Coalition for the Environmental Bond

250 Groups Statewide Say "MA Needs an Environmental Bond Bill Now"

March 19, 2008

(Boston) Today the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets held a hearing on the Governor Deval Patrick’s proposed Environmental Bond Bill (H4561). At the hearing representatives from the Coalition for the Environmental Bond, representing more than 250 organizations, businesses, municipal entities, sportsmen’s groups and more addressed the committee.

The message they and dozens of others delivered to the committee was that “Massachusetts needs an Environmental Bond now.”

Jack Clarke, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations for Mass. Audubon and a Coalition spokesperson, said, “We realize the committee’s main question today is about priorities and urgency. 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.”

Bernard McHugh, President & CEO of W.J. Grosvenor Co., a flooring supplies distributor with eight locations in the state, and volunteer coordinator of the MA Land Trust Coalition, cited the importance of environmental bond-funded projects to keeping his employees. “Grosvenor's employees live across the state,” said McHugh. “And they stay here because of the quality of life. They hunt, fish, swim, skate, hike and bike in parks, beaches and conservation land protected by bond funding. They eat fresh local food and drink pure, clean water made possible by the bond. The Environmental Bond needs to pass this session in order to maintain this quality of life.”

Cris Coffin, New England Director of American Farmland Trust said "Rising food and energy prices remind us how important yet finite our supply of farmland is. Unfortunately more than 85% of the state’s farmland is unprotected and at risk of development. Passing the Bond will protect thousands of acres of land for future food production as well as help family farms improve energy efficiency and develop renewable energy projects–saving money and providing new sources of income.”

George Bachrach, President of the Environmental League of Massachusetts said "The longer we delay passing the Environmental Bond bill, the greater the risk, not only to our environment, but to our economy. 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 in July.

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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