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Green budget shows problems locally MetroWest Daily News The state environmental budget has shrunk $86 million in inflation-adjusted dollars since 1989, resulting in neglected maintenance at parks, limited oversight of hazardous waste site cleanups and less enforcement of environmental laws, advocates said yesterday as they detailed their annual "Green Budget" recommendations. This decline occurred even as the overall state budget, when adjusted for inflation, increased by one-third, or $6.5 billion, leading some to accuse politicians of neglecting the environment. "Budgets are choices. You make choices about what's important, and it's clear that environmental issues, clean air, clean water, better transportation...sustainable water resources, etc. etc., are not very high on people's list of what's important," said Bob Zimmerman, executive director of the Charles River Watershed Association. "In my opinion, politicians think they can get away with cheating these agencies because the consequences aren't immediately felt. Somebody else pays for them," he said. In numbers not adjusted for inflation, the state budget has more than doubled to $24.5 billion since 1989, while environmental spending rose only $2 million to its current level of $169 million, Zimmerman said. The 16-page Green Budget Fiscal Year 2006 report was written by the Environmental League of Massachusetts and supported by more than 30 other environmental groups, including the Charles River organization. The Environmental League recommends a $25 million increase over the current environmental budget, and an additional $30 million for the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund administered by the Department of Economic Development. A Romney administration spokesman would not comment on budget figures, saying the governor's proposal for fiscal 2006, which begins in July, will be released later this month. The Green Budget details consequences of funding decisions over the last 15 years, including damages to Framingham's Callahan State Park. "Because of (Department of Conservation and Recreation) cutbacks, park maintenance and usability has suffered," the report states. "The trails have eroded from overuse, wildlife habitat has been damaged, and trails are poorly marked and confusing, encouraging individuals to undo existing trail work and signage or do their own." The Department of Environmental Protection, the state's primary environmental enforcement agency, has lost more than a quarter of its staff in the last three years, and the DCR budget has been cut 37 percent since 2001, the report states. The environmental agencies' purchasing power has never been lower than it is now, said Jim Gomes, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts. Water safety monitoring, hazardous waste cleanup, safeguarding of wildlife habitats and other environmental tasks are being harmed by low spending levels, Gomes said. "These are things that if you ask people about (them) they don't think they're frills," he said. "As people become aware that these programs are suffering, they will say to their elected officials, 'You need to restore these programs.'" State Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, said she thinks "certain areas" of the environmental budget may be increased this year. But state Sen. Pamela Resor, D-Acton, said boosting funding during the upcoming budget talks will be "very tough." "We've gone from being a leader in environmental terms in this nation to being 44th in terms of the percentage of the budget that's spent on environmental (programs)," Resor said. "I think it is going to show up very quickly in terms of increased pollution of our air and water." ( Jon Brodkin can be reached at 508-626-4424 or jbrodkin@cnc.com ) |