A Cleaner Charles River Campaign:
Thursday, April 19 - Friday, April 27, 2007

Budget debate begins next week, so please call
your House legislator this week!

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), which manages over 675,000 acres of land in Massachusetts, is violating the Clean Water Act by being out of compliance with federal permit regulations regarding stormwater management.  Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) is calling for the legislature to adopt FY08 House Budget Amendment #357 requesting $3 million (up from $950,000) to improve its stormwater management program and to make the necessary capital improvements to reduce recurring pollution and flooding problems from old and failing stormwater infrastructure.

CRWA is also supporting House Budget Amendment #318 increasing funding for state and urban parks.  Parklands provide invaluable habitat, respite from urban bustle, and water resources protection.  Undeveloped land improves water quality by filtering stormwater runoff and maintains natural hydrology by infiltrating stormwater and recharging aquifers that slowly feed a stream during the critical, low-flow summer months.  Proper management and maintenance of parklands ensures the health of draining waterbodies. 

We urge you to call your state representative and ask them to support Amendments #357 and #318 in the FY08 budget, as well as ask them to encourage Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means Robert DeLeo to take up the Amendment.

Some talking points for your call:

Why DCR needs funding for stormwater management in particular:
Stormwater management really matters. Think of Storrow Drive after a heavy rain, as cars drive through huge puddles and throw sheets of polluted water up onto the park, which eventually drains to the Charles; or the Jamaicaway, where collapsed curbs funnel torrents of water into the Emerald Necklace, eroding the park and filling the Muddy River with silt. Imagine the parking lot for your favorite state park, its dirty stormwater flowing right into the pond where you will swim this summer.

Because stormwater runoff causes so much pollution, it is regulated by the EPA. Like many cities and towns across Massachusetts, DCR is required to manage its stormwater so that it doesn't violate water quality standards. Unfortunately, DCR is not up to the task. The agency hasn't met even the most basic requirements of EPA's stormwater permitting program. Street sweeping is done rarely, if at all; catch basins are allowed to fill up completely with sediment, causing streets to flood and parklands and river banks to erode; DCR hasn't even completed a map of its storm drains, which is essential to understanding the problem and the most basic of the stormwater management tasks required by EPA.

Why focus on the Department of Conservation and Recreation?
DCR controls a significant amount of land in the state. Their 675,000 acres are 150 times the size of the city of Cambridge. We cannot allow this amount of land holdings to be unaccountable for stormwater discharges. DCR's mission is "to protect, promote and enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural and recreational resources for the well being of all." How ironic then, that the underfunding of the agency has led to DCR's stormwater runoff actually degrading the environment it seeks to protect. 

Call your state representative and ask them to support House Budget Amendments #357 and #318 today!