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EPA APPROVES $27 MILLION TO HELP COVER COSTS OF BOSTON HARBOR CLEANUP

Release Date: 03/09/1999
Contact Information: Peyton Fleming, EPA Press Office (617-918-1008)

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office today announced that $27 million has been approved to help pay for Boston Harbor cleanup-related costs incurred by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.

The appropriation brings to $50 million what MWRA is receiving this fiscal year from EPA to help pay for the cleanup. The $27 million is earmarked for two specific projects - $6 million to help pay for a new sewage sludge processing facility in Quincy and $21 million to help pay for the new inner-island tunnel which is being used to transport wastewater from Nut Island in Quincy to Deer Island. The $27 million will save the average MWRA household more than $80 on their rates.

"Approval of this $27 million grant is a win-win because it moves the harbor cleanup forward and it reduces the financial burden on MWRA ratepayers," said John P. DeVillars, EPA's New England Administrator. "As positive and beneficial as the Boston Harbor cleanup has been, EPA must be sensitive to the fact that the project is expensive and that all funding options must be pursued to defray costs for ratepayers."

DeVillars expressed gratitude to U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy and U.S. Senator John F. Kerry for helping to secure the funds during the supplemental appropriations process in the U.S. Senate last week.

"This is another important step in ensuring a safe, clean and vital harbor, while sharing the economic burden of this essential and historic cleanup," said Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

"The Massachusetts delegation has worked long and hard to ensure that Boston has the money they need to clean up the harbor," added Senator John F. Kerry. "As we approach the final stages of the cleanup process, it is even more important that we were able to protect these funds from attacks on its allocation, and EPA's decision to release these funds ensures that this critical funding will not be threatened again."