Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H793 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3032 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 793
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Dylan A. Fernandes and Mathew J. Muratore
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act to overcome coastal and environmental acidification and nutrient pollution.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Dylan A. FernandesBarnstable, Dukes and Nantucket1/16/2023Mathew J. Muratore1st Plymouth1/19/2023Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr.12th Hampden1/27/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/27/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex2/6/2023Jon Santiago9th Suffolk2/6/2023Marc R. PachecoThird Bristol and Plymouth2/7/2023Paul McMurtry11th Norfolk2/8/2023Edward R. Philips8th Norfolk2/14/2023David Allen Robertson19th Middlesex2/16/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/18/2023 1 of 7
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3032 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 793
18	18	By Representatives Fernandes of Falmouth and Muratore of Plymouth, a petition (accompanied
19	19	by bill, House, No. 793) of Dylan A. Fernandes, Mathew J. Muratore and others relative to
20	20	coastal and environmental acidification and nutrient pollution. Environment and Natural
21	21	Resources.
22	22	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
23	23	SEE HOUSE, NO. 3835 OF 2021-2022.]
24	24	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
25	25	_______________
26	26	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
27	27	(2023-2024)
28	28	_______________
29	29	An Act to overcome coastal and environmental acidification and nutrient pollution.
30	30	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
31	31	of the same, as follows:
32	32	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 6 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after Section
33	33	215LLLLLL the following section:-
34	34	3 Section 15MMMMMM. The governor shall annually issue a proclamation setting apart
35	35	4the third full week in August as Ocean Acidification Awareness Week and recommending that
36	36	5the day be observed in an appropriate manner by the people, promoting citizen science initiatives
37	37	6and action by the general public not only to preserve the health of the coastline but also to
38	38	7generate valuable scientific data for the commonwealth. 2 of 7
39	39	8 SECTION 2. Section 1 of chapter 21N of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
40	40	9Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Carbon dioxide
41	41	10equivalent” the following 4 definitions:-
42	42	11 “Coastal acidification”, the acidification of coastal waters driven by background ocean
43	43	12acidification, eutrophication, freshwater inputs, atmospheric deposition and any other natural or
44	44	13anthropogenic stressor.
45	45	14 “Coastal stressors”, eutrophication, nutrient pollution, freshwater inputs and atmospheric
46	46	15deposition from the coast acidifying coastal waters.
47	47	16 “Coastal waters”, any waters and associated submerged lands of the ocean, including the
48	48	17seabed and subsoil, lying between the coast and the seaward boundary of the commonwealth, as
49	49	18defined in 43 U.S.C. 1312.
50	50	19 “Coastal watershed”, the Merrimack, Parker, Ipswich, North Coastal, Mystic, Neponset,
51	51	20Charles, South Coastal, Cape Cod, Islands, Buzzards Bay, Taunton and Narragansett watersheds.
52	52	21 SECTION 3. Said section 1 of said chapter 21N, as so appearing, is hereby further
53	53	22amended by inserting after the definition of “Entity” the following definition:-
54	54	23 “Eutrophication”, a condition of coastal or fresh waters having elevated nutrient
55	55	24concentrations.
56	56	25 SECTION 4. Said section 1 of said chapter 21N, as so appearing, is hereby further
57	57	26amended by inserting after the definition of “Nature-based solutions” the following definition:-
58	58	27 “Ocean acidification”, the acidification of the greater Atlantic ocean driven by
59	59	28atmospheric carbon deposition independent of coastal stressors. 3 of 7
60	60	29 SECTION 5. Section 10 of said chapter 21N, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
61	61	30inserting after the word “surge”, in line 9, the following words:- , ocean and coastal acidification.
62	62	31 SECTION 6.. Said chapter 21N is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
63	63	32 Section 12. (a) There shall be an ocean acidification council to consist of 11 members:
64	64	33the secretary of energy and environmental affairs, who shall be the chair; the director of coastal
65	65	34zone management or a designee; the commissioner of environmental protection or a designee;
66	66	35the director of the Massachusetts environmental policy act office or a designee; the director of
67	67	36marine fisheries or a designee, the director of ecological restoration or a designee; the
68	68	37commissioner of agricultural resources or a designee; and 4 public members to be appointed by
69	69	38the governor, 1 of whom shall be a member of a private monitoring organization in the state, 1
70	70	39of whom shall be a member of the state shellfishing industry, 1 of whom shall be a scientist
71	71	40specializing in coastal conservation and 1 of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts
72	72	41Municipal Association, Inc.
