“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.” - Henry David Thoreau
Protecting our forests in this time of climate crisis and biodiversity collapse is recognized as an important way to protect our environment and our future health and
well-being. Two bills have been submitted to the Massachusetts Legislature this session. One would permanently protect 412,000 acres under the care and control of the Division of Conservation and
Recreation. The other would permanently protect 30% of the land owned by Fish and Wildlife, about 51,000 acres, by 2030. These state agencies already have land in reserves where intact
ecosystems are influenced primarily by natural processes. These bills request more reserves than we now have, and give them legal protection that they do not currently have. Together these actions
would help Massachusetts to do its part to help mitigate climate change and protect our native natural heritage.
Help to support our efforts! Donate today.
Save
Massachusetts Forests is a project of RESTORE: The North Woods.
https://www.restore.org/donate
URGENT ACTION NEEDED - OUR LOCAL CONTROL FOR ENERGY
SITING IS UNDER ATTACK
The Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting
appointed by Governor Maura Healey has released a draft of its recommendations that removes local control and regional oversight for the siting of renewable energy facilities and certain utility
infrastructure. Public comments are now being accepted.
1- Please email even a short statement
to CEISP@mass.gov by the deadline of March 15. Background info below.
2- Or sign here to tell the Commission, and including your Senator and your
Representative, that you strongly oppose this gutting of home rule/local control and regional oversight over energy projects or any subsequent proposed legislation that weakens home rule. This can be
signed anytime during the legislative session that ends July 31.
3- Or both.
4 - Please forward to your friends, and town Boards ( Planning
Board, Zoning Board, Conservation Commission, Board of Health) who will be severely hobbled and basically shut out of the permitting process for large scale solar, battery energy storage systems, wind turbine facilities ( including
onshore), biomass and more.
For an individual
letter:
To: CEISP@mass.gov
cc: mike.barrett@masenate.gov; jeffrey.roy@mahouse.gov, (they are the Chairs, Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and
Energy)
Subject line “Comments”
Include your name, town and your email
address.
Background:
There is no representation on the Commission from Barnstable
County, Duke’s County, Nantucket County or Berkshire County where much of the proposed reform will impact.
The Commission is considering the following alarming changes to
current law. Please oppose the following:
All local and state permits would be consolidated into one state
permit issued by a single state agency.
- Municipalities
would be stripped of permitting authority, and would only be allowed to submit advisory opinions to the state agency. They could conduct fact-finding with applicants and the public, but would
otherwise have no local role.
- Any reviews at a
local level would be a consolidated review, combining Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation Commissions and other local boards who may have opposing views and rulings but would need to issue one
opinion.
- The definition
of clean energy projects removed from local control could be expanded to include not just commercial solar and wind turbine facilities and landfill-gas sites, but also energy-storage facilities (such
as massive battery complexes and pumped-storage ponds), certain utility transmission and distribution infrastructure and biomass.
- This single
state agency would likely also be responsible for fossil fuel generation facilities, pipelines, and liquified natural gas storage units.
- Other state
agencies would also be stripped of permitting authority such as the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act or MEPA review which is currently required for many energy-related projects, particularly
larger ones and would need to align with other agencies which have had historically opposing rulings.
- Only
“intervening parties” would be allowed to file briefs on disputed issues through evidentiary hearings held by the single state agency. This severely restricts who is allowed to participate in legal
proceedings.
- If the single
state agency did not issue a permit within a restricted timetable, a consolidated permit would be issued automatically to the developer under a pre-defined set of permitting conditions, a so-called
constructive permit.
- Regional
regulatory oversight, in the counties that have that right would be eliminated which is critically important to maintain checks and balances.
The Commission’s recommendations are expected to be followed immediately by legislative
action.
We are happy to announce a number of bills that were submitted this legislative session.The
goals of these bills is for forest protection for climate change mitigation, biodiversity protection, and the many benefits of natural forests for the public.
