Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H931 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. 1798 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 931
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Mindy Domb and Thomas W. Moakley
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 establishing the Blue Communities Program.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Mindy Domb3rd Hampshire1/15/2025Thomas W. MoakleyBarnstable, Dukes and Nantucket1/15/2025 1 of 5
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1798 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 931
18	18	By Representatives Domb of Amherst and Moakley of Falmouth, a petition (accompanied by
19	19	bill, House, No. 931) of Mindy Domb and Thomas W. Moakley for legislation to establish a blue
20	20	communities program to incentivize local action to reduce nutrient pollution and ocean
21	21	acidification. 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 establishing the Blue Communities Program.
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. (a) Section 1 of chapter 21N of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
31	31	2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Carbon dioxide
32	32	3equivalent” the following definition:-
33	33	4 “Coastal waters”, any waters and associated submerged lands of the ocean, including the
34	34	5seabed and subsoil, lying between the coast and the seaward boundary of the commonwealth, as
35	35	6defined in 43 U.S.C. § 1312.
36	36	7 (b) Said section 1 of chapter 21N of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further
37	37	8amended by inserting after the definition of “Entity” the following definition:-
38	38	9 “Eutrophication”, a condition of coastal or freshwaters of having elevated nutrient
39	39	10concentrations. 2 of 5
40	40	11 (c) Said section 1 of chapter 21N of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further
41	41	12amended by inserting after the definition of “Nature-based solutions” the following three
42	42	13definitions:-
43	43	14 “Nutrient dense”, the label which the executive office shall give to fertilizers and liquids
44	44	15that have levels of nitrogen and Phosphorus the executive office deems too great to be advisable.
45	45	16 “Nutrient pollution”, excess amounts of nutrients which can lead to eutrophication.
46	46	17 “Ocean acidification”, the decrease of pH levels in the ocean driven by an increase in
47	47	18carbon dioxide dissolved in the water.
48	48	19 (d) Said section 1 of chapter 21N of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further
49	49	20amended by inserting after the definition of “Vulnerability assessment” the following definition:-
50	50	21 “Watershed”, any defined land area drained by a river or stream, karst system, or system
51	51	22of connecting rivers or streams such that all surface water within the area flows through a single
52	52	23outlet.
53	53	24 SECTION 2. Chapter 21N of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official
54	54	25Edition, is hereby amended by adding, after section 11, the following section:-
55	55	26 Section 12: The establishment of a blue communities program
56	56	27 (a) The executive office shall establish a blue communities program to incentivize local
57	57	28action to reduce nutrient pollution and ocean acidification in the ocean, coastal waters, fresh
58	58	29waters, and watersheds. The program shall provide technical and financial assistance, in the form
59	59	30of grants and loans, to municipalities and other local governmental bodies that qualify as blue
60	60	31communities under this section. 3 of 5
61	61	32 (b) The executive office may delegate certain initiatives within the blue communities
62	62	33program to certain executive departments, divisions, or offices, including but not limited to, the
63	63	34department of environmental protection, the division of ecological restoration, the division of
64	64	35marine fisheries, and the office of coastal zone management. The executive office may also
65	65	36integrate certain initiatives within the blue communities program with already existing programs,
66	66	37including but not limited to, the green communities division, the municipal vulnerability
67	67	38preparedness grant program, and municipal recycling programs.
68	68	39 (c) To qualify as a blue community, a municipality or other local governmental body
69	69	40shall:
70	70	41 (1) file an application in a form and manner to be prescribed by the executive office;
71	71	42 (2) adopt five of the following nine initiatives:
72	72	43 (i) a liquid hazardous waste program which advertises detergents, cleaning products, and
73	73	44other hazardous or nutrient-dense liquids that cannot safely be thrown away, flushed, or poured
74	74	45down drains and annually collects and properly disposes of such liquids;
75	75	46 (ii) the model groundwater protection regulation proposed by the department of
76	76	47environmental protection or a similar impervious surface zoning bylaw that limits the total area
77	77	48of land covered by impervious surfaces to reduce runoff, particularly in areas closest to coastal
78	78	49waters;
79	79	50 (iii) a rain barrel program which incentivizes and coordinates the implementation of
80	80	51residential rain barrels to collect rainwater and prevent excess runoff; 4 of 5
81	81	52 (iv) a shell collection system for local businesses to return carbonate-containing shells to
82	82	53the ocean;
83	83	54 (v) a shellfish or seaweed regenerative ocean farming operation or shellfish or seaweed
84	84	55restoration project approved by the executive office;
85	85	56 (vi) a water quality monitoring system that must include, but is not limited to, monitoring
86	86	57levels of pH, phosphorus, and nitrogen;
87	87	58 (vii) a plan to eliminate municipal owned sanitary sewer or combined sewer overflows;
88	88	59 (viii) a fertilizer bylaw and lawns program that restricts fertilizer use on grass, educates
89	89	60the public and business-owners on proper lawn care to minimize adverse impacts to coastal
90	90	61waters, and provides contact information for certified professionals to assist in the
91	91	62implementation of these goals; and
92	92	63 (ix) a stormwater utility program to fund upgrades to stormwater infrastructure.
93	93	64 (3) develop a blue community plan that (a) prioritizes implementation in environmental
94	94	65justice communities and (b) outlines specific metrics for each implemented initiative, to be
95	95	66determined by the executive office; and
96	96	67 (4) report the expenditures and results of their blue community plan to the executive
97	97	68office and to the joint committee on environment, natural resources, and agriculture every two
98	98	69years from the date the application is approved by the executive office.
99	99	70 (d) The executive office shall establish a fund to be known as the Blue Communities
100	100	71Fund, which shall be used to finance this program and all or a portion of the costs of studying,
101	101	72designing, constructing, and implementing ocean acidification mitigation programs. The 5 of 5
102	102	73executive office may integrate this fund with the Global Warming Solutions Trust Fund
103	103	74established in section 3 of chapter 209 of the acts of 2018. Funds shall be appropriated annually
104	104	75by the state and include, among other sources, monies obtained from:
105	105	76 (1) offshore wind contributions;
106	106	77 (2) cap-and-invest programs within the commonwealth;
107	107	78 (3) sales tax on fertilizers; and
108	108	79 (4) other sources of revenue related to carbon reduction, the fishing industry,
109	109	80environmental protection and mitigation and ocean acidification.
110	110	81 (e) The executive office shall be responsible for the administration and oversight of the
111	111	82blue communities program, including by:
112	112	83 (1) adopting rules, regulations and guidelines for the administration and enforcement of
113	113	84this section, including, but not limited to, establishing applicant criteria, detailing operations and
114	114	85requirements of the programs in section (b), funding priority, and application forms and
115	115	86procedures;
116	116	87 (2) adopting a structure for communities to receive funding that gives greater amounts of
117	117	88funding to communities that adopt a greater number of initiatives; and
118	118	89 (3) submitting an annual report by September 1 to the clerks of the senate and the house
119	119	90of representatives detailing expenditures and results relative to the blue communities program.