1 of 1
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4108 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 997
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Adrian C. Madaro
_________________
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 improving air quality in airport environmental justice communities.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Adrian C. Madaro1st Suffolk1/17/2025William F. MacGregor10th Suffolk3/4/2025 1 of 7
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4108 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 997
By Representative Madaro of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 997) of
Adrian C. Madaro and William F. MacGregor for legislation to require the Massachusetts Port
Authority to conduct an environmental risk assessment of the health impacts of the General
Lawrence Logan Airport in the East Boston section of the city of Boston and the town of
Winthrop. Environment and Natural Resources.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________
An Act improving air quality in airport environmental justice communities.
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. Chapter 465 of the Acts of 1956 is hereby amended by adding the following
25 sections:-
3 Section 37. (a) Not less than every five years, the department of environmental protection
4shall require the Authority to promulgate standards and measurements related to air quality and
5noise levels in the East Boston section of the city of Boston, hereinafter referred to as East
6Boston. The Department shall review the standards and measurements promulgated by the
7Authority, and may require the Authority to update said standards and measurements should the
8Department deem them to be insufficient or inaccurate.
9 (b) The department of environmental protection shall conduct air monitoring in no less
10than 3 locations in East Boston. Such air monitoring shall include, but not be limited to, the
11standards of the department’s annual Air Monitoring Network plan, which it prepares in 2 of 7
12accordance with Title 40 CFR Part 58.10. The costs of air monitoring in East Boston shall be
13borne by the Authority.
14 (b) The Authority shall post air quality and noise level measurements, including, but not
15limited to, those from department of environmental protection air quality monitors located in
16East Boston, on a publicly accessible internet website as reasonably frequent as possible. The
17Authority shall utilize said data in all reporting on the environmental impacts of operations at
18Logan Airport, including, but not limited to, the report required in section 38.
19 Section 38. (a) Not less than every five years, the Authority shall prepare and publish a
20report outlining its strategies and practices for the management of air quality and noise levels in
21East Boston. The report shall include, but shall not be limited to:
22 (i) an assessment of current and projected future air quality and noise levels in the East
23Boston section of the city of Boston, hereinafter referred to as East Boston, that includes but is
24not limited to air quality data obtained by the department and the Massachusetts Port Authority
25Community Advisory Committee under Chapter 46 of the Acts of 2013;
26 (ii) the environmental impact of the General Edward Lawrence Logan International
27Airport, hereinafter referred to as Logan Airport, on East Boston, particularly in regards to air
28quality and noise levels; and
29 (iii) strategies for the management of air quality and noise levels in East Boston,
30including objectives for the restriction of the levels at which particular substances are present in
31the air and objectives for restrictions of noise levels. 3 of 7
32 (b) The strategies and practices identified by the Authority in its report shall include, but
33shall not be limited to:
34 (i) standards and measurements relating to air quality and and noise levels in East Boston
35as approved by the Department pursuant to section 37; objectives for the restriction of the levels
36at which particular substances are present in the air and objectives for restrictions of noise levels.
37 (ii) the types of air and noise pollution impacting air quality and noise levels in East
38Boston, the likely sources of said air and noise pollution, and whether said sources of air and
39noise pollution are related to operations at Logan Airport.
40 (ii) an assessment of whether air quality standards and objectives and noise level
41standards and objectives are being achieved, or are likely to be achieved, within the next five
42years.
43 (iv) measures which are to be taken by the Authority, state and local authorities and other
44persons for the purpose of achieving those objectives.
45 (c) Before publishing the report or any modification of it, the Authority shall publish a
46draft of the proposed strategy or modification, together with notice of a date before which, and
47an address at which, public comments may be made to the Authority concerning the draft so
48published; provided that the Authority shall consider and include a summary of public comments
49in its final report. Copies of the draft or any modification shall be made available to the public at
50no charge.
51 (d) If, as a result of the report required by this section, it appears that any air quality
52standards or objectives or noise level standards or objectives are not being achieved, or are not 4 of 7
53likely to be achieved within five years, the Authority shall identify any specific areas of the East
54Boston neighborhood in which said air quality standards or objectives or noise level standards or
55objectives are not likely to be achieved, as well as any sources of air and noise pollution related
56to operations at Logan Airport which are likely to be responsible.
