Recent Happenings...

DiDomenico, McGonagle, and Ryan Celebrate Major Progress on Coastal Climate Resilience

Senator DiDomenico and Representatives McGonagle and Ryan helped deliver funding in partnership with congressional offices, colleagues in the state house, municipalities, and non-profits    

SOMERVILLE – On October 12th, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne hosted Senator DiDomenico, Representatives McGonagle and Ryan, along with dozens of elected officials and agency staff to celebrate collective efforts to protect coastal cities along Greater Boston’s Mystic River from sea level rise and extreme coastal storms. Senator DiDomenico worked with Representatives McGonagle and Ryan, along with other state legislators from the Mystic Watershed communities to secure millions of dollars in bonding authority to support the development of these critical coastal resilience projects.

The press conference featured spokespeople from every level of government who were critical to the success of this regional effort:

  • Congresswomen Clark and Pressley’s offices,

  • Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and Department of Conservation and Recreation,

  • Senator DiDomenico along with other state legislators from Mystic Watershed communities,

  • Mayors, city managers and senior staff from Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Somerville, Cambridge, Medford, and Malden, and

  • Non-profit leaders from the Mystic River Watershed Association and GreenRoots.

“Climate change is creating severe and frequent natural disasters across our nation, and I am proud to have worked with my colleagues to secure funding to ensure that communities across our region are preparing for the effects of what that will look like for our area,” said Senator DiDomenico, Assistant Majority Leader of the Massachusetts Senate. “This investment is critical for the well-being of our coastal communities, and it benefits the environment, workforce, our businesses, and residents. The importance of these resilience projects led by the Mystic River Watershed Association and the Resilient Mystic Collaborative is without question and I am heartened to see so many community partners and elected officials coming together to put a plan in place to address these impacts on our cities and towns.”

"I want to thank The Mystic River Watershed Association for bringing us all together to acknowledge the work being done on the Mystic and Island End Rivers, Amelia Earhart Dam, Chelsea Creek, and into Boston Harbor,” said Representative Dan Ryan. Collectively, we have put a stake in the ground on where our climate resiliency efforts in the Mystic River region should head. As we take a few minutes to celebrate the major first steps we have taken on this journey, we also reflect on the awesome amount of work that lies ahead. With our community stakeholders leading the charge, I am confident the Mystic River state delegation and our federal partners in Congress, are quite adept at seeing this necessary vision become a reality!" 

“Among the many victories these projects have achieved, I believe collaboration is chief among them,” said Representative Joseph McGonagle. “For all these offices, community groups and other entities to rally around this cause is truly incredible. I am grateful to my legislative colleagues but especially to Julie Wormser and Patrick Herren of MRWA and Rep. Dan Ryan and Senator DiDomenico who have worked tirelessly to garner funds for these projects. As we see the effects of global warming and extreme weather in other parts of the country, it is absolutely essential that we do what we can to prevent such tragedies and protect our communities. We still have a lot of work to be done but I look forward to moving towards that end goal with this group.”

To date, their collective efforts have raised over $23 million in grants and bonding authority to support three critical coastal resilience projects underway in Somerville, Everett, and Chelsea. The map below shows the extent of saltwater flooding from a projected 2070 “hundred-year” flood, five feet higher than the record flooding in January and March 2018. The teal area is the area that will be protected through a multiyear regional flood resilience effort led by cities and towns in the Resilient Mystic Collaborative.

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Sal DiDomenico