Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1053 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 287 FILED ON: 1/7/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1053
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Dawne Shand and Bruce E. Tarr
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 create a Merrimack River Collaborative.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Dawne Shand1st Essex1/7/2025Bruce E. TarrFirst Essex and Middlesex1/7/2025Francisco E. Paulino16th Essex1/15/2025 1 of 3
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 287 FILED ON: 1/7/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1053
18	18	By Representative Shand of Newburyport and Senator Tarr, a joint petition (accompanied by
19	19	bill, House, No. 1053) of Dawne Shand, Bruce E. Tarr and Francisco E. Paulino for legislation to
20	20	create a Merrimack River Collaborative to monitor, improve, and restore water quality.
21	21	Environment and Natural Resources.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act to create a Merrimack River Collaborative.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. There shall be a Merrimack River Collaborative to serve as a coordinating
31	31	2entity for efforts associated with the health of the Merrimack River in order to monitor, improve,
32	32	3and restore water quality. The Commission shall employ methods and strategies to advance the
33	33	4following goals:
34	34	5 (i) Convene and maintain a working group associated with addressing water quality in the
35	35	6Merrimack River
36	36	7 (ii) Improve public education and access to information regarding Merrimack River water
37	37	8quality
38	38	9 (iii) Advance the standardization and availability of water quality monitoring data along
39	39	10the river
40	40	11 (iv) Advance knowledge and monitoring efforts of known and emerging pollutants 2 of 3
41	41	12 (v) Identify and support legislation and priority implementation projects to improve water
42	42	13quality
43	43	14 (vi) Connect MRC members and associated communities with grant and other funding
44	44	15opportunities aligned with MRC goals
45	45	16 The Merrimack Valley Planning Commission shall be charged with managing and
46	46	17overseeing the Collaborative in collaboration with the Merrimack River Watershed Council and
47	47	18the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments. The Collaborative shall consist of members or
48	48	19designees that may include, but will not be limited to, representation from the following: Federal
49	49	20and State legislative offices, Municipal Mayors, Town Managers, and Town Administrators as
50	50	21well as their Boards of Health and Conservation Commissions representing communities along
51	51	22the Merrimack River, State entities including the Department of Environmental Protection,
52	52	23Department of Public Health, and the Massbays National Estuary Partnership, Non-
53	53	24Governmental Organizations including the Alliance of Climate and Environmental Stewards,
54	54	25Groundwork Lawrence, and Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust, and local Universities
55	55	26including University of Massachusetts Lowell and Northern Essex Community College. The
56	56	27Commission shall solicit membership from analogous organizations with similar missions along
57	57	28the New Hampshire component of the Merrimack River.
58	58	29 Appointments to the Collaborative shall be made not later than 30 days after the effective
59	59	30date of this act. Each proposed member organization shall be approved by the designated
60	60	31convening bodies. Following approval, the chief executive officer of each member organization
61	61	32shall appoint themselves or a representative to serve as a member of the Collaborative. Members
62	62	33shall not receive compensation for their services associated with Merrimack River Collaborative. 3 of 3
63	63	34 The Collaborative may select and contract with independent consultants to assist with
64	64	35leading and managing public hearings, collecting, and analyzing data and information,
65	65	36completing yearly reports, and any other activities to achieve the goals of the Collaborative.
66	66	37 The Collaborative may conduct a series of public hearings to receive testimony and
67	67	38collect data. The hearings shall be held in geographic locations bordering the Merrimack River.
68	68	39 The Collaborative shall produce an annual report. This report shall address
69	69	40accomplishments to date, outline forthcoming efforts as related to the Collaborative’s
70	70	41overarching goals, and make recommendations regarding appropriate measures to ensure the
71	71	42present and future health of the Merrimack River. The Collaborative shall submit an annual
72	72	43report documenting its accomplishments and forthcoming efforts no later than December 15th of
73	73	44each year, beginning on December 15th, 2025.
74	74	45 This report, together with any proposed legislation, shall be submitted to the clerks of the
75	75	46Senate and House of Representatives. The first meeting of the Collaborative shall be no later
76	76	47than May 1st, 2025.