The $2 billion state environmental bond bill that passed the House last week includes money for projects in Greenfield, Colrain, Orange and other Franklin County communities.
The bill, which includes improvements to air, water, parkway and trail quality across the state, contains an earmark by state Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, for $500,000 for pond dredging and safety improvements at Highland Park in Greenfield.
It also re-authorizes a $1 million grant to Greenfield for environmental remediation and $2.5 million for the building of Colrain’s gravity-fed sewer connecting Main Street and Jacksonville Road to the sewage treatment plant. Both are re-authorizations of a 2014 bond bill, effectively renewing those accounts until 2023.
The bill also includes amendments filed by Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol. These would provide $300,000 for Orange’s Green Community Committee, to be used toward green initiatives in town, as well as $200,000 for Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust’s Landscape Partnership Program, to be used to continue its work preserving and protecting land in the region.
Mark said, “These funds will help our communities undertake important projects that will improve our environment and quality of life, while also providing a path forward for sustainable growth.”
The Senate will also debate an environmental bond bill in the coming weeks.