BOSTON, Mass.—The Massachusetts House of Representatives today passed bill S.29670, legislation that will codify the state’s commitment to a clean energy grid, advance equity and protect ratepayers. The bill has been sent to Governor Maura Healey’s desk where signing is all but assured.
The 139-page bill is the result of a multi-year process of advocacy, compromise and debate that should speed up the siting and permitting of clean energy sources, while simultaneously accounting for cumulative impacts on environmental justice communities. It also contains numerous other climate measures and energy regulations in support of the Commonwealth’s 2050 net-zero goals.
Below are statements from members of the Massachusetts Environmental Justice Legislative Table (EJ Table).
“The committee chairs drafting this bill heard our concerns about getting the language right on the cumulative impact analysis definition, which is critical for those communities that have long borne the environmental and public health burdens of our energy sector,” said Sofia Owen, a senior attorney and the director of environmental justice legal services at Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE). “We celebrate this victory and know the work doesn’t end here. We look forward to engaging with the Healey administration and Energy and Environmental Affairs Department staff to bring life to the definition.”
“We applaud the renewed action on meeting our climate obligations,” said Rusty Polsgrove, an environmental justice organizer at Arise for Social Justice. “We also recognize that there’s still a lot of work to do to end fossil fuel infrastructure expansion such as the gas pipeline in Springfield.”
“Passing this bill has been an odyssey,” said John Walkey, the director of climate justice and waterfront initiatives at GreenRoots. ”From two years of a legislative cycle to the Governor’s Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting recommendations to numerous rounds of feedback sessions with sector stakeholders, local authorities, environmentalists, community leaders and advocates, there's still the need to ensure the measures get implemented properly. While we recognize that some important changes have been approved, this process was absurdly inefficient and there must be a better way to move these initiatives forward on reasonable timelines.”
“We commend the Massachusetts Legislature for completing the job of getting this important clean energy legislation over the finish line,” said Paula García, a senior energy analyst and the energy justice lead at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). “The bill recognizes the Commonwealth’s need to maintain steady climate progress by building on recent legislation to advance offshore wind targets, protect the most pollution-burdened communities and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
The Massachusetts Environmental Justice Legislative Table is led by Alternatives for Community and Environment, Arise for Social Justice, Coalition for Social Justice, GreenRoots, Groundwork Lawrence, and the North American Indian Center of Boston with allyship from Conservation Law Foundation, Union of Concerned Scientists, Massachusetts Public Health Association, Unitarian Universalist Mass Action, Clean Water Action, Massachusetts Climate Action Network, Environmental League of Massachusetts, Sierra Club Massachusetts, and the Green Energy Consumers Alliance.
Additional Resources:
- Siting for a Cleaner, More Equitable Grid in Massachusetts, a report authored by Union of Concerned Scientists, Alternatives for Community and Environment, Conservation Law Foundation, GreenRoots
- When It Comes to the Cumulative Impacts of Pollution, the Science Is in, a blog post authored by Union of Concerned Scientists