57 (e) Where, as a result of the report required by this section, it appears that any air quality
58standards or objectives or noise level standards and objectives are not being achieved, or will not
59likely be achieved within five years, the Authority shall designate East Boston as an air quality
60management area or a noise level management area, hereinafter referred to as the “designated
61area”, until such time as a subsequent strategy report has shown that both air quality standards
62and objectives and noise level standards and objectives have been achieved.
63 Section 39. (a) The Authority, in consultation with state and local government, shall take
64measures to remediate the designated area. The Authority shall prepare a written action plan to
65achieve the air quality standards and objectives or noise level standards and objectives in the
66designated area. The action plan shall include a statement of the timeline within which the
67Authority proposes to implement each of the proposed measures included in the action plan.
68 Section 40. (a) If the Authority fails to issue the report as required by section 38, the
69department of environmental protection, hereinafter referred to as the department, shall issue an
70order that:
71 (i) air quality standards or objectives are not being achieved, or are not likely within the
72relevant period to be achieved by the Authority, within the designated area;
73 (ii) noise level standards or objectives are not being achieved, or are not likely within the
74relevant period to be achieved by the Authority, within the designated area; 5 of 7
75 (iii) that the Authority has failed to discharge any duty imposed on it under sections 37 to
7639, inclusive;
77 (iv) that the actions, or proposed actions, of the Authority in purported compliance with
78the provisions of this act are inappropriate in all the circumstances; or
79 (v) that developments in science or technology, or material changes in circumstances,
80have rendered inappropriate the actions or proposed actions of the Authority in pursuance of
81sections 37 to 39, inclusive.
82 (b) Upon the issuance of such order the department shall give directions to the Authority
83requiring it to take steps specified by the department to ensure compliance with sections 37 to
8439, inclusive; provided that the department shall require the Authority to cause an air quality
85review or noise level review to be conducted under direction of the department; and provided
86further that the Authority shall prepare and carry out an action plan in consultation with the East
87Boston Project Advisory Committee established under chapter 349 of the acts of 1986 that
88includes the most recent standards and measurements related to air quality and noise levels
89determined by the department under section 37 and its most recent air quality and noise level
90review findings.
91 Section 41. The Authority, in coordination with the bureau of environmental health of the
92department of public health, shall regularly conduct an environmental risk assessment of the
93health impacts of the General Lawrence Logan Airport in the East Boston section of the city of
94Boston and the town of Winthrop. Such assessment shall include, but not be limited to: (1) air
95quality monitoring, including, but not limited to, utilizing data from air quality monitoring
96stations operated by the department of environmental protection in the East Boston section of the 6 of 7
97city of Boston, and the total particle number concentration of both indoor and outdoor spaces; (2)
98air quality modeling, utilizing data from said air quality monitoring to construct high spatial
99resolution pollution concentration estimates for the East Boston section of the city of Boston; (3)
100time activity exposure analysis, utilizing data from said air quality monitoring with a time
101activity analysis to calculate integrated participant exposure to each pollutant; and (4) health
102association surveys, to associate pollutant exposure with classes of health outcomes, including,
103but not limited to: cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, respiratory diseases and
104cancers.
105 The Authority shall regularly report its findings together with any recommended response
106actions by the commonwealth not less than every ten years, to be published on the Authority’s
107website, with a copy transmitted to the house and senate committees on ways and means,
108beginning not later than January 1, 2030.
109 SECTION 2. Section 142B of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016
110Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the eighth paragraph and inserting in place
111thereof the following paragraph:-
112 The department shall maintain and operate such air sampling stations and devices; make
113or perform such routine and special examinations, inspections, observations, determinations,
114laboratory analyses, and surveys; maintain such records; and perform such other acts as it deems
115necessary to conduct an adequate air pollution control program within the metropolitan air
116pollution control district. The department shall, in its annual Air Monitoring Network plan,
117which it prepares in accordance with Title 40 CFR Part 58.10, at each location where the
118department monitors for particulate matter 2.5 micrometers and smaller in diameter, monitor and 7 of 7
119report for ultrafine particulate matter less than 100 nanometers in diameter, in addition to its
120other monitoring at those locations.