73	73	42 (b) The council shall: (i) work to further understand and take action against the threat
74	74	43posed by ocean and coastal acidification; (ii) engage with and, to the extent practicable,
75	75	44coordinate public and private monitoring efforts; (iii) harmonize data gathering; (iv) provide
76	76	45monitoring hardware and technical training; (v) maintain a central repository for acidification
77	77	46data; and (vi) recommend mitigative interventions for coastal stressors or adaptive technologies
78	78	47for aquaculture, prioritizing nature-based solutions to manage stormwater and reduce nutrient
79	79	48pollution. The council may direct monies from the Ocean Acidification Fund established in
80	80	49section 2PPPPPP of chapter 29 to target existing programs and novel approaches to restore and
81	81	50buffer marine habitats and resources impacted by acidification. 4 of 7
82	82	51 (c) Within 1 year of the council’s formation, the council shall perform and publish a gap
83	83	52analysis for ocean monitoring with recommended measures for creating an appropriate spatial
84	84	53and temporal resolution to model ocean acidification in coastal waters and project acidification
85	85	54trends. The council shall convene a public workshop with local ocean monitoring groups to
86	86	55ascertain monitoring needs and inform the analysis, and hold 2 public hearings. The analysis
87	87	56shall identify appropriate monitoring technologies and select coastal waters where ocean
88	88	57acidification monitoring equipment shall be placed. The ocean acidification monitoring system
89	89	58shall enable modeling for long term pH changes in coastal waters and permit short-term
90	90	59monitoring of aragonite saturation in variable and sensitive coastal waters to protect critical
91	91	60habitat and shellfish.
92	92	61 (d) The council shall coordinate implementation of the ocean acidification monitoring
93	93	62system, implementing the system within 3 years of the effective date of this section. The council
94	94	63shall ensure that data derived from the monitoring system is publicly accessible in a standardized
95	95	64format useful for public and private research.
96	96	65 (e) The council may commission independent studies and agency reports to fill
97	97	66acidification knowledge gaps. The council shall commission the studies and reports as soon as
98	98	67practicable, beginning at a later date if dependent on data derived from the ocean acidification
99	99	68monitoring system described in subsection (d). The council shall avoid duplicating regional
100	100	69efforts, incorporating best available science with data from the ocean acidification monitoring
101	101	70system established in subsection (d) and data from local and private monitoring efforts where
102	102	71available. These efforts shall include, but shall not be limited to: 5 of 7
103	103	72 (i) modeling ocean and coastal acidification trends in coastal waters and project
104	104	73acidification trends;
105	105	74 (ii) studying the effects of acidification on marine species that are ecologically or
106	106	75economically important or understudied. The study shall examine the impact of multimodal
107	107	76stress and shall include, at minimum, a study of acidification effects on the American lobster,
108	108	77Eastern oyster, sea scallops, quahogs and fin fish;
109	109	78 (iii) clarifying the causal relationship between nutrient pollution, eutrophication and
110	110	79coastal acidification in coastal waters;
111	111	80 (iv) determining how different coastal stressors contribute to coastal acidification;
112	112	81 (v) estimating the economic impacts of modeled and projected acidification on the
113	113	82commonwealth’s economy;
114	114	83 (vi) determining if current total maximum daily loads under the Massachusetts estuaries
115	115	84project are sufficient to keep acidity in Massachusetts embayments within the ranges required by
116	116	85314 CMR 4.05 through 2050 and proposing changes to 314 CMR §§ 4 and 5 and total maximum
117	117	86daily loads if needed, taking into account ocean and coastal acidification as particularized
118	118	87stressors;
119	119	88 (vii) performing cost-benefit analyses of intervention strategies to determine where
120	120	89pollution reductions will most efficiently resilience acidification; and
121	121	90 (viii) developing best adaptive practices for the shellfishing industry to use to adapt to
122	122	91acidification. 6 of 7
123	123	92 (f) If the council determines that eutrophication has more than a de minimis impact on
124	124	93coastal acidification in any given embayment or coastal zone, the council may implement
125	125	94necessary improvements in the most efficient manner to reduce eutrophication. The council may
126	126	95target funds from the Ocean Acidification Fund established in section 2PPPPPP of chapter 29 to
127	127	96existing state programs or proposed municipal projects for the purposes of:
128	128	97 (i) financing necessary upgrades to publicly owned treatment works located in coastal
129	129	98watersheds to achieve enhanced nutrient removal;
130	130	99 (ii) replacing septic systems in nutrient sensitive coastal watersheds with connections to
131	131	100new or existing publicly owned treatment works, or upgrading existing systems to nitrogen-
132	132	101reducing systems; and
133	133	102 (iii) implementing other appropriate measures, including but not limited to installing
134	134	103permeable reactive barriers and funding salt marsh restoration.
135	135	104 SECTION 7. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
136	136	105section 2OOOOOO, as inserted by section 13 of chapter 358 of the acts of 2020, the following
137	137	106section:-
138	138	107 Section 2PPPPPP. (a) There shall be established and set upon the books of the
139	139	108commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Ocean Acidification Fund. The ocean
140	140	109acidification council shall administer the fund. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the
141	141	110contrary, there shall be credited to the fund any revenue subject to appropriations or other money
142	142	111authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund and any
143	143	112gifts, grants, private contributions, investment income earned by the fund's assets and any
144	144	113designated funds from other sources. No expenditures from the fund shall cause the fund to be in 7 of 7
145	145	114deficiency at the close of the fiscal year. Any money in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall
146	146	115not revert to the General Fund, shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent year and shall
147	147	116not be subject to section 5C.
148	148	117 (b) Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, without further appropriation, for the
149	149	118purposes of restoring and buffering marine habitats and resources impacted by acidification and
150	150	119financing infrastructure improvements to reduce eutrophication as provided in section 12 of
151	151	120chapter 21N.
152	152	121 SECTION 8. Section 61 of chapter 30 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
153	153	122Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “rise”, in line 16, the following
154	154	123words:- and coastal ocean acidification.