ACEC/MA Legislative Alert: Contact your State Senator Wednesday morning to Support ARPA Funding for Water Infrastructure

ACEC/MA Legislative Alert: Contact your State Senator Wednesday morning to Support ARPA Funding for Water Infrastructure

While we are celebrating last Friday night’s passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in the US House, the final step before sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk, work remains on ARPA:  how Massachusetts will spend its share of the American Rescue Plan Act funds, $5.3B in federal aid that is being allocated by the Massachusetts legislature after a series of public hearings.

The Massachusetts House passed its bill on 11/2: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H4234

The Massachusetts State Senate released its plan for ARPA spending last week; amendments were due last Friday at 5 pm. Senators filed 722 amendments. Debate begins 11/10 (tomorrow) in the State Senate on this bill: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S2564/Amendments/Senate

This is a summary of issues of interest to ACEC/MA Members in S. 2564:

• $175M for water and sewer infrastructure investments.
• $125M for environmental infrastructure programs, including the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program.
• $100M for marine port development with a focus on offshore wind development.
• $20M for tree planting with a focus on underserved communities.
• $15M for state parks and open spaces.
• $10M for retrofitting affordable housing units for clean and sustainable energy initiatives.
• $5M for geothermal technology pilot programs.
• Clarifies that the Commonwealth shall not be held liable as a responsible party for response actions taken or arranged by the Department of Environmental Protection under the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act.
• Expands the types of entities eligible for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program to include counties, districts, non-profits, and other entities that are not municipalities.
• Removes the requirement that the entire membership of certain municipal governing bodies vote on whether to approve the use of Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant funds on non-public lands.

We have worked with our partners at UCANE and MWWA and several environmental groups, including The Nature Conservancy, to have some amendments filed to address our concerns that there isn't enough focus on water/wastewater and climate in this proposal. 

Action Requested on 11/9 and 11/10: Debate on the ARPA spending bill will begin Wednesday, 11/10 at 10 AM.  We urge you to be in touch with your State Senator preferably today, but no later than Wednesday (11/10) morning, and ask them to support several amendments.  DO NOT DIRECTLY FORWARD THIS EMAIL.   To find your State Senator click here:  https://malegislature.gov/search/findmylegislator

When you send them an email or call their office, explain to your State Senator that the need to invest in water and wastewater infrastructure is great and give examples of projects you may know about.  Please ask them to support these amendments:

Amendments that Increase Line-Item Funding:

• Amendment #343 filed by Senator Eldridge, increases the water infrastructure line item 1599-2032, by $50 million to $225 million. Massachusetts’ antiquated water infrastructure lacks climate resilience, threatens public health, and harms the quality of our drinking water and freshwater resources. Inadequate water infrastructure poses many challenges, such as contaminants in drinking water like lead and PFAS, the discharge of three billion gallons of untreated sewage into the state's waterways each year, and occasional catastrophic water main failures creating flood hazards and service interruptions. In 2012, a bipartisan legislative commission calculated the estimated cost of capital investment, operation and maintenance, repair and replacement, and debt service for the state's water infrastructure against anticipated revenues, over 20 years at $40 billion.
• Amendment #396 filed by Senator Hinds, increases the land conservation and park and trail creation and improvement item 1599-2030 by $20 million to $35 million. This funding is essential to conserve and protect parks to absorb and store carbon emissions and climate smart parks to absorb stormwater, rainwater, and curb the heat island effect.  Massachusetts needs increased funding now to protect communities and habitats from climate change impacts including increased flooding, drought, and storm damage. The benefits of outdoor recreation to boost physical, mental, and emotional health has become increasingly clear during the COVID-19 crisis, as visitation to state, local and nonprofit parks more than doubled. However, most state parks, beaches, and trails are in disrepair. The state should ensure that those disproportionally impacted by Covid, can access safe, outdoor recreational spaces to exercise, gather and improve public health and emotional wellbeing.
• Amendment #368 filed by Senator Creem, which increases funding for tree planting in item 1599-2033 by $5 million to $25 million. Trees and forests in cities reduce urban flooding, improve the quality of our air and water, and make neighborhoods more livable. Urban trees provide measurable public health benefits, including asthma reduction and lower energy demand, thereby saving households an average $230 per year in energy costs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to cities, there is an opportunity to increase active reforestation of streambanks and floodplains to sequester carbon, improve water quality, and decrease streambank erosion.
• Amendment #452 filed by Senator Chang-Diaz which would increase funding in the infrastructure line item by $20 million to $145 million providing training to underserved populations for green jobs, as defined by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics as: jobs in businesses that produce goods or provide services that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources; and, jobs in which workers' duties involve making their establishment's production processes more environmentally friendly or use fewer natural resources.

Amendments that Add Text to Line-Item Language or Statute

• Amendment #17 filed by Senator Gomez and Amendment #340 filed by Senator Cyr which would amend the water infrastructure line item to expend eligibility to “entities” beyond municipalities to water districts.
• Amendment #340 filed by Senator Tarr which would add projects to the line item on lands that increase carbon sequestration. Only by harnessing the power of natural climate solutions to remove and store carbon can Massachusetts reach Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions goals. Natural climate solutions (NCS) are actions to protect, restore, and better manage natural and working lands, such as forests, farms, and wetlands to reduce and sequester carbon emissions.
• Amendment #341 filed by Senator Comerford which would add projects to the line item on water infrastructure that would support promoting soil health practices that improve water quality or otherwise mitigate threats from climate change. Preventing nutrient pollution at the source is the most economical way to help us achieve water quality goals and ensure a healthy ecosystem and economy estuaries, coastal regions, and inland rivers and watersheds are valuable for their economic, cultural, and environmental benefits to people and nature. ​ 
• Amendment #374 filed by Senator Creem, Ensuring a Green Recovery, would require that all expenditures under An Act Relative to Immediate COVID-19 Funding Needs prioritize the decarbonization of transportation and buildings, be consistent with the Commonwealth’s climate change adaptation goals and mitigation goals, under statutes related to the Next Generation Road Map Climate Policy for Massachusetts and the Global Warming Solutions Act.

ACTION REQUESTED before 11/10/21 at 10 AM:

Please go to: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

• Find your Massachusetts State Senator, based on where you live/vote.
• Then send your Senator a quick email asking them to support 3 amendments.
• Below is a sample email for you to modify and send to your State Senator or to use as the basis for a phone call or both:

Please let Abbie Goodman know if you have any questions. Thank you for doing this!