The Green Budget is an array of proposed additions to current environmental spending that seek to rectify the state’s "Environmental Deficit" -- the cumulative shortfall in the environmental operating budget from FY89-00. This year the Green Budget recommends an additional $20.1 million for environmental programs, a 9.6% increase over FY2000 funding for the environmental agencies. Our goal is a budget that will allow the state to fulfill its responsibilities and realize the promise of the many excellent laws and programs the legislature has created.

Last year, the Environmental League of Massachusetts (ELM) compared spending for state environmental programs with all other state spending from FY89-99. This analysis revealed that environmental programs were not funded as well as the average state programs. Had the environmental budget simply increased at the same rate as the budget for the average state program for this period, an additional $266 million would have been spent on a range of programs from hazardous waste site cleanups to state parks to recycling. Despite widespread popular concern about the environment, the state spent less than one cent out of every dollar for environmental programs during this time.

Environmental spending has not only suffered by comparison to other state programs, it has not even kept up with inflation. ELM’s analysis also found that despite many new environmental initiatives over the last decade -- including major new legislation on toxics, hazardous waste, watershed protection, rivers, and open space -- the state environmental budgets had lost more than $89 million in purchasing power over the ten years since FY89.

ELM offers the following budget proposal to assist the legislature in preparing the operating budget for FY2001. This Green Budget assumes that all ongoing programs funded in FY2000 will again be funded at current levels, adjusted for inflation, in FY2001. Only new programs or program expansions, therefore, are included here. In total, the Green Budget would add less than 1/10 of 1% to the state budget as a whole, but would go a long way in protecting our air, land, and water.

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Green Budget 2001 was compiled with input from members of the Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative, state legislators and legislative staff and environmental agencies. ELM would like to thank them for their assistance.

Massachusetts’s coastal resources have tremendous economic value – coastal tourists spend $1.5 billion each year and the fish and shellfish industries bring in many millions more. These important sources of revenue are dependent upon a healthy, unpolluted coastal ecosystem. Despite the massive expenditure of $3.4 billion to clean up Boston Harbor, there are still serious pollution problems resulting from stormwater runoff and raw sewage overflows into coastal waters throughout the Commonwealth. In Massachusetts, approximately 23 million gallons of untreated or partially treated sewage are discharged with each heavy rainfall. This amounts to approximately 1.1 billion gallons discharged annually. In 1999, 263,000 acres of shellfish beds in Massachusetts were closed for at least part of the year and in 1998 (most recent year data is available), 177 beaches were at least temporarily closed because of contaminated water. The bottom line is that our coast is too valuable to have its resources closed.

A critical part of ensuring pristine, productive coastal resources is coastal pollution monitoring. Monitoring allows us to detect and determine the sources of pollution in particular areas and can be cost-effective as an early-warning system for small pollution problems before they become big pollution problems. Because of a lack of funding, Coastal Zone Management (CZM) has been unable to implement the Marine Monitoring Plan created in 1996. Proposed FY2001 budget for coordinated coastal pollution monitoring:

• Citizen's Coastal Monitoring Grants: To support volunteer coastal monitoring efforts……………………………………………………………………..…………..$70,000
• Coastal Data Collection, Coordination & Management: To survey and coordinate all current marine monitoring efforts in Massachusetts; to set standards for coastal monitoring, protocol and analysis, to train monitoring groups, and create a state database of data collected by local, state and federal agencies, volunteer groups, and universities……………………….$200,000
• Embayment Monitoring: Components of this work will include resource mapping, embayment flushing studies, and coastal river flow gauging and information dissemination…..…$550,000

• Long term Monitoring: Long-term reference sites are necessary for managers and the public to develop a historical perspective on the health of our coastal waters. This initiative would complement the shorter-time, site specific embayment monitoring described above…$250,000
• Special Studies: This funding would be used to build on information collected through regular monitoring, to verify models, explore new indicators of ecosystem health or impairment, and will provide a flexible mechanism for addressing timely issues as they arise…………….…150,000

• Outreach Support: To provide technical assistance to communities through the Regional Planning Agencies ………………………………….………………………………....$75,000
• Administration: For program coordinator, support staff, and technical training……...$205,000

Total for Proposed

Thirteen million people visit Massachusetts’ state parks every year. For an investment of just 15 cents per visitor, this proposal ensures that visitors to our state parks will be safe and enjoy a quality experience. The wonderful system of state parks in Massachusetts is a resource that we cannot afford to ignore. Visitor satisfaction is key to return visits.

