The Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (Mass MVP) Coalition welcomes a substantial increase in proposed funding to the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant program, included in the “Mass Ready Act,” filed on Tuesday, June 24th. The Mass MVP Coalition supports the Healey-Driscoll administration’s strong response to the on-the-ground needs of communities across the Commonwealth and remains committed to continuing our collaborative efforts with the administration and the legislature to ensure that this vital grant program receives the full funding it requires to reach its maximum potential in supporting local and regional climate resilience action.
Governor Maura Healey announces the filing of the Mass Ready Act at an event in Braintree, MA Tuesday morning
The Mass MVP Coalition – a group of municipal, regional, watershed, and conservation organizations from across the Commonwealth – has been advocating for the past three years to increase funding for the MVP grant program to $100M per year – a total of $500M in this next 5-year environmental bond bill. MVP funding has been a lifeline for communities across Massachusetts as they plan and implement climate resilience projects and programs on the ground. Still, the need for funding has vastly outpaced the level available. With fewer opportunities for federal funding, state support for local resilience has never been more critical.
The Mass Ready Act includes a proposed increase in investment for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program to $315M – up from $75M in the previous environmental bond bill – alongside investments in other programs aimed at supporting communities as they prepare for a changing climate. Communities across the Commonwealth are facing ever-increasing challenges dealing with heat waves, droughts, coastal and inland flooding, and extreme weather, and they are doing so in the context of an ever-more-uncertain funding landscape. Cities and towns are ready to spend this money to implement local and regional solutions on the ground, and the Mass MVP Coalition supports the administration’s commitment to meeting local and regional needs.
Mass Ready also includes a policy change that would make non-governmental organizations eligible to directly apply for and manage MVP funding in partnership with municipalities. The Mass MVP Coalition welcomes this change, which will facilitate increased investments in regional projects, social resilience, and less-resourced and more-overburdened municipal government.
Mass Ready represents a pivotal moment for Massachusetts on our path to becoming the most resilient state in the nation. The proposed investments in climate resilience will help fortify our infrastructure, protect our ecosystems, and ensure the well-being of generations to come. The MVP Coalition is deeply committed to seeing these resilience investments enacted into law.
The Maillet, Sommes, and Morgan Conservation Land in Reading, a stormwater wetland in the Mystic River watershed planned and constructed with MVP funding.
QUOTES
“MVP has provided Chelsea and Everett with absolutely critical funding to plan, design, and permit the Island End Flood Resilience Project. This priority project for the Resilient Mystic Collaborative and Metro-Mayors Coalition is needed to safeguard regional food distribution infrastructure and local Environmental Justice neighborhoods, preventing billions of dollars in coastal flooding impacts. With scaled-up funding, more projects like Island End River can be made shovel-ready.” - Nasser Brahim, Mystic River Watershed Association
“In the Ipswich River watershed, not only has the MVP grant program been instrumental in implementing local projects – it has also served as a critical bridge, allowing our municipalities to design projects that are shovel-ready for larger funding opportunities. There is so much that can be done to make a difference in our communities, and more funding paves the way for that to happen.” - Erin Bonney Casey, Ipswich River Watershed Association
“CRWA has long been an advocate for nature-based solutions to build climate resilience in an equitable, sustainable manner, protecting our most vulnerable communities from the impacts of flooding, drought, extreme heat, and extreme weather. MVP funding is a cornerstone of this work.” - Cabell Eames, Charles River Watershed Association
“In cities and towns around the Neponset River, hazards that may have been infrequent or nonexistent in the past are becoming significant problems in the future. Our communities have no choice but to adapt in order to minimize economic and service disruptions and protect public health and safety, but they can’t do it without state support. The MVP program is a key resource that allows that work to happen.” - Kerry Snyder, Neponset River Watershed Association
“The Blackstone River Collaborative works to ensure that our region isn’t left behind in state and regional planning and funding. MVP serves communities across the state and has allowed us to make the watershed a better, more resilient place for everyone.” - Stefanie Covino, Blackstone Watershed Collaborative
"The Housatonic Valley faces growing climate threats—from undersized culverts that can’t handle heavy rain events to droughts that threaten our forested landscapes. Across our region, 50% of culverts are structurally unfit for the increasing number of flood events that we know are coming. The Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program has been indispensable in helping our communities assess vulnerabilities and invest in more resilient infrastructure." - Erik Reardon, Housatonic Valley Association
“The Mass Ready Act offers meaningful opportunities to strengthen the state-local partnership to make Massachusetts and its communities more resilient. MassReady will enable and empower municipalities to take action, prepare their communities, and respond to climate change impacts that most directly threaten their local environments and infrastructure. The MMA and local leaders greatly appreciate the administration’s responsiveness to local concerns in the development of Mass Ready, its creative financing solutions, such as a new revolving fund, and its expansion of the successful MVP program.” - Adam Chapdelaine, Executive Director, Massachusetts Municipal Association
“The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has worked to address the challenges facing individual communities as well as those that affect the entire Berkshire region, and the impacts of climate change are a huge piece of the puzzle. MVP funding provides a state-wide foundation of support for cities and towns looking to tackle these problems head-on.” - Courteny Morehouse, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
“With heat waves, droughts, flooding and extreme weather all expected to increase in the coming years, the Healey Driscoll Administration's proposal to increase funding to the MVP program, enhancing opportunities for municipalities to work together and with partner organizations, could not come at a more important moment,” said Lizzi Weyant, acting executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. “These funds are critical for making our communities and built environment more resilient to these changes.”
The Massachusetts MVP Coalition includes: Mystic River Watershed Association, Charles River Watershed Association, Ipswich River Watershed Association, Neponset River Watershed Association, Blackstone Watershed Collaborative, Housatonic Valley Association, Massachusetts Rivers Alliance, Trustees, Franklin Land Trust/MA Woodlands Institute, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 495/MetroWest Partnership, Massachusetts Municipal Association, and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
