for the Housatonic Project in Massachusetts (i.e., representatives from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) must develop a Natural Resources Restoration Plan (Restoration Plan).  The Restoration Plan must evaluate a reasonable number of restoration alternatives and explain the rationale behind the choices made regarding the restoration projects that will be implemented.

Map of Housatonic River Watershed in Massachusetts - 217kb pdf file