To meet visitor expectations for safety, educational opportunities, sanitation, and other important park services, new standards of customer service and care are necessary. Adequate seasonal staff is a critical component of achieving an exceptional state park system. Seasonal staff work in our state parks during those months when the number of visitors place great demands on our facilities. Particularly with the ability for visitors to now reserve park facilities using the internet as well as the call center, many campgrounds are at 100% capacity during peak seasons. DEM handled 40,000 reservations last year. A $1.5 million increase for seasonal staff would help achieve new standards of service and safety in the following areas:

• Public safety standards for campgrounds and beaches
• Maintenance standards for park facilities
• Adequate compensation standards for lifeguards and maintenance staff

To effectively manage our state parks in a way that balances public uses with resource protection, it is incumbent upon DEM to identify key natural resources and develop guidelines for the appropriate types and level of use for each facility. Some areas of parks are best suited for passive recreation, other areas lend themselves to more intensive use by a variety of outdoor enthusiasts. No "one size fits all approach" can work because each of our parks is a unique entity that encompasses a wide array of natural habitats and species along with an assortment of recreational resources.

This funding would enable DEM to develop resource management strategies for some of our most widely used parks including Walden Pond, Scusset Beach, the Hopkinton-Ashland-Whitehall property and for a statewide ridge and summit management plan.

DEM"s Gold Medal Initiative is an effort to develop the agency’s first ever strategic vision and plan. DEM will use the established standards of a national state park management award program to guide this process. This effort will produce lasting results that will benefit the Commonwealth for years to come. Outcomes of this work will include prioritization of DEM activities, a timeline for achieving success, and greatly enhanced service delivery, resource protection, and citizen involvement and education.

The state’s forest and park system consists of approximately 285,000 acres scattered across the Commonwealth in tracts ranging from several acres to 16,000 acres. These forests produce oxygen, sequester carbon, bind the soil, produce clear drinking water, supply habitat for wildlife and offer beautiful places for Massachusetts residents and visitors to pursue a wide range of recreational activities. Our forests and parks are an integral part of maintaining a healthy environment and a high quality of life.

Our state forests and parks continue to be woefully understaffed. The Forest Bureau does not have GIS capabilities -- a sophisticated mapping system that is widely employed by watershed organizations, consulting firms, environmental groups and municipalities – that should be a standard tool in any forest management program. Lack of staff means the Bureau is unable to effectively use existing data or to collect new data that would lead to better management of our state forests. This funding would substantially enhance the Bureau’s capacity to employ ecosystem management of our forests by increasing the staff level by 17 critically needed professional foresters. Our state forests are a resource that we cannot afford to squander. They are a fundamental element of our landscape and environment and we need to care for and manage them to the best of our ability.

Public shade trees benefit all residents of the Commonwealth in all sizes and types of communities. They add to the livability, vitality, environmental quality and beauty of communities. And, it is relatively inexpensive to plant and maintain trees. Unlike most capital investments, trees grow more valuable with time. Over the last twenty years, the decline in health of public shade trees has been measurable and visible to the point that today more than four trees are being removed for each one planted along our public ways. Requests from communities for assistance for tree planting alone is between $300,000-$450,000. Liability issues and lawsuits related to the hazardous condition of public trees have led to tree removal, rather than relatively inexpensive treatment. There is little coordination in the planting, protection and care of trees between the many agencies that manage public land, resulting in the loss of thousands of newly planted trees, paid for with state and federal resources.

This program is aimed at using a watershed approach to protect and enhance the ecological and recreational values of Massachusetts's lakes and ponds. The majority of these funds would go to cities and towns in the form of grants for much needed technical assistance. Specifically, the program would establish the following program components:

• Assessment of pollution and degradation including monitoring, testing, development of diagnostic and feasibility studies, and development of lake/watershed management plans for remediation.
• Implementation of pollution mitigation and lake restoration plans.
• Exotics Monitoring: DEM needs to be able to detect infestations of non-native invasive species (exotics) before they have a chance to spread to other water bodies or further affect lakes and waterways where they occur. Under this program, DEM staff would monitor aquatic vegetation in cooperation with watershed teams, lake and pond associations, and state universities. Data collected would be kept in a statewide data base and used to prioritize grant allocations and to develop GIS data maps for public education, planning and prevention efforts on a watershed basis.

• Exotics Control: Once infestations have been identified, remediation would be applied through a special matching grant program and/or a pilot research project within the existing DEM Lakes and Ponds Program.

• Prevention/Public Education: The program would target public education to lake users, lakefront property owners and lake/watershed associations. DEM would hold regional and statewide training workshops, develop educational publications and distribute information at boat access sites about pollution prevention practices and exotics control.

