MassCoastal Permitting and Environmental Monitoring

During the summer of 2021, BETA was retained by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to provide permitting and environmental services for significant facility upgrades at the South Coast Rail yard off Kings Highway in Rochester, Massachusetts. To improve equipment repair operations and prepare for the arrival of new train cars, the MBTA pursued expedited design and permitting to support expansion of the facility. Proposed work included placement of substantial fill, construction of an appurtenant retaining wall, site grading, paving, stormwater best management practices (BMPs), and wetland and stream mitigation.

BETA quickly completed the environmental monitoring and documentation required to close out a previously permitted project involving buffer zone restoration, securing a Certificate of Compliance from the Rochester Conservation Commission and closing the existing Order of Conditions. BETA then worked with the MBTA’s engineers to develop a permittable site concept and prepared a Notice of Intent under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and a Preconstruction Notification under the Massachusetts Section 404 General Permit. BETA wetland scientists conducted wetland delineations, GPS-located wetland flagging, and prepared wetland and stream mitigation plans for unavoidable project impacts. The mitigation design included more than 4,000 square feet of wetland replication and restoration and relocation of approximately 110 feet of an intermittent stream channel. BETA’s permit applications demonstrated that resource area impacts were avoided where feasible and mitigated where unavoidable, resulting in local, state, and federal permit approvals.

BETA was subsequently retained for construction, preparing specifications for the wetland and stream mitigation work and providing construction support. BETA reviewed and implemented the contractor’s Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), conducted weekly SWPPP inspections, and provided field support during construction of the mitigation areas. The wetland replication and restoration areas were successfully established and confirmed to be sufficiently stabilized by the Rochester Conservation Commission. BETA continues to provide SWPPP inspection services in support of the project.