GREEN BUDGET FY2015 Organizations that Endorse the Green Budget Appalachian Mountain Club Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust Arborway Coalition Mass Audubon Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions Berkshire Natural Resources Council Massachusetts Climate Action Network Boston Harbor Island Alliance Massachusetts Congress of Lake and Pond Associations Boston Park Advocates Massachusetts Energy Consumers Alliance Buzzards Bay Coalition Massachusetts Horticultural Society Charles River Conservancy Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition Charles River Watershed Association Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Clean Water Action MA Scientists (MOSES) Conservation Law Foundation Massachusetts Rivers Alliance Emerald Necklace Conservancy Massachusetts Sierra Club Environment Mass Mystic River Watershed Association Environmental Business Council Nashua River Watershed Association Esplanade Association Neponset River Watershed Association Essex County Greenbelt Association New England Wild Flower Society Franklin Land Trust North and South Rivers Watershed Association Franklin Park Coalition OARS: For the Assabet, Sudbury and Concord Rivers Friends of Alewife Reservation Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Friends of the Blue Hills Sudbury Valley Trustees Green Decade Newton Tatnuck Brook Watershed Association Hilltown Anti-Herbicide Coalition The Nature Conservancy - Massachusetts Jones River Watershed Association The Trustees of Reservations Lakes & Ponds Association of Western Massachusetts Environmental League of Massachusetts // Green Budget FY2015 1% for the Environment Green Budget Fiscal Year 2015 Nancy Goodman \\ Erica Mattison February 2014 Table of Contents Introduction . 1 Executive Summary . 2 FY2015 Funding Priorities: Summary Recommendations . 4 Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) . 5 Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) . 11 Department of Fish and Game (DFG) . 17 Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) . 21 Executive Office of Administration and Finance (A&F) . 22 “Nature is inexhaustibly sustainable if we care for it. It is our universal responsibility to pass a healthy earth onto future generations.” – Sylvia Dolson Cover photo credits Interior photo credits Bicyclist, Chestnut Hill Reservoir, MA: Erica Mattison, ELM p . 3: Charlie Wyman . Courtesy of Mass Audubon Baby, Revere Beach, MA: Eugenia Gibbons, ELM p . 5: MA Dept . of Environmental Protection Lady slippers: Ken Sturm/U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service p . 6: Erica Mattison, ELM Children exploring nature: Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center— p . 7: Crugnale Properties LLC Mass Audubon© p . 9: MA Toxics Use Reduction Institute Kayaking group, Concord River, Concord, MA: Dave Griffin . Courtesy p . 10: MA Dept . of Environmental Protection of Mass Rivers Alliance p . 12: David Mussina . Courtesy of Friends of Alewife Reservation Chestnut Hill Reservoir, MA: Erica Mattison, ELM p . 14: Marianna Hagbloom . Pictured: Middlesex Fells Reservation, MA Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, MA: Matt Poole/USFWS p . 15: MA Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs . Farmer’s Market Tomatoes, MA: MA Executive Office of Energy & Pictured: Leominster State Forest, MA Environmental Affairs p . 16: Erica Mattison, ELM Piping Plover: Matt Poole/U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service p . 17: MA Dept . of Fish and Game Solar Panels: MA Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs p . 18: MA Dept . of Fish and Game p . 19: Ron Holmes/U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service p . 21: Erica Mattison, ELM . Pictured: Hadley, MA p . 22: Courtesy of MassGIS Environmental League of Massachusetts // Green Budget FY2015 February 2014 Dear Legislators and Colleagues: Three simple facts are indisputable and interrelated . First, in the aggregate, state spending on environmental protection is less than 1% of the entire state budget . In the past decade, state agencies including the Departments of Environmental Protection, Conservation and Recreation, and Fish and Game have borne deep cuts that have not been fully restored . For a progressive state such as Massachusetts, spending less than 1% is a disgrace . Second, if Superstorm Sandy had moved a few miles further north, Boston and the Massachusetts coastline — instead of New York and New Jersey — would have been devastated . The urgency of dealing with the destructive nature of climate change is readily apparent . More and more is being asked of state agencies, but state agencies cannot achieve their mission without adequate funding . You cannot do more with less…you can only do less with less . Third, there is an inextricable link between investment in environmental protection and the economy . Every dollar