CSO Bill Passes the Senate, Now off to the Governor!
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance | January 8, 2021
https://www.massriversalliance.org/post/cso-bill-passes-the-senate-now-off-to-the-governor
Fantastic news! The sewage notification bill (H.4921) is now on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature! After moving out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee last night, the bill was passed by the Senate, and enacted by both chambers. After years of advocating for this bill, we are thrilled!
This bill, once signed into law, will establish a public notification system to alert Massachusetts residents when there is a sewage spill in their area. The purpose is to protect people from swimming, fishing, boating, or taking their pets into rivers when there is sewage present – a serious health risk. In communities that still have combined sewer overflow systems, rain mixes in with sewage in the same pipes during heavy rainfall. When the pipes reach capacity, they overflow the excess sewage-rain mix into nearby water bodies, posing health risks to residents who may unknowingly interact with these contaminated waters. And of course, it is our hope that increased awareness of this issue will lead to increased investment in updating this kind of infrastructure so sewage spills no longer occur in Massachusetts waters.
Please check back for further information (once the bill is signed by the Governor) about how you can sign up to be notified of dangerous sewage spills.
We would like to thank the bill’s tenacious sponsors, Representative Linda Dean Campbell and Senator Patricia Jehlen, for carrying the bill through a legislative session like no other, and especially for pushing the bill past the finish line last night. We also would like to acknowledge the work of recently-retired Representative Denise Provost, the bill’s House co-sponsor. (See the press release from their offices below.)
To read the full blog post, please click here.