The Commonwealth still does not have a statewide comprehensive system to monitor and measure water quality. Over the last five years, Massachusetts has been able to assess only 20% of our waters. Significant changes and improvements need to be made in the Commonwealth’s water quality monitoring and assessment programs in order to: (1) fully implement the state’s Watershed Initiative; (2) properly assess water quality problems resulting from non-point (stormwater runoff, agricultural runoff) as well as point sources; (3) measure environmental improvements; and (4) meet commitments under the federal Clean Water Act. Failure to comply with federal requirements could result in the Commonwealth losing millions of dollars in federal funding, losing regulatory authority, and being sued for failure to comply. Funding for this program would be used for monitoring of the Deerfield, Millers, Shawsheen, Ipswich, Buzzards Bay and Islands watersheds, environmental assessment work in the French & Quinebaug, Merrimack, Parker, Boston Harbor, Narragansett & Mount Hope Bay and Cape Cod watersheds and total maximum daily load (TMDL) evaluation and development as required under the Clean Water Act.

At a time when DEP’s responsibilities have increased considerably, staffing has not increased at the same rate and, in fact, has decreased significantly. Between FY93 and FY00, DEP professional wetlands staff declined by 26% and the workload went up by 45%. Without sufficient numbers of staff, DEP cannot adequately perform its duties, both in terms of providing technical assistance and managing its case loads in the regions and enforcing regulations as necessary. This funding will restore staff to FY93 levels and enable DEP to 1) assist volunteer conservation commissions with implementation of the Wetlands Protection Act; 2) improve relationships with the business community through more timely decisionmaking and consistent enforcement efforts; and 3) participate fully on Watershed Basin Teams.

Local boards and commissions are increasingly responsible for implementing and enforcing environmental regulations and mandates. As this level of responsibility has increased over time, local boards and commissions have found it difficult to stay current with technical issues, case law and new regulations and policies. This program will increase the capacity of local boards to: (1) responsibly manage their watershed resources; (2) run local facilities and programs in an environmentally-sensitive manner; (3) make environmentally sound permitting and regulatory decisions; and (4) improve environmental services for citizens and businesses at the local level. Specifically, funding will be used to train and provide technical assistance to local officials so they can properly fulfill their duties.

Over the last several years, DEP has run several pilot projects designed to test models for providing technical assistance to local boards. Most recently, DEP hired a full complement of "circuit riders" to provide assistance to local volunteer conservation commissions in implementing the Rivers Protection Act. The circuit riders have provided direct assistance to over 150 cities and towns. Funding for the current circuit rider program ($500,000) needs to be continued and increased to provide similar assistance to other local land use and public health boards that are responsible for implementing state environmental laws and regulations. For years, many local boards have been requesting technical assistance to help them make decisions and develop policies that effectively protect their natural resources and quality of life.

An expanded circuit rider program would include the following new staff in each regional DEP office:

• 1 staff person to assist Boards of Health with Title V implementation
• 1 staff person to assist Planning Boards and Public Works Departments with stormwater and wastewater management
• 1 staff person to assist local water suppliers in complying with state and federal safe drinking water requirements
• 2 staff people in Boston to oversee the program

While internet entrepreneurs are developing new businesses in Massachusetts at an amazing rate, the state continues to lag woefully behind in its use of the internet and its own data to serve its constituencies. This initiative will give citizens greater access to information about the environmental performance of industries in their communities, save businesses and municipalities time and dollars, and will result in environmental benefits for all taxpayers. Funding for this program would enable online access to:

• Current local, regional and statewide environmental quality data
• Latest information on innovative and alternative technologies
• DEP’s regulations, policies, and guidance documents

It would allow for online:

• Payment of fees
• Submission of applications
• Electronic reporting
• Status checks of grant and permit applications, report submissions, enforcement actions and administrative appeals.

As concerns continue to grow regarding the cumulative health effects of environmental emissions and conditions in certain overburdened areas, there is a real need to improve DEP’s technical ability to analyze and assess these concerns. These funds will enable DEP to develop better analytical tools and models needed to properly evaluate cumulative impacts on people and communities. Monies will be used for pilot projects designed to gather and analyze the environmental data necessary to understand the scope and complexity of this issue.

Air pollution causes many serious problems for people and natural resources in Massachusetts. Acid rain degrades water quality and harms fish, other aquatic species, trees and soil. Mercury is contaminating fish that, if ingested, can cause damage to the nervous system, particularly in children and fetuses. Smog causes acute respiratory problems, aggravates asthma, impairs the body’s immune system and interferes with the ability of all plants to produce and store food.