Forest protection bills H.904 and H.4150 have been extended by the Joint Committe on
Envirnemant and Natural Resources to April 12, 2024.
Municipal local control bill S.1319/H.2082 has been extended to June 14, 2024.
Please call or e-mail your legislators and ask them to co-sponsor these bills.
You can find your legislator here:
1. H.4150 — An Act Relative to forest
protection, sponsored by Representative
Carmine Gentile
Hearing date was November 29,
2023 - Posted here: Hearing Details - Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
This bill is resubmitted from the last legislative
session. It would update century-old public land policies written before we recognized the climate crisis and global loss of biodiversity. This bill would help address these concerns by designating
412,000 acres of forest and watershed lands controlled by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation as parks and reserves. We would permanently conserve intact ecosystems thatare
influenced primarily by natural processes in our forests and parks — a level of protection that now exists for only 1% of the state’s land base.
2. H904 -
An Act relative to increased protection of wildlife management areas, sponsored by Representative Danillo Sena
This bill is resubmitted from the last legislative session. It would expand the
system of nature reserves on public Wildlife Management Areas under the control of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and make them permanent. The bill would direct the
designation of at least 30% of the agency’s lands as reserves by 2030, consistent with the latest biological and climate science. A Wildlife Management Area Nature Reserves Council would oversee
and administer all activities related to the reserves, defined as areas where to the greatest
degree possible, forests are left to evolve with little to no human intervention. ( more information attached)
3. S1319/H2082 An Act Regarding Municipal Zoning
Powers, sponsored by Representative Paul McMurtry and Senator Jacob Oliveira
This bill simply strikes language from the zoning act. Section 3 of Chapter 40A of the General Laws would be
amended by striking the following language: "No zoning ordinance or
bylaw shall prohibit or unreasonably regulate the installation of solar energy systems or the building of
structures that facilitate the collection of solar energy, except where necessary to protect the pubic health, safety or welfare." This sentence was added to the
law in 1985, when the thought of acres and acres of solar panels was unimaginable.
This bill would make sure that municipalities can pass and enforce reasonable
regulations for solar just as they are allowed to do for any other development. This bill does not encourage or discourage solar development. It protects citizens and municipalities who are often
losing court cases while trying to uphold their zoning bylaws. The antiquated section of the law is used by solar developers to bypass local bylaws to put solar where they want to. This bill protects
the longstanding tradition and value of local control in Massachusetts, and would potentially protect tens of thousands of acres of forests, wetlands and farmlands from large solar projects are
deemed locally as inappropriate.
IT'S TIME TO STOP SUBSIDIES
FOR BIOMASS IN MASSACHUSETTS
and protect our forests
See the ACTION - MA Biomass Subsidies page
In the news - Carbon Forestry Committee Report released-
Report of the Climate Forestry Committee: Recommendations for Climate-Oriented Forest Management Guidelines https://www.mass.gov/doc/forest-as-climate-solutions-climate-forestry-committee-report-final/download
“Unsurprisingly, disturbing the forests of Massachusetts as little as possible and allowing forests to grow and age through passive management is generally the best approach for maximizing carbon, ecological integrity, and soil health.” (page 4)
More information about this report is here: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/forests-as-climate-solutions
In the news- Massachusetts state land logging moratorium petition
delivered to Governor Charlie
Baker
https://www.recorder.com/Petition-seeks-to-stop-logging-on-state-owned-land-46824885
Pre-eminent Biologist E.O. Wilson Supported
Our Bills
to Protect State- Owned Land
"I strongly support this bill, which would permanently protect 13 percent of the Massachusetts land area, reaching from the Berkshires to the Atlantic Coast.
This is the single most important action the people of thestate can take to preserve our natural heritage. As it has many times in the past, Massachusetts can provide leadership on this issue,
inspiring other states across the country to take similar bold action."
With best wishes,
Edward O. Wilson
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savemassforests@gmail.com
Contact us at savemassforests@gmail.com