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Hundreds go to State House to Tell Legislators
'MA Needs an Environmental Bond Now'
April 9, 2008
(Boston) Hundreds of people from across the Commonwealth went to the State House today telling their legislators of the local need to pass the Environmental Bond Bill this session. The event, put together by the Coalition for the Environmental Bond, included people from the more than 250 member organizations, municipal groups, sports & recreation organizations and businesses.
"The Environmental Bond Bill provides funding for essential efforts such as natural area protection, park and beach restoration, water quality protection, and support of working farms," said Andrew J. Falender, Executive Director of the Appalachian Mountain Club. "The strong support for this bill from 250 organizations and people all over the Commonwealth reflects the importance of conservation and recreation funding to communities across Massachusetts, and the urgent need for this legislative session to take action."
“The turnout today represents the breadth, strength and concern communities statewide share that the environmental bond pass this session,” said Jack Clarke, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations for Mass Audubon. “Simply stated, we need this Environmental Bond Bill now – for water quality, dam safety, climate impact changes and land protection opportunities that may soon be lost forever.”
Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles, Senators Resor and Brewer as well as Representative Smizik addressed the crowd before they went, en masse, to the State House.
“There are a number of bond bills before us,” said Senator Resor. “This one is essential to keeping environmental programs going.”
"This bond bill is the fuel that runs the engine for our environmental programs. Its successful passage will preserve our natural resources for our children and our grandchildren," said Senator Brewer.
Representative Smizik, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture told the crowd that “This document, our first full bond in six years, sets the stage for our environmental work over the next half-decade. The bond is comprehensive, is generous in its bottom line, and puts us back on track after years of neglect. I’m particularly pleased to include authorization for subjects like climate change adaptation, land preservation, dam removal, and water supply protection.”
Members of the Coalition told their legislators of the importance of the environmental bond to their local communities and asked their elected officials to pass the bond this session because the health and safety issues the bond addresses simply cannot wait.
Funds from the 2002 Environmental Bond have been largely used up, and many important programs are running out of money, putting our environment, health and safety at risk. Without a new Environmental Bond, many environmental programs will face major cuts that affect our communities, outdoor recreational activities, the state’s $14.2 billion tourism industry and natural resources.
"The longer we delay passing the Environmental Bond bill, the greater the risk, not only to our environment, but to our economy,” said George Bachrach, President of the Environmental League of Massachusetts. Tourism is a $14.2 billion industry, largely driven by the quality of our environment. And CEO's make decisions daily as to where to expand or relocate their businesses, often driven by quality of life issues as to where they and their workforce want to live. Massachusetts needs to move quickly not to lose this important edge."
Below are some of the most important reasons the Legislature must pass the Environmental Bond Bill before the session ends July 31.
LAND PROTECTION:
The Commonwealth continues to lose 40 acres of open space a day to development. The Environmental Bond’s historic level of funding, proposed $50 million per year, will help protect land from unwise development for this and future generations of Bay State residents and visitors.
Without the state funds, communities will be powerless in the face of development pressures, and many important landscapes will be lost. Without a new bond, state agencies will no longer be able to acquire ecologically important land or provide grants to communities trying to protect their last, special places. While many land protection projects include local, federal, and private funding as well, many of these sources depend upon a state contribution.
From a fiscal planning and efficiency perspective, a "down" real estate market is the best time for state land conservation. Many important properties come on the market due to increased relative burden of carrying costs, and very favorable terms may be negotiated now.
COMMUNITIES:
Traditional fishing ports such as New Bedford and Gloucester will receive badly needed funding for infrastructure support because the Seaport Bond has been integrated into the Environmental Bond.
Protecting open space reduces the costs associated with water treatment. According to a study by the Trust for Public Land and the American Waterworks Association, every 10 percent increase in forest cover reduces the costs of water treatment decrease by approximately 20 percent.
Cities and towns must reduce the enormous backlog of capital improvements for local water supply, wastewater and storm water infrastructure projects, particularly to leverage matching funds to help cities and towns protect their water supply areas.
Lakes and ponds statewide are facing an increasing invasion of non-native species, threatening native species, habitats and lake front property values. Each year we delay these projects, the damage to property and our tourist economy increases.
FARMS:
Funding for farmland protection gives farmers an important alternative to selling their land for development, and helps prevent the loss of dozens of working farms, thousands of acres of watershed protection areas, working woodlands and wildlife habitat.
The bond will continue to support our family farms in providing high quality, locally grown food that keeps our families healthy, reduces the environmental impacts of importing food and keeps farmers in business. The growth in farm stands and farmers markets has made Massachusetts #1 nationwide in direct sales per farm to consumers.
PUBLIC SAFETY:
Bond funding will enable the state to clean up and reuse of some of the 6,000 brownfield sites across the state. Cleaning up these sites will reduce public health risks and provide additional business development sites that can help build local economies.
The bond will enable the state to implement watershed assessments as required by the federal Clean Water Act, to determine if they meet water quality standards. Twenty percent of our watersheds have still not been assessed at all and many others have not been fully assessed.
The bond bill would allow dam inspection, repair and removal to avoid problems like the collapse of the Whittenton Dam in Taunton. Climate change impacts such as more intense storms and flooding increase the risks associated with unsafe dams.
PARKS AND ECONOMY:
The bond is critical to begin reducing the $1.7 billion park maintenance backlog, to prevent more buildings, campsites and trails from falling into disrepair, to prevent more seawalls from dissolving into the ocean, and more park bathrooms from closing for lack of upkeep. This has a dramatic affect on our tourist industry as visitors choose whether to return to Massachusetts for their next vacation.
The bond funds vital seasonal work, such as transportation, construction, rehabilitation and other work at our parks, harbor islands and seashores, which can only be done during warm weather. Delaying the passage of the bill costs for this work will rise while the quality and safety of these state assets deteriorates.
GLOBAL WARMING
The bond allows the environmental agencies to prepare for the effects of global warming now, so we can reduce the costs of dealing with climate change impacts such as flooding, pests, pathogens and invasive species that will cause habitat destruction, water quality degradation and other problems.
The bond will allow the state to reduce the cost of dealing with invasive species, which nationally has been estimated as high as $137 billion per year, and is increasing. Economic costs include direct control efforts, lost recreational options and reductions in property values.
More information, including background information on the Environmental Bond Bill and the Coalition for the Environmental Bond can be seen at www.envirobondorg.
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