Posted on December 20, 2024
There’s no doubt that Massachusetts has felt the brunt of heavy weather over the past year or so.
In 2023, severe rains and flooding battered central and western Massachusetts, causing millions of dollars in damages. And just last week, floodwaters overwhelmed the Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston.
For state and local officials, such as Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, this “new normal” has reinforced the need to update aged infrastructure that will be pushed to the limit by climate change.
And help could soon be on the way.
The U.S. Senate is expected to give final approval as soon as this week to a sprawling, biannual funding bill that sets aside billions of dollars in federal money for water infrastructure projects nationwide, including in Massachusetts.
If that happens, the bill would be on a glide path to President Joe Biden’s desk to sign before he leaves office.
“It’s the final stop,” U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said of the bill, which is formally known as the Water Resources Development Act, adding that he’s “worked hard over the years” to steer the money to the Bay State.
Congress reauthorizes the bill, which underwrites infrastructure projects undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, every two years. Lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate passed their versions of the bill earlier this year.
The bill up for a vote this week is a compromise bill that’s the product of several months of negotiations between the two chambers.
In Massachusetts, the bill would provide funding for a host of projects, including a pair of feasibility studies on flood risks across the state, from Oak Bluffs to Western Massachusetts and Franklin County, according to an analysis provided by Markey’s office.
The bill also would underwrite $10 million in improvements to Easthampton’s wastewater system and “carve out special authorization for the Army Corps to study and assist” with Northampton’s flood pump control system.
That money for communities in the Connecticut River Valley is critical since residents there have “experienced historic flooding in the last few years,” Markey said.
“Communities like Easthampton and Northampton and Franklin County will need federal funding to address that risk — a lot of it from climate change,” Markey said.
Other projects funded by the bill would help fight coastal erosion in Sandwich and help local officials better track the status of permits. That’s based on the recommendations of Barnstable County’s Dredging Advisory Committee, Markey’s office said.
In a statement, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said the infrastructure upgrades will “help prevent dangerous floods and save lives.”
“I fought hard for these investments and will keep working closely with Sen. Markey to protect Massachusetts communities from the worst impacts of climate change,” Warren continued.
Assuming the bill is passed in its current form, it would also include:
- Feasibility studies on flood risk management in Leominster, Taunton, Quincy, Boston, Watertown, Newton, Westport
- Modifications to ongoing flood protection projects in New Bedford, Fairhaven, Acushnet, Hodges Village Dam, Oxford
- Expedited flood risk management project and ecosystem restoration along the Charles River
- Funding for a dredging project in Weymouth
- Some $1 million for water and wastewater infrastructure for both Franklin and Winthrop
- An increase from $20 million to $30 million for ongoing water infrastructure work in Fitchburg, Haverhill, Lawrence, and Methuen, according to an analysis obtained by MassLive
The bill is named, this year, for U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del., who will leave office in January, putting a cap on a 50-year career in public life.
Carper spent years working on environmental issues. He currently serves as chairperson of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, WHYY-FM in Philadelphia reported.
“Sen. Carper has been a hero for the environment. He works tirelessly on water resource issues,” Markey said.
The bill “delivers critical water resource infrastructure improvements for communities across America – from ports to levees to navigation channels, and more,” U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., the chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure, said in a statement.
It also “makes reforms at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to streamline processes, reduce cumbersome red tape, and get projects done faster,” Graves said.
