Environmental bond bill moves to Senate Ways and Means

Gov. Maura Healey’s $3 billion environmental bond bill, known as the Mass Ready Act, moved to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means in late January.

The bill includes authorizations for key climate, resilience and environmental priorities, including strengthening infrastructure, investing in farms and local economies, protecting water and the environment, reforming permitting for housing and environmental initiatives, and supporting the western and central regions of the state.

The bill, filed last June, has been reported favorably by the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets.

The bill includes the following authorizations of interest to cities and towns:
• $315 million for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program, along with programmatic changes that would expand the list of eligible applicants, allow nonprofit organizations to apply for and hold grant funds, and expand the scope of funds to allow municipalities and others to appoint and retain sustainability and climate coordinators
• $308 million to tackle high-risk dams, address inland flood control systems, and improve coastal and marine infrastructure to advance the state’s hazard mitigation and climate change adaptation plans
• $120 million to address PFAS contamination of public water supplies, private wells, and disposal sites
• $93.5 million to help manage municipal and publicly owned dams, and to further support inland flood control infrastructure and nature-based solutions
• $28.1 million to assess solid waste facilities and to support composting, recycling and waste reduction programs
• $30 million for forestry and tree planting programs

The bill would create a new Resilience Revolving Fund, within the Clean Water Trust, to provide low-interest loans to cities and towns, as well as water and wastewater utilities, for climate-resilient infrastructure projects. Eligible projects could include stormwater management, floodplain protection, and nature-based solutions.

The MMA recently submitted a letter on the bill to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means articulating municipal priorities and concerns.