CRWA in the News

By Ariel Dekovic/ Green Views

Brookline Tab

Thursday, May 19, 2005

A number of events linked to inadequate funding at the Department of Conservation and Recreation have put the budgets of the commonwealth's environmental agencies in the limelight this spring. The incidents include Gov. Romney's sudden dismissal of DCR Commissioner Kathy Abbott this past winter; and, more recently, a local environmental group announcing it was suing the beleaguered agency because of its failure to properly manage polluted stormwater runoff that is contaminating the Charles River.

Claims have been made that both events were due to lack of adequate funding. More than 30 environmental organizations signed an open letter to Romney maintaining that the state's environmental spending budget cuts, which included DCR, have resulted in "compromised public safety." The letter also cited its support for the former commissioner, stating that the "best management in the world cannot make up for inadequate resources to do the job."

As the budget for 2006 makes its way through the Massachusetts House and Senate, legislators are finding it harder to justify the massive budget cuts to environmental programs that have occurred over the last four years.

State Rep. Frank Smizik, who is chairman of environment and natural resources committee, frequently hears how important Brookline's open spaces and environmental health are to his constituents. He calls funding environmental programs "vital" to the "protection of our natural resources and our public health and safety. The only way we can maintain clean water and save our natural resources is to make a greater commitment than we have in recent years," he said.

The House of Representatives has taken note of the existing problems and Smizik's message. The House's environmental budget represented an increase of $5.7 million, the first time the budget has increased for environmental programs since 2001. The budget will now move onto the Senate, where Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Theresa Murray has already received a letter from 23 senators urging more funding for environmental agencies.

Sen. Jarrett T. Barrios who, as chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, joined with Smizik and Sen. Pam Resor to hold an oversight hearing on DCR's inability to plow roads and sidewalks, also worries that funding cuts have put the public safety of the state's residents in jeopardy.

At the hearing, Barrios called on the governor to stop using DCR parks money for his office's press conferences, saying, "DCR has a duty to provide a safe passage for all residents, especially those with disabilities, and they can't fulfill that mission with year after year of budget cuts, outdated equipment and with the governor using parks money as a slush fund for his own events."

These actions by both the House and Senate bode well for cities and towns with Department of Conservation and Recreation parkland. For Brookline residents, what happens at DCR is a primary concern. DCR is responsible for the Storrow Drive and the Charlesgate area, as well as the Jamaicaway and Riverway, which all drain directly into Brookline's Muddy River. DCR also owns Jamaica Pond and Lost Pond, which abuts conservation land owned by Brookline, and is one of the town's more significant open spaces. Parts of the 1,000-acre Emerald Necklace system are also managed by DCR.

Jim Gomes, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, was optimistic after the announcement of the House's amendments to the budget. "As the Senate finishes preparing its budget, we want to encourage it to follow the House's strong lead," he said. "The health and safety of the public and our environment rides on this funding."

Ariel Dekovic is the communications director for the Charles River Watershed Association. For more information about parks and the Charles River, visit www.charlesriver.org. For more information about Brookline GreenSpace Alliance, go to www.brooklinegreenspace.org.

Green Views is a regular column presented by the Brookline GreenSpace Alliance on issues affecting local environment.

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