Environmental hazards, flood and water records in Chester, MA
Public environmental, infrastructure and surveillance records inside Chester's municipal boundary, plus the regional air, drinking-water, flood, radon and Superfund context that does not stop at the town line. Each item links to its original record. Nothing here is a risk score.
Explore Chester on the map ↗ Check a specific address in Chester See a sample brief
Separate Chester water-service questions from parcel records
Chester lists a Water Department, Board of Health, assessors and Conservation Commission. Start with the Water Department to verify the street-address connection and obtain the latest supplier report; ask the health office for well or septic records if applicable. Use the assessors for parcel identification and the conservation office for property-specific wetland records.
Counts are records inside the municipal boundary, not unique facilities and not a ranking. Sources carry different dates (June 2024 for MassDEP waste layers, TRI 2024, OpenStreetMap Sept 2026). Community-mapped items are unverified. No record does not prove absence.
Records inside Chester
The most consequential categories first. Open a record for its EPA compliance history, reported chemicals, what the record can and cannot tell you, and who to ask next.
Landfills Agency record
Cleanup sites Agency record
- FORMER BAY STATE ABRASIVES
Transfer stations Agency record
- CHESTER TRANSFER STATION
Communications Community mapped
- Communications tower / antenna
- Communications tower / antenna
Mapped cameras Community mapped
- Chester Railway Station Museum
Beyond the town line
Air pollution follows wind and stack height, water comes from wherever the supplier draws it, and a Superfund plume ignores municipal boundaries. These items are searched from the town's center across state lines.
Incinerators within 30 miles
- COMMUNITY ECO PITTSFIELD LLC F.K.A. COVANTA PITTSFIELD
- COMMUNITY ECO SPRINGFIELD LLC F.K.A. COVANTA SPRINGFIELD
A 30-mile extent is EPA's air-modeling distance for toxic releases, used here as a search limit, not a danger radius.
Superfund sites within 10 miles
No National Priorities List site within 10 miles of the town center.
Largest reported air releases within 30 miles
- CHARTER NEXT GENERATION - TURNERS FALLS
- SOLUTIA INC
- AHLSTROM NONWOVENS LLC
- ONYX SPECIALTY PAPERS INC. - WILLOW MILL
- HAZEN PAPER CO
- JAIN AMERICAS - NUCEDAR MILLS
Pounds are facility self-reports, not concentrations in Chester, and chemicals differ widely in toxicity. How to read TRI and ECHO records ↗
Drinking water, radon, air quality, flood
Community water systems serving Chester
- CHESTER WATER DEPT 1 health-based violation since 2021-01-01
Boundaries are estimates and do not verify a household connection. Sample results are at treatment or entry points, not at a tap. Drinking-water questions to ask ↗ · PFAS explained ↗
Radon, particle pollution, flood
Radon: Hampden County is EPA Zone 2, moderate predicted potential (2–4 pCi/L). EPA says the zone map must not be used to decide whether to test; homes in every zone have measured high levels. Testing guidance ↗
Fine particles (PM2.5): nearest regulatory monitor Pittsfield (Pittsfield, MA, 19.0 mi) measured a 2025 annual mean of 6.2 µg/m³ (incomplete year); the annual standard adopted in 2024 is 9.0 µg/m³ on a three-year design value. A monitor reports its own location, not Chester.
Flood: FEMA flood zones are point-specific. Use the map to query the National Flood Hazard Layer live at an address. Flood questions to ask ↗
Major roads: 15 mapped motorway, trunk or primary segments cross Chester. Road proximity is a cue for traffic noise and emissions, not a measurement. More ↗
Documented surveillance technology in Chester
Agency-level records from the EFF Atlas of Surveillance. These describe documented technology use, not device locations or current operation.
- Chester Police Department · Body-worn Cameras
Do not use registry information to commit a crime, harass anyone or engage in illegal discrimination. Massachusetts law prohibits these uses. These town totals are not individual background checks or eligibility decisions.
Sex offender registry information in Chester, Massachusetts
Count not published for Chester in this source. The selected report supplies totals for ten cities only. This means unknown here, not zero.
For current public records, open the official Massachusetts registry search and select Chester.
