Patrick Administration Announces $254,750 in Grants to Assist 58 Communities with Air Pollution Reduction and Water Conservation Efforts 

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) awarded 58 communities $254,750 in Municipal Sustainability Grants to help municipalities cut vehicle emissions, foster water conservation and limit air pollution.

The funding will support local and regional efforts to reduce air pollution exposure through diesel vehicle retrofits, curtail bus, car and truck engine idling, and encourage water conservation through the use of rain barrels.

"These communities recognize that the challenge of climate change requires every one of us to take action," said MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt. "The Patrick Administration is committed to seeking solutions to help communities mitigate climate change. With these grants, we can help local officials to reduce their community's carbon footprint." 

There are three elements of this year's Municipal Sustainability Grants awards, with each community receiving a different amount based on which of these programs it is implementing.

* MassDEP awarded $195,000 to 11 communities to install pollution control retrofit devices on municipally-owned trash collection vehicles under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Diesel Emissions Reduction Act and via a settlement from the American Electric Power Company. The exact amount for each of the 11 communities is dependent on the type of retrofit equipment installed.

* MassDEP awarded $9,750 to 16 municipalities in the form of vehicle idling reduction tool kits, which provide resources to educate drivers about the importance of turning their engines off when they are parked or making deliveries. State law limits most engine-idling to five minutes or less.

* MassDEP awarded $50,000 to 43 municipalities in water conservation equipment grants. This includes discounted rain barrels and water conservation toolkits, which contain low-flow shower heads, rain gauges, dye-tablets, kitchen faucet aerators, outdoor hose nozzles, and educational information for residents to help make their homes water-tight and waste free. Water conservation items are funded by MassDEP's Water Conservation Grant funds.

Since 1990, MassDEP has awarded $42 million in waste reduction, recycling, and pollution prevention grants to cities, towns, regional entities, and state colleges and universities.These grants are funded through a combination of EPA and MassDEP funding.

A list of grant recipients follows, or can be found at: www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/recawgr.htm.

2009 Municipal Sustainability Grants:
By program, municipality, number of units and dollar equivalent cost

Diesel Retrofits: (Cost of retrofits range from $1,500 to $10,000 per engine with exact amount dependent on engine type and retrofit technology required)
Municipality    Units   Amount
Bourne              6  NA
Brookline          7  NA
Greenfield        7  NA
Lynn                  1  NA
Melrose            7  NA
Montague         1  NA
Natick               3   NA
Newton             1  NA
Somerville        4  NA
Wakefield         1  NA
Westfield          8  NA
Total                 46 - Up to $195,000

Idling Reduction Campaign Toolkits
Municipality    Amount
Barnstable   $250
Brookline  $1,000
Dedham  $750
Lincoln   $250
Lowell   $1,000
Lynn   $500
Marblehead  $750
Marion   $250
Medfield  $500
Newburyport  $750
North Andover $750
Sharon   $750
Taunton  $1,000
Truro   $250
Waltham  $250
Winchester  $750
Total   $9,750  

Rain Barrels
Municipality    Units   Amount
Arlington   100 $1,000
Ashland  75 $750
Barre    25  $250
Bedford   50  $500
Burlington   90  $900
Cambridge   100  $1,000
Concord   50  $500
Danvers   35  $350
Easthampton   20  $200
Fairhaven   100  $1,000
Framingham   50  $500
Gloucester   25  $250
Holliston   100  $1,000
Lancaster   30  $300
Lynn    100  $1,000
Marblehead   20  $200
Marlborough   60  $600
Medfield   50  $500
Medford   50  $500
Melrose   100  $1,000
Milton    75  $750
Natick    50  $500
Newton   100  $1,000
North Attleborough  50  $500
Peabody   100  $1,000
Plainville   30  $300
Plymouth   200  $2,000
Randolph   50  $500
Saugus    100  $1,000
Sharon    50  $500
Shrewsbury   150  $1,500
Somerville   100  $1,000
Southborough   20  $200
Wakefield   24  $240
Waltham   50  $500
Watertown   50  $500
West Boylston   50  $500
Weston   35  $350
Weymouth   25  $250
Wilmington   50  $500
Worcester   200  $2,000
Total    2,789 $27,890

Water Conservation Kits
Municipality    Units   Amount
Arlington   50  $327.50
Ashland   50  $327.50
Barre    50  $671.50
Bedford   100  $655
Concord   50  $671.50
Danvers   50  $671.50
Easthampton   50  $671.50
Fairhaven   50  $671.50
Framingham   100  $655
Gloucester   100  $1,343
Holliston   75  $1,007.25
Marlborough   60  $393
Medfield   50  $671.50
Medford   50  $327.50
Melrose   100  $655
Milton    50  $327.50
Natick    50  $671.50
Newton   100  $655
North Attleborough  100  $1,343
Randolph   75  $1,007.25
Saugus    100  $655
Shrewsbury   100  $1,343
Somerville   150  $982
South Hadley   50  $671.50
Southborough   20  $131
Wakefield   100  $655
Wilmington   50  $671.50
Winthrop   75  $491.25
Worcester   150  $2,014.50
Total    2,155___ $21,339.25

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