Commission may explore health of 117-mile Merrimack River

BOSTON -- A new panel -- whose funding has already been secured through a budget earmark -- would be created to study the health of the Merrimack River and given guidelines to govern its work under a bill the Senate passed Monday.

The bill (S 2309), based on legislation originally filed by Sen. Diana DiZoglio of Methuen, establishes a Merrimack River District Commission made up of state officials and members of regional and environmental groups, and an advisory panel of local officials to work with it.

There are several state agencies, environmental advocacy groups, and local entities working to keep the 117-mile river clean and addressing issues related to contamination and pollutants, DiZoglio said, but there has "never really been a formalized group of experts coming together consistently for the purpose of agreeing to basic facts surrounding the health and wellness of the Merrimack River."

"We really need everybody to come to the same table, and we really need our legislators to be at that table as well, and our local officials," DiZoglio said.

The Merrimack River flows from Franklin, New Hampshire into Massachusetts, through the cities of Lowell, Lawrence and Haverhill and nearby towns before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean in Newburyport. It provides drinking water to about 500,000 people in Lowell, Methuen, Andover, Tewksbury and Lawrence, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and its watershed covers 5,010 square miles across 200 communities, with almost 2.6 million people.

On Wednesday, lawmakers and community group representatives from the Merrimack Valley plan to embark on a four-day kayak and camping trip from the start of the river in New Hampshire to its end at Plum Island to draw attention to environmental conservation of and recreational access to the Merrimack.

Participants include DiZoglio, Sen. Edward Kennedy of Lowell, Reps. Linda Dean Campbell of Methuen, James Kelcourse of Amesbury, Christina Minicucci of North Andover and Andy Vargas of Haverill; Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera; Northern Essex Community College President Lane Glenn; and Charlotte Harris from New Hampshire Congresswoman Annie Kuster's office.

The group plans to kayak 22 to 35 miles each day, with stops in the New Hampshire cities of Concord, Manchester and Nashua, and in Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill and Newburyport. Glenn, in a statement, predicted that one of the most difficult stretches will be through the "urban canyon" of class 1-3 rapids in Manchester.

The $43.3 billion state budget that Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law last week includes an earmark within the $32 million Department of Environmental Protection line item setting aside $50,000 for "the operations of the Merrimack River District Commission and the Merrimack River Task Force convened by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission."

Though Baker in past years has struck millions of dollars in earmarked spending from the budget -- and lawmakers have been swift to override those vetoes -- the Republican governor this year did not veto any earmarks or other spending from the final budget.

DiZoglio, a Democrat, said the Senate had also included in its budget language that formally set up the commission, described its membership, and gave it a deadline to make recommendations, but that language was "unfortunately" dropped during the closed-door negotiations between House and Senate conferees.

The bill the Senate passed Monday takes those same steps, including a Jan. 1, 2021 deadline.

"I think it's really important, especially regarding accountability of taxpayer dollars, that we are formally creating the requirement to produce a report by the date that's set here," DiZoglio said.

DiZoglio said she hopes the House will go along with the measure, which was cosponsored by Rep. David Robertson of Tewksbury, Rep. Kelcourse and Sen. Kennedy.

One focus of the commission would be combined sewer overflows, DiZoglio said. Wastewater and stormwater travel in the same pipe in combined sewer systems, and sewage can overflow into nearby water during large rainstorms.

In July, the Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture advanced a bill (H 3976) that would establish procedures for informing the public if and when raw sewage is entering rivers and waterways. A statement the committee put out cited "serious problems with CSO pollution" in areas like the Merrimack Valley.