Published municipal totals are not a crime rate or safety rating. The city table does not separate registry classifications and is not equivalent to public online search counts. Read the registry coverage guide.
Table labeled 2024 · source date as printed: August 5, 2024 · Official report, Table 7, page 24.
Questions worth asking before you commit
Compiled from the guides for the record types actually present in or near Chester.
Environmental regulator
Request groundwater and gas monitoring, closure plans and any off-site migration findings. (Landfills & land-disposal sites)
Request the latest site investigation, plume maps, cleanup status and any activity/use limitations. (Cleanup sites & historic contamination)
Review chemical-specific emissions, inspections and the underlying documents for any violation. (Industrial releases & air-program facilities)
Request the current air permit, recent stack tests and any published dispersion study. (Incinerators & waste-to-energy)
Water supplier / well professional
Confirm the drinking-water source and whether site-related contaminants have been tested. (Landfills & land-disposal sites)
Seller / inspector
Ask about recorded land-use restrictions and any environmental reports for the parcel. (Landfills & land-disposal sites)
Request environmental disclosures and maintenance records for any mitigation system. (Cleanup sites & historic contamination)
Check any tower lease/easement, lighting and generator-noise concerns. (Communications towers & antennas)
Confirm municipal water versus private well and request available water-quality and plumbing records. (Drinking water & groundwater)
For a private well, request PFAS test results or arrange a test with a certified laboratory. (PFAS in drinking water)
Request dated radon test results and any mitigation-system records. (Radon inside the home)
Request flood and water-intrusion history, drainage repairs and elevation documents. (Flood context)
Visit during rush hour and at night; assess window and ventilation conditions. (Major roads & traffic)
Local permitting department
Check operating hours, truck-route conditions and enforcement records. (Transfer stations & other waste facilities)
Seller / neighbors
Visit on a working weekday and ask about truck traffic, noise and odors. (Transfer stations & other waste facilities)
Qualified environmental professional
Determine whether site-specific vapor, soil or well testing is appropriate. (Cleanup sites & historic contamination)
Planning department / operator
Request the equipment description, siting permit and applicable RF compliance assessment. (Communications towers & antennas)
Agency / device operator
Request the current collection, retention, access and sharing policy. (Cameras, plate readers & privacy)
Agency records office
Ask for the deployment approval, contract, audit policy and oversight reports. (Cameras, plate readers & privacy)
Facility operator
Ask which emissions controls and monitoring apply to the relevant process. (Industrial releases & air-program facilities)
Which pollutants are monitored, how often, and are results public? (Incinerators & waste-to-energy)
Environmental professional
Look for a published dispersion or exposure assessment before interpreting personal risk. (Industrial releases & air-program facilities)
Local health department
Are there monitoring studies or investigated odor/air complaints for this area? (Incinerators & waste-to-energy)
Water supplier
Confirm service to the address and request the latest Consumer Confidence Report and relevant sampling results. (Drinking water & groundwater)
Ask for the most recent PFAS results, the treatment in place and the compliance schedule if a limit was exceeded. (PFAS in drinking water)
Certified laboratory / local health department
For a private well, discuss a testing panel appropriate to local conditions. (Drinking water & groundwater)
State drinking-water program
Ask whether the system is under a PFAS order and where the public notices are. (PFAS in drinking water)
Qualified radon professional
Arrange appropriate testing and discuss mitigation if results warrant it. (Radon inside the home)
Local floodplain administrator
Confirm the effective map, any map revisions and building-specific requirements. (Flood context)
Insurer
Obtain a property-specific flood insurance quote and coverage explanation. (Flood context)
Transportation department
Request recent traffic counts, truck routes and planned road changes. (Major roads & traffic)
Neighboring towns
Becket · Blandford · Huntington · Middlefield · Worthington
Sources: MassDEP solid waste (June 2024) and tier-classified sites, EPA TRI 2023–2024, EPA ECHO (retrieved 2026-10-03), EPA NPL, EPA AQS, EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, MassDEP water service areas, EPA radon zones, HIFLD, OpenStreetMap (ODbL), EFF Atlas of Surveillance (CC BY). Guidance reviewed 2026-09-13. Methodology and limits · Report a problem with a record.