Mothers Out Front Newton (MOFN) is grateful to Newton state representatives Amy Sangiolo and Greg Schwartz for introducing Bill H.3564, An Act Relative to Infrastructure Replacement Projects. (See Factsheet.) Mothers Out Front Massachusetts endorses H.3564 and encourages local chapters to urge their representatives to cosponsor the Bill.
Mothers Out Front Newton, whose mission is mobilizing climate action for a livable future, is proud that our newly elected representatives Sangiolo and Schwartz have joined our climate champion Senator Cynthia Creem as leaders in the transition from the fossil gas system to electrification.
Called the “Municipal Empowerment Bill,” H.3564 would give city officials more information and oversight of the gas companies’ plans for non-emergency pipe replacements to its outdated pipeline system. H.3564 builds on an earlier bill by Senator Creem and Representative Armini, S.2248 / H.3446, that was also designed to improve the utility’s transparency and accountability by requiring National Grid to provide detailed information on their pipeline projects.
H.3564 would allow city officials to better plan for street paving and water and sewer maintenance and to avoid the disruption, delays and extra expense when gas companies dig up our streets.
Most significantly, H.3564 would allow communities to plan for clean energy options such as neighborhood electrification or networked geothermal systems. Newton residents would benefit from increased public health and safety, protection from escalating fossil fuel prices, as well as achieving our municipal climate goals and the Commonwealth’s net-zero emissions mandate.
Research by a volunteer non-governmental group, the Newton Gas Pipes Team, shows National Grid has diverted millions of ratepayer dollars from the transition to clean energy — taking huge profits by installing new pipes — when they should be fixing the leakiest pipes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and saving rate payers money.