State energy cuts likely

Struggling to fulfill its mission with staff cuts, this Administration will be known for its anti-environment position. When you don't have widespread special interests making campaign contributions and lobbyists stroking the egos of lawmakers, residents lose.

State energy cuts likely
By Trevor Jones, Berkshire Eagle Staff

PITTSFIELD -- Funding for state energy and environmental agencies is expected to be cut next year, continuing the trend of decreasing appropriations in recent years.

Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. made that estimation at a 2013 budget hearing for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, or EEA, but said Gov. Deval Patrick’s office hasn’t given him a firm number yet.

"We’re expecting to see budget cuts at EEA and they will probably be of the same magnitude of order that we’ve seen for the last couple years," said Sullivan.

Funding for EEA has decreased by 22.5 percent since 2009. The state’s entire budget has increased by 8 percent over the same period.

EEA’s 2012 budget is $187 million. The umbrella agency is responsible for the departments of Environmental Protection, Fish and Game, Agricultural Resources, Conservation and Recreation, Public Utilities and Energy Resources, as well as the State Reclamation Board.

Sullivan said the state’s fiscal picture is improving, but rising health and human services costs will absorb most of the additional incoming revenue.

The hearing was one of two the EEA plans to hold before Patrick releases his budget next year. The other hearing was held earlier this month in Boston.

Joe Dorant, president of the Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists, advocated for restoring funding to fiscal 2011 levels. The state budget appropriated $188 million for EEA that year, though projected expenses were $194 million.

Dorant said staffing for the departments has decreased from 1,200 in 1990 to 840 in 2011, which has left the departments unable to fulfill their core mission of regulatory enforcement.

"Simply put, we’re doing less with less," said Dorant.

Many in attendance called for a level-funded Department of Agricultural Resources, saying the agency’s efforts are critical to the success of local farming and preservation of prime agricultural lands.

Others spoke out about the need to remain vigilant in the efforts to stop the spread of zebra mussels, the invasive mollusk discovered in Laurel Lake and the Housatonic River.

"It’s absolutely imperative to the health of the other lakes in Berkshire County that we leave no stone unturned in dealing with zebra mussels," said Jack Hickey, president of the Lakes and Ponds Association of Western Massachusetts.

There was also a large contingent of bee keepers on hand from Worcester County who spoke out about the need for more bee inspections to prevent the spread of disease.