Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S467 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 435 FILED ON: 1/15/2023
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 467
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Julian Cyr
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 :Julian CyrCape and IslandsAngelo J. Puppolo, Jr.12th Hampden2/7/2023Marc R. PachecoThird Bristol and Plymouth2/7/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex2/7/2023Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester2/7/2023Mathew J. Muratore1st Plymouth2/22/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester3/7/2023 1 of 6
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 435 FILED ON: 1/15/2023
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 467
18	18	By Mr. Cyr, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 467) of Julian Cyr, Angelo J. Puppolo,
19	19	Jr., Marc R. Pacheco, Jack Patrick Lewis and other members of the General Court for legislation
20	20	to overcome coastal and environmental acidification and nutrient pollution. Environment and
21	21	Natural Resources.
22	22	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
23	23	SEE HOUSE, NO. 4596 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 adding after Section
33	33	215IIIIII the following section:-
34	34	3 Section 15JJJJJJ. The governor shall annually issue a proclamation setting apart the third
35	35	4full week in August as Ocean Acidification Awareness Week and recommending that the day be
36	36	5observed in an appropriate manner by the people, promoting citizen science initiatives and action
37	37	6by the general public not only to preserve the health of the coastline but also to generate valuable
38	38	7scientific data for the Commonwealth. 2 of 6
39	39	8 SECTION 2. Section 1 of Chapter 21N of the General Laws is hereby amended by
40	40	9inserting each of the following definitions within the proper place to maintain descending
41	41	10alphabetical order:-
42	42	11 (i) “ocean acidification”, the acidification of the greater Atlantic driven by atmospheric
43	43	12carbon deposition independent of Massachusetts coastal stressors.
44	44	13 (ii) “coastal acidification”, the acidification of Massachusetts coastal waters driven by
45	45	14background ocean acidification, eutrophication, freshwater inputs, atmospheric deposition, and
46	46	15any other natural or anthropogenic stressor.
47	47	16 (iii) “coastal stressors”, eutrophication, nutrient pollution, freshwater inputs, and
48	48	17atmospheric deposition from the coast acidifying coastal waters.
49	49	18 (iv) “coastal waters”, any waters and associated submerged lands of the ocean, including
50	50	19the seabed and subsoil, lying between the coast and the seaward boundary of the commonwealth,
51	51	20as defined in 43 U.S.C. § 1312.
52	52	21 (v) “coastal watershed”, merrimack, parker, ipswich, north coastal, mystic, Neponset,
53	53	22charles, south coastal, cape cod, islands, buzzards bay, taunton, and narragansett waters.
54	54	23 (vi) “eutrophication”, a condition of coastal or freshwaters of having elevated nutrient
55	55	24concentrations. Eutrophication caused by human development is the primary cause of excessive
56	56	25algal growth and deoxygenation of coastal waters.
57	57	26 SECTION 3. Section 10 of Chapter 21N of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
58	58	27Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the phrase, “sea level rise and increased
59	59	28storm surge”, the following words: , ocean and coastal acidification. 3 of 6
60	60	29 SECTION 4. Chapter 21N of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after
61	61	30section 11, the following section:-
62	62	31 Section 12
63	63	32 (a) The secretary of energy and environmental affairs shall establish and chair the Ocean
64	64	33Acidification Council. Members shall include the directors or respective designees of the office
65	65	34of coastal zone management, the department of environmental protection, the environmental
66	66	35policy act office, the department of marine fisheries, the division of ecological restoration, and
67	67	36the department of agricultural resources. The council shall include public members appointed by
68	68	37the governor, including a member of a private monitoring organization in the state, a member of
69	69	38the state shellfishing industry, a scientist specializing in coastal conservation, a member of the
70	70	39Massachusetts municipal association.
