The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Whereas the electric companies currently use herbicides to clear brush under power lines, and whereas the interest of the utility companies is to keep their right-of-ways clear in an economical manner, and whereas the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has an interest in decreasing the use of herbicides in the Commonwealth, and whereas wild blueberry bushes grow close to the ground and do not interfere with the electric companies right-of-ways, and whereas the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has an ideal environment for growing blueberries, and whereas wild blueberries have been shown to be rich in healthful antioxidants, and whereas the increased production of blueberries in Massachusetts would provide for employment and economic growth as well as returning to citizens the access to healthy wild blueberries, therefore the legislature establishes the blueberry project, to provide towns the opportunity and support to contract with utility companies for the control of brush in utility right-of-ways.
SECTION 2.
The executive office of environmental affairs shall administer the blueberry pilot project in four municipalities for a period of four years, and, if deemed successful, administer the blueberry project to additional communities based on appropriation. Municipalities may, by a vote of their governing body, choose to apply to become a “blueberry town”, and may form agreements with other municipalities or economic development agencies to administer the blueberry project. The department of environmental affairs in consultation with the department of agriculture shall conduct an independent assessment of the current soil conditions of the electric right-of-way throughout the “blueberry town”. If the assessment shows any agents in the soil which are known pollutants at levels which would harm people working in the soil, or affect the health of a human eating produce grown in the soil, the department of environmental protection will work with the utility to rehabilitate the soil.
SECTION 2.
The executive office of environmental affairs shall work with the municipality to negotiate right-of-way access with the electric utility company to the area near and under high-power electric lines. Once the right-of-way has been granted, the municipality shall work with its local agricultural committee and conservation committee to plan the local blueberry project by planting and maintaining wild blueberries in this space.
SECTION 3.
Local blueberry projects shall: promote natural growth of wild blueberries through alternating cutting and growth periods; utilize local labor (including the consultation of blueberry farmers); designate at least fifty percent of the total blueberry area for public picking and volunteer maintenance; contract out any remaining area for private picking and maintenance; disseminate information to the public encouraging wild blueberry growth and explaining the nutritional benefits of wild blueberries; and shall work with local schools to explain the science and cultivation of wild blueberries to students.
SECTION 4.
The executive office of environmental affairs shall maintain information on the town blueberry projects and shall provide yearly reports to the electric utilities, the senate committee on ways and means, the house committee on ways and means, and to the public about the progress of the blueberry project.