The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) stewards an incredible diversity of natural resources and infrastructure for the Commonwealth. Ten percent of the Commonwealth’s land mass is in state parks, forests and other conservation lands – including 450,000 acres of state forest
and park systems. In addition to state parks and forests, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) manages 29 campgrounds, 87 beaches, 340 dams, 524 miles of urban parkways and 2,000 miles of trails. The Department of Fish and Game oversees over 186,000 acres of Wildlife Management Areas, Natural Heritage Areas and Wildlife Conservation Easements and maintains over 275 boat ramps and public access fishing and boating sites.
Managing these resources requires significant investments from both the operating and capital budgets. In particular, capital funds pay for important infrastructure projects, such as flood control measures, dam rehabilitation, improvements to recreational facilities, wildlife habitat protection, environmental hazard remediation, park and trail maintenance, and open space acquisition. Other agencies within EOEEA invest capital resources in projects and programs that contribute to clean water, clean air, clean energy, natural resources, agricultural resources and more.
The Administration’s FY11-15 capital investments in energy and the environment are shown on the following graph and compared to projected FY10 investments.
The capital investment plan provides for $45 million in fiscal year 2011 dedicated to open space protection. Some of these land protection investments are in the form of grants to municipalities and are reflected in the Community Investment category described above. In the aggregate these land protection investments are being targeted to three main objectives: (1) the creation of urban parks, (2) the preservation of natural landscapes and habitats; and (3) the preservation of working landscapes.
In January 2010, the Governor launched the Clean Energy Investment Program (CEIP) that will use general obligation bond funds to fund the installation of energy and water conservation measures that will yield sufficient annual savings in energy costs which will be applied to pay the associated debt service.
This program will create a permanent, low-cost funding program for financing sustainable energy efficiency projects. DCAM has a pipeline of approximately $237 million for 32 ready-or near ready-to-go energy efficiency projects, which would generate $22 million in annual savings and execution of which is a necessary step toward achieving Executive Order # 484 goals. These have been funded through leases in the past, which are not currently available, are more expensive than state bonds, and not transparent.
ARRA funds have been directed to accelerate the implementation of a five-year statewide energy project plan into a two-year period.
Maintain robust swimming pool program to complete rehabilitation of five urban pools by FY13.
Invest $3 million towards the replacement of the Community Boating Dock system at the DCR Charles River Reservation in Boston in support of the valuable Learn To Sail program. Work will also include replacing the existing dock house and sail shed structures, replacing the boat ramp and making accessibility improvements to the boathouse entrance.
$2 million to redevelop the currently closed Melnea A. Cass ice skating rink in Roxbury into a year-round, multi-use recreation center. This project will provide a safe, clean and accessible community-based facility and provide opportunities for expanded recreational activities, educational programming, shared arts and cultural experiences and economic benefits to the community.
Over $2 million to commence the construction phase of the project to rehabilitate the Upper Mystic Lake Dam. This project will replace the Civil War era dam in Medford and Arlington and provide for improved operability of the water level controls, operational safety, upstream and downstream fish and eel passage while retaining the historic character of the site and enhance recreational opportunities.
In addition to direct state funds noted above, the Commonwealth has been awarded $74 million in energy-related ARRA funds. Key infrastructure components focus on building improvements to reduce energy use and costs. The ARRA programs for which the state has received funds include the State Solar Program, the High Performance Buildings Program, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Program.
It should be noted that the five-year capital plan contains a number of other energy and environment investments reflected in other spending categories. For example, repairs and reconstruction of Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) parkways are reflected in the Transportation category in recognition of the fact that these and other DCR roads are infrastructure projects for improvements in transportation service. In addition, the energy and environment investments shown in the chart above do not reflect energy and environment-related community investments, particularly in the area of land conservation programs for which the Administration significantly increased funding beginning in FY08. There are also amounts budgeted for energy efficiency improvements in various state facilities reflected in the State Office Buildings and Facilities category described below that are not reflected in the chart above.