71	71	40 (b) The council is established to further understand and take action against the threat
72	72	41posed by ocean and coastal acidification. The council shall engage with and, to the extent
73	73	42practicable, coordinate, public and private monitoring efforts, harmonize data gathering, provide
74	74	43monitoring hardware and technical training, maintain a central repository for acidification data,
75	75	44and commission The council shall recommend mitigative interventions for coastal stressors or
76	76	45adaptive technologies for aquaculture, prioritizing nature-based solutions to manage stormwater
77	77	46and reduce nutrient pollution. Funds may target existing programs and novel approaches to
78	78	47restore and buffer marine habitats and resources impacted by acidification, provided that, funds
79	79	48contributed from commercial license fees shall only be used for shellfishing adaptation efforts
80	80	49under this section. 4 of 6
81	81	50 (c) Within one year of this the council’s formation, the council shall have performed and
82	82	51published a gap analysis for ocean monitoring, recommending measures creating an appropriate
83	83	52spatial and temporal resolution to model ocean acidification in coastal waters and project
84	84	53acidification trends. The council shall convene a public workshop with local ocean monitoring
85	85	54groups to ascertain monitoring needs and inform the analysis, and hold two public hearings. The
86	86	55analysis shall identify appropriate monitoring technologies, and select coastal waters where
87	87	56ocean acidification monitoring equipment shall be placed. The monitoring system should not
88	88	57only enable modeling for long term pH changes in coastal waters, but permit short-term
89	89	58monitoring of aragonite saturation in variable and sensitive coastal waters to protect critical
90	90	59habitat and shellfish.
91	91	60 (d) The council shall coordinate implementation of the monitoring system, implementing
92	92	61the system within three years from this act’s passage. The council shall ensure that data derived
93	93	62from the monitoring system is publicly accessible in a standardized format useful for public and
94	94	63private research.
95	95	64 (e) The council may commission independent studies and agency reports to fill
96	96	65acidification knowledge gaps. The council shall commission such studies and reports as soon as
97	97	66practicable, beginning at a later date if dependent on the monitoring data derived under
98	98	67subsection (d) . The council shall avoid duplicating regional efforts, incorporating best available
99	99	68science with data from the state monitoring system established by 12(d) and data from local and
100	100	69private monitoring efforts, where available. These efforts should, but are not limited to:
101	101	70 (i) model ocean and coastal acidification trends in coastal waters and project acidification
102	102	71trends; 5 of 6
103	103	72 (ii) study the effects of acidification on marine species that are ecologically or
104	104	73economically important, or understudied. The study should examine the impact of multimodal
105	105	74stress, and should include, at minimum, a study of acidification effects on american lobster,
106	106	75eastern oyster, sea scallops, quahogs, and fin fish;
107	107	76 (iii) clarify the causal relationship between nutrient pollution, eutrophication, and coastal
108	108	77acidification in coastal waters;
109	109	78 (iv) determine how different coastal stressors contribute to coastal acidification
110	110	79 (v) estimate the economic impacts of modeled and projected acidification on the
111	111	80Massachusetts economy;
112	112	81 (vi) determine if current total maximum daily loads under the Massachusetts estuaries
113	113	82project are sufficient to keep acidity in Massachusetts embayments within the range required by
114	114	83314 CMR 4.05 through 2050, and propose changes to 314 CMR §§ 4, 5 and total maximum daily
115	115	84loads if needed, taking into account ocean and coastal acidification as particularized stressors.
116	116	85 (vii) perform a cost benefit analyses of intervention strategies to determine where
117	117	86pollution reductions will most efficiently resilience acidification;
118	118	87 (viii) develop best adaptive practices for the shellfishing industry to use to adapt to
119	119	88acidification.
120	120	89 (f) If the council determines that eutrophication has more than a de minimis impact on
121	121	90coastal acidification in any given embayment or coastal zone, the council may implement
122	122	91necessary improvements in the most efficient manner to reduce eutrophication. The council may 6 of 6
123	123	92target funds to existing state programs or proposed municipal projects for the following
124	124	93purposes;
125	125	94 (i) financing necessary upgrades to publicly owned treatment works located in coastal
126	126	95watersheds to achieve enhanced nutrient removal;
127	127	96 (ii) replacing septic systems in nutrient sensitive coastal watersheds with connections to
128	128	97new or existing publicly owned treatment works, or upgrading existing systems to nitrogen-
129	129	98reducing systems;
130	130	99 (iii) implementing other appropriate measures including but not limited to, installing
131	131	100permeable reactive barriers and funding salt marsh restoration.
132	132	101 SECTION 5. Section 61 of Chapter 30 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
133	133	102Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the phrase “predicted sea level rise”, the
134	134	103following words: and coastal ocean acidification.