Increased funding for these programs would enable DEP staff to significantly strengthen efforts to address serious air quality concerns and to meet federal Clean Air Act requirements. Funds would be used to implement the Acid Rain Action Plan and the Mercury Action Plan and for programs that have been designed to reduce ozone (smog) formation and reduce the amount of particles in the air that are dangerous to breathe. In addition, funds would support programs to reduce the amount of pollution flowing into Massachusetts from out of state.

The purpose of the Beaches Bill is to protect public safety and improve environmental quality by requiring uniform criteria and procedures for testing, monitoring, and posting of coastal recreation waters at public beaches. These funds will assist cities and towns in meeting the requirements of the bill and may be used for training, equipment purchase, lab analysis of water samples, and data management.

Cities and towns rarely have the expertise to comment on proposed cleanups of hazardous waste sites. Communities have little or no understanding of issues such as risk evaluation, what type of information to request, how to obtain and review reports, and how the results of a cleanup compare to regulatory requirements. Furthermore, there is little funding available to contract for such expertise. This line item would be used to increase funding for the grant program so more communities can obtain this assistance.

• Urban Rivers Neighborhood Initiative: This program seeks to revitalize downtown river areas throughout the Commonwealth. Funding will enable communities to receive technical assistance and grants that will support them as they seek to reclaim green spaces along rivers. Along with the brownfields legislation passed in 1998, this program will help communities that have been in decline to begin to flourish again. The Urban Rivers Program has successfully helped community groups in many greater Boston urban neighborhoods with park planning, permit reviews, and education and outreach to residents… …………………………………………………………………$150,000

• River Restore: This program, launched last year, is a statewide effort in partnership with federal agencies as well as municipalities and private organizations, to restore natural river flows and improve aquatic habitat through removal of dams and other means. By improving river flows and habitat, the commonwealth will realize enhanced fish populations and health. Two pilot projects are underway on the Housatonic River in Dalton and Town Brook in Plymouth………………$112,647

• Watershed Ecology Technical Assistance: When communities are planning for their future growth, it is necessary to identify those special natural areas that should be protected and those areas that are suitable for new development. A watershed ecologist will assist communities with information on habitat identification and protection and will serve as a consultant for Massachusetts Watershed Initiative projects. Without this funding, DFWELE will not be able to meet the requests for assistance from communities………………………………………………………………...$60,000

This funding would expand current efforts to restore anadromous fisheries in the Commonwealth. Funds would cover three additional fisheries biologists, one fisheries technician and necessary equipment. Program responsibilities include fishway construction, maintenance and replacement and fish stocking. Massachusetts’ ongoing program to create and enhance our river herring populations has had a long history of success and been used as a model for restoration programs in other states. Only through increases in staffing can DFWELE meet the demand for services to improve fishways, address impacts of salmon restoration on tourism, integrate fisheries work into the Massachusetts Watershed Initiative and effectively restore anadromous fish to our rivers.

Massachusetts is home to a broad array of plants and animals, natural communities, and ecosystems. Two years ago, the state Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program published a comprehensive report called "Our Irreplaceable Heritage" which documents the ecological wealth of Massachusetts and threats to it, and divides the state into 13 "ecoregions" characterized by distinctive ecological features e.g., Berkshire Highlands and Connecticut River Valley. This funding will enable the Program to implement the report’s recommendations to improve biodiversity conservation and protect threatened and endangered species in the commonwealth. Actions would include: 1) more comprehensive and systematic ecoregion-based inventories and analyses of biodiversity on existing open space lands; 2) working with all state conservation agencies and conservation organizations to focus land acquisition to protect priority habitats for rare species and uncommon or threatened communities; and 3) tracking the rate and type of land use change by ecoregion to determine the degree to which biodiversity is threatened by development. The three ecoregions with the largest diversity of rare species and threatened natural communities are Cape Cod and the Islands, Connecticut River Valley and New England Marble Valleys (includes the Housatonic and Hoosic Valleys).

The Environmental Police are responsible for enforcing environmental laws and play a critical role in ensuring public safety. Understaffing within the Environmental Police force has been a perennial problem and severely hampers their efforts to protect both citizens and our natural resources. These vacancies mean the state is ill-equipped to protect against midnight dumping, vandalism in parks, or harvesting of contaminated shellfish.

The Division of Law Enforcement, through its inland officers, coastal officers and marine patrol vessels, enforces all environmental laws, rules and regulations relating to hunting, commercial and recreational fishing, shellfishing, boating, wetlands protection, hazardous waste and illegal dumping. The staffing shortfall is of particular concern for coastal communities as much of the Division’s work is multiplied in coastal communities due to its boating and fishing related responsibilities. The Division is responsible for the registration and licensing of approximately 140,000 boats and 25,000 recreational vehicles in the Commonwealth. The Division also provides education programs in hunter safety, boater safety, recreational vehicle safety and outdoor ethics and survival.

