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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3054 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 792
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Dylan A. Fernandes and Julian Cyr
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act establishing the Blue Communities Program.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Dylan A. FernandesBarnstable, Dukes and Nantucket1/17/2023Julian CyrCape and Islands1/27/2023Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr.12th Hampden1/27/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/27/2023Marc R. PachecoThird Bristol and Plymouth2/3/2023Josh S. Cutler6th Plymouth2/3/2023Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester2/3/2023Jon Santiago9th Suffolk2/6/2023Paul McMurtry11th Norfolk2/8/2023Mathew J. Muratore1st Plymouth2/16/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester3/4/2023 1 of 6
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3054 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 792
By Representative Fernandes of Falmouth and Senator Cyr, a joint petition (accompanied by bill,
House, No. 792) of Dylan A. Fernandes, Julian Cyr and others for legislation to establish a blue
communities program to incentivize local action to reduce nutrient pollution and ocean
acidification. Environment and Natural Resources.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 4102 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act establishing the Blue Communities Program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 6 of chapter 64H of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (p) and inserting in place thereof
3the following subsection:-
4 (p) (1) Sales of livestock and poultry of a kind which ordinarily constitute food for
5human consumption; (2) sales of feed, including the bags in which the feed is customarily
6contained, for livestock and poultry of a kind which ordinarily constitute food for human
7consumption or are to be sold in the regular course of business or for animals produced for
8research, testing, or other purposes relating to the promotion or maintenance of the health, safety
9or well being of human beings or animals or for fur-bearing animals, the pelts of which are sold 2 of 6
10in the regular course of business; and (3) sales of plants, including parts of plants, suitable for
11planting to produce food for human consumption or when such plants, including parts thereof or
12the produce thereof, are to be sold in the regular course of business, including such items as seed
13potatoes, onion sets, asparagus roots, berry plants or bushes, and fruit trees.
14 SECTION 2.
15 (a) Section 1 of chapter 21N of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official
16Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Carbon dioxide equivalent” the
17following definition:-
18 “Coastal waters”, any waters and associated submerged lands of the ocean, including the
19seabed and subsoil, lying between the coast and the seaward boundary of the commonwealth, as
20defined in 43 U.S.C. § 1312
21 (b) Said section 1 of chapter 21N of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further
22amended by inserting after the definition of “Entity” the following definition:-
23 “Eutrophication”, a condition of coastal or freshwaters of having elevated nutrient
24concentrations
25 (c) Said section 1 of chapter 21N of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further
26amended by inserting after the definition of “Nature-based solutions” the following three
27definitions:-
28 “Nutrient dense”, the label which the executive office shall give to fertilizers and liquids
29that have levels of Nitrogen and Phosphorous the executive office deems too great to be
30advisable 3 of 6
31 “Nutrient pollution”, excess amounts of nutrients which can lead to eutrophication
32 “Ocean acidification”, the decrease of pH levels in the ocean driven by an increase in
33carbon dioxide dissolved in the water
34 (d) Said section 1 of chapter 21N of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further
35amended by inserting after the definition of “Vulnerability assessment” the following definition:-
36 “Watershed”, any defined land area drained by a river or stream, karst system, or system
37of connecting rivers or streams such that all surface water within the area flows through a single
38outlet
39 SECTION 3. Chapter 21N of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official
40Edition, is hereby amended by adding, after section 11, the following section:-
41 Section 12: The establishment of a blue communities program
42 (a)The executive office shall establish a blue communities program to incentivize
43local action to reduce nutrient pollution and ocean acidification in the ocean, coastal waters,
44fresh waters, and watersheds. The program shall provide technical and financial assistance, in the
45form of grants and loans, to municipalities and other local governmental bodies that qualify as
46blue communities under this section.
47 (b)The executive office may delegate certain initiatives within the blue communities
48program to certain executive departments, divisions, or offices, including but not limited to, the
49department of environmental protection, the division of ecological restoration, the division of
50marine fisheries, and the office of coastal zone management. The executive office may also
51integrate certain initiatives within the blue communities program with already existing programs, 4 of 6
52including but not limited to, the green communities division, the municipal vulnerability
53preparedness grant program, and municipal recycling programs.
54 (c)To qualify as a blue community, a municipality or other local governmental body
55shall:
56 (1)file an application in a form and manner to be prescribed by the executive office;
57 (2)adopt five of the following nine initiatives:
58 (i)a liquid hazardous waste program which advertises detergents, cleaning products,
59and other hazardous or nutrient-dense liquids that cannot safely be thrown away, flushed, or
60poured down drains and annually collects and properly disposes of such liquids;
61 (ii)the model groundwater protection regulation proposed by the department of
62environmental protection or a similar impervious surface zoning bylaw that limits the total area
63of land covered by impervious surfaces to reduce runoff, particularly in areas closest to coastal
64waters;
65 (iii)a rain barrel program which incentivizes and coordinates the implementation of
66residential rain barrels to collect rainwater and prevent excess runoff;
67 (iv)a shell collection system for local businesses to return carbonate-containing shells
68to the ocean;
69 (v)a shellfish or seaweed regenerative ocean farming operation or shellfish or
70seaweed restoration project approved by the executive office; 5 of 6
71 (vi)a water quality monitoring system that must include, but is not limited to,
72monitoring levels of pH, phosphorus, and nitrogen;
73 (vii)a plan to eliminate municipal owned sanitary sewer or combined sewer overflows;
74 (viii)a fertilizer bylaw and lawns program that restricts fertilizer use on grass, educates
75the public and business-owners on proper lawn care to minimize adverse impacts to coastal
76waters, and provides contact information for certified professionals to assist in the
77implementation of these goals; and
78 (ix)a stormwater utility program to fund upgrades to stormwater infrastructure.
79 (3)develop a blue community plan that (a) prioritizes implementation in
80environmental justice communities and (b) outlines specific metrics for each implemented
81initiative, to be determined by the executive office; and
82 (4)report the expenditures and results of their blue community plan to the executive
83office and to the joint committee on environment, natural resources, and agriculture every two
84years from the date the application is approved by the executive office.
85 (d)The executive office shall establish a fund to be known as the Blue Communities
86Fund, which shall be used to finance this program and all or a portion of the costs of studying,
87designing, constructing, and implementing ocean acidification mitigation programs. The
88executive office may integrate this fund with the Global Warming Solutions Trust Fund
89established in section 3 of chapter 209 of the acts of 2018. Funds shall be appropriated annually
90by the state and include, among other sources, monies obtained from:
91 (1)offshore wind contributions; 6 of 6
92 (2)cap-and-invest programs within the commonwealth;
93 (3)sales tax on fertilizers; and
94 (4)other sources of revenue related to carbon reduction, the fishing industry,
95environmental protection and mitigation and ocean acidification.
96 (e)The executive office shall be responsible for the administration and oversight of
97the blue communities program, including by:
98 (1)adopting rules, regulations and guidelines for the administration and enforcement
99of this section, including, but not limited to, establishing applicant criteria, detailing operations
100and requirements of the programs in section (b), funding priority, and application forms and
101procedures;
102 (2)adopting a structure for communities to receive funding that gives greater
103amounts of funding to communities that adopt a greater number of initiatives; and
104 (3)submitting an annual report by September 1 to the clerks of the senate and the
105house of representatives detailing expenditures and results relative to the blue communities
106program.