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Mass Ready Act would authorize hundreds of millions for drinking water, wastewater and PFAS; advocates pressed for more
Summary
The administration proposed authorizations for clean water and PFAS remediation; clean‑water providers and municipal representatives told the committee the scale is insufficient given the EPA's emerging standards and the backlog of projects.
Administration witnesses told the committee the Mass Ready Act includes a major set of authorizations to strengthen drinking water and wastewater systems and to address PFAS contamination.
Secretary Rebecca Tepper told the panel that the bill authorizes $385 million for drinking‑water and wastewater upgrades and dedicates $120 million for PFAS remediation, including testing, well cleanup and support for affected communities.
"This will fund broken seawalls, outdated dams, and repair culverts so they can handle higher stream flows," Secretary Tepper said. She also said that the administration expects communities to use the Clean Water Trust and State Revolving Fund (SRF) tools and that the bond would provide new authorizations to recapitalize those programs.
Water professionals and municipal officials urged larger authorizations. Jennifer Peterson of the Massachusetts Water Works Association told the committee that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates Massachusetts facing as much as $37 billion in drinking‑water and clean‑water needs over the next 20 years and that PFAS compliance will impose large, concentrated costs on many public water systems.
"The Clean Water Trust has already committed hundreds of millions in zero‑percent loans in the current cycle," Peterson said. "With new federal standards on the horizon, the amount in the bond will help but is not large enough to address the backlog of projects and PFAS compliance for the systems that will be impacted."
Committee members asked officials how the administration will prioritize SRF and bond funds, particularly for small and disadvantaged systems. Administration witnesses said the Clean Water Trust and MassDEP set ranking systems for projects and that PFAS is a priority but emphasized the bill authorizes borrowing capacity rather than immediate spending.
Several regional witnesses requested clarity on prioritization criteria and urged the committee to consider additional targeted funding to make the SRF and related programs responsive to the scale of remediation projects many towns face.