Funds received from registration and titling efforts are returned to the Division, thereby reducing total reliance on the General Fund. Despite this revenue source, it is not sufficient for financing the full need of the Division. The requested funding will enable the Division to fill 25 vacancies.

The Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) manages and operates over 14,000 acres of reservations, 84 miles of waterways, 33 miles of beach or ocean front, 3 harbor islands, and almost 5,000 acres of recreational parks and open spaces. The Commission contains a number of nationally significant sites and many of its facilities are either individually on the National Historic Register of Historic Places or they are included as part of a historic district. The MDC also operates 22 indoor ice rinks, 18 outdoor swimming pools, two golf courses, 50 regional athletic fields and over 70 tennis, handball, and basketball courts.

During a period of growth in the park system not seen since its initial acquisitions during the 1890s, the parks operating budget declined 31% from 1988 to 1995, and full time staffing declined 38%. Based on the Management Review commissioned by EOEA, MDC parks are currently understaffed by 47 positions. Concerns in this time of understaffing include: 1) slow response to complaints; 2) unclearly marked park lands; 3) poor preventative maintenance; and 4) security and anti-social behavior in the parks. The $2 million would allow the state to hire 47 full-time parks staff and to commit an additional $600,000 to park maintenance.

The Metropolitan Park System presents a great opportunity not only to enhance public appreciation of parks and the varied experiences they offer, but to teach about the region's ecosystem and history and the need to preserve its natural and cultural resources. The parks can be living laboratories that involve countless students and citizens. The fact that the MDC's cultural and recreational facilities attract so many is an opportunity that should not be missed.

One of the most fundamental constraints in expanding the educational potential of the park system is insufficient agency staff. Schools and other outside sources can contribute greatly to the resource and staffing needs of educational programs. However, the fundamental starting point is the limited availability of MDC's own rangers, who must act as hosts, interpreters, guides, managers, and promoters of education activities.

Given the breadth of programs and activities, MDC ranger positions involves year-round obligations. Yet, only 65 full-time rangers work in the park system today. These additional funds would finance the hiring of 10 additional rangers, two of whom would be specifically designated for the Boston Harbor Islands, an increasingly popular destination for school, youth, and community groups.

One of the most effective developments in park management has been the integration of private and non-profit activities with the day-to-day publicly funded management programs. In a well functioning park system volunteer efforts range from one day clean-ups to year-long "adopt-a-park" programs; from tree pruning to garden maintenance. These activities serve to create a better park system for all while increasing local pride in any given park and leveraging tight park budgets.

Professional coordination can increase the number of volunteers and help volunteer programs to reach their full potential. A small office for volunteer programs is proposed to provide consistent long-term coordination and outreach and to direct volunteer efforts to the areas where they are most needed. This will assure good will between the agency and the public and will maximize the results of the thousands of hours of volunteer labor and community service.

The purpose of this program is to assist Massachusetts farmers by creating a demand for Massachusetts produce and other agricultural products. This program would heighten consumer awareness about locally grown products, enhance partnerships with industry commodity groups and supermarkets, and provide matching grants to agricultural organizations to assist in their promotional efforts.

The "Garden in Every School" project is a new initiative modeled on a very successful program in California. It offers small grants to urban public schools that incorporate a gardening/nature component into science classes and initiate hands-on garden projects. A DFA staff member will partner with each school to involve teachers and students in garden planning and provide curriculum resources. DFA will enlist nursery owners, farmers and horticulturists throughout the state to visit schools and share ideas and resources, and will seek soil testing and preparation assistance from UMASS/Amherst. DFA has found that public school teachers are eager to expose their students to agriculture. The Gardens Project would augment this exposure and act as a springboard for teaching urban children about science, health, nutrition, and the environment.

FY2000 Increase

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a promising set of methods for controlling pests with the limited use of dangerous chemicals. DFA currently receives under $300,000 annually for IPM, the bulk of which is used to fund research and demonstration projects through the University of Massachusetts. These projects have been very successful in agriculture and turf settings in both enhancing the effectiveness of pest control programs and reducing the use of pesticides.

As recommended by a committee convened by UMass and consisting of industrial, agricultural, and environmental consultants, there is currently a strong need to implement an IPM program in and around buildings because human exposure to pesticides is greatest in these settings. This initiative will help educate the general public on low risk techniques for managing pests in and around the places where citizens work, live, and play. Furthermore, the Pesticide Board has directed DFA to promulgate regulations requiring IPM in all public schools. Additional funds are needed to safely and effectively implement these directives.