we invest in the environment yields a four dollar return, according to a recent report by The Trust for Public Land . With over 5,500 clean energy firms in Massachusetts, this sector now employs approximately 80,000 workers and represents the fastest growing segment of our economy, according to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center . If Massachusetts can lead the nation with the first offshore wind farm, we will create even more new businesses and jobs that develop new technology in solar, wind, and energy efficiency . Outdoor recreation in Massachusetts is a $10B industry . Agriculture, forestry, and fishing represent another $13B . And if we finally build a 21st century transit system, weatherize older buildings, and modernize our infrastructure to fix gas pipe leaks and our failing water system, we will not only protect our environment but also put the building trades to work . Businesses locate and expand in Massachusetts, not because we are a low-cost state, but because of our talented workforce and quality of life . We must protect our rivers, beaches, forests, and parks if we are to attract the companies and retain the talent that will grow our economy . The connection between the environment and the economy should not be ignored . The bottom line is a triple bottom line . Spending on environmental agencies will protect our environment, strengthen our economy, and make our Commonwealth safer and healthier . But to enjoy a return on investment, we must first make the investment . It starts with this budget . Sincerely, George Bachrach Nancy Goodman Erica Mattison President Vice President for Policy Legislative Director 1 GREEN BUDGET FY2015 Executive Summary Our annual Green Budget How much of the MA budget is beng invested to protect our environment? recommendations seek to ensure that the agencies responsible for protecting 1.6% public health and our natural resources 1.4% have sufficient funding to carry out an increasingly broad array of critical 1.2% responsibilities . 1% 1% .9% .84% .79% .75% .74% .77% Last year, the Massachusetts .8% .73% .71% .73% .60% .60% Legislature increased funding for the .58% .57% .6% environmental agencies by over $12M, an increase of 6% over FY2013 . .4% Despite this step forward, as the .2% state budget has increased overall during the past number of years, 0% FY2001 FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 FY2005 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY 2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 environmental agency funding has not kept pace and continues to This chart represents the percentage of the Massachusetts budget that is invested to protect our environment. The data is based on the General Appropriations Act and does not include supplemental budget figures or 9C cuts. To make accurate comparisons between years, this report does not include the budgets for the Department of Public Utilities and Division of lag . Our natural resources, residents, Energy Resources that were combined with the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs six years ago. These agencies are largely funded through assessments, and so have not been subject to cuts at the same levels as the other environmental visitors, and economy feel the impact agencies. of these cuts . *In FY2001, 1% of the state budget was allocated for environmental agencies ($225.3M of the state’s $22.4B budget). *In FY2014, just 0.6% of the state budget was allocated for environmental agencies ($203.7M of the state’s $34.1B budget). We call for a restoration of environmental funding to 1% of the state budget. This Green Budget highlights priority programs and Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec activities that have been negatively impacted by substantial budget cuts and are in need of heightened investment. Camp Sites Now only open Memorial Day – Labor Day Breakdown of Funding by Agency NOW ONLY OPEN: In FY2014, the environmental agencies’ budgets were Possible with increased funding: Memorial Day – Labor Day mid-April – mid-October 6% lower than they were in FY2008 . Of note, is that the % Change two largest agencies, the Department of Environmental FY2008 to POSSIBLE Protection and the Department of Conservation and FY2008 FY2014SkatingFY2014 Rinks WITH INCREASED FUNDING: mid-April – mid-October Recreation, have borne the deepest cuts . Now don’t open EOEEA $23.3 M $24.7 M until mid-Oct.6% The Green Budget details the important work carried out by our environmental agencies and highlights new DEP $60.0 M $56.5 M Possible with-6 % increased fundng: programs and responsibilities that need support . With cuts DFG $19.2 M $23.2 M open in early17% Sept. NOW DON’T OPEN to federal funding and expanded mandates such as the DCR $96.8 M $79.8 M -21% until mid-October Sustainable Water Management Initiative and dam safety requirements, our environmental agencies require DAR $17.7