FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 30, 2009

CONTACT: Boston Press, 617-565-8519

BOSTON – Senators John Kerry and Edward Kennedy today announced that the FY2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill passed the Senate last night by a vote of 85 to 9. The bill includes more than $4 million for ten Massachusetts energy and water projects.  

“From dredging Newburyport harbor to putting flood control protections in place on the Muddy River to energy efficiency projects in Boston, this investment will improve the quality of life and safety for everyone who lives and works in the region” said Senator Kerry. “We are investing in our state’s economic future and protecting our environment and that’s why Senator Kennedy and I fight every single year to secure funding for investments that make a real local impact.”

Senator Kennedy said, “Federal grants such as these are essential for our Commonwealth’s water and energy projects, especially in these difficult economic times. These investments will go a long way toward protecting our waterways and environment, promoting cleaner forms of energy, and making our industries more energy efficient, while also creating jobs for our citizens.”

The bill now heads to a Conference with the House of Representatives.

The following projects are included in the Senate bill:

Muddy River Project, Concord                                                                   $1,000,000                 

Recipient – Army Corps of Engineers, NE Division

The Muddy River Project is a WRDA Authorized flood control and environmental restoration project that is needed to remove sediment that has made Boston’s Back Bay Fens a flood control hazard in recent decades.  A flood there in 1996 caused tens of millions of damages to the City of Boston.

Connecticut River Ecosystem Restoration  (MA, CT, NH and VT)         $380,000                    

Recipient – Army Corps of Engineers and The Nature Conservancy, MA Chapter, Northampton   

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns and operates 14 flood control dams in the Connecticut River Basin. The Connecticut River Watershed study will analyze the operation of each dam to determine if it is possible to manage these dams for environmental benefits while maintaining important human uses.

Newburyport Harbor Dredging                                                                  $350,000                    

Recipient – Army Corps of Engineers, NE Division

The project entails the removal of about 130,000 cubic yards of sand from the channel, with disposal at a near shore site approximately one mile away.  Dredging will restore navigability to the channel and alleviate these potentially hazardous conditions.  The entrance channel serves many hundreds of vessels that use Newburyport, Newbury, Salisbury and a number of communities up the Merrimack River.

Energy Storage/Conservation and Carbon                                                $400,000

Emissions Reduction and Demonstration Project                                                                         

Recipient – Center for Transportation and Environment, Hudson

The purpose of the Energy Storage/Conservation and Carbon Emissions Reduction Demonstration Project is to help CTE, a nonprofit with a $110 million advanced technologies portfolio and more than 15 years experience, partner with DOE, DOT, and other government agencies, and Test Devices, Inc. (TDI), a Massachusetts corporation, to develop and install prototype energy storage technology that could yield substantial energy savings and show American manufacturers how to reduce operation costs. 

Fluid Flow Optimization of Aerogel Blanket Process Project                   $300,000

Recipient – Aspen Aerogels, Northborough/Medford

With this requested funding, Aspen Aerogels and Tufts University will conduct research and development to focus on reducing the cost of high performance aerogel blanket insulation manufacturing through an optimization of the fluid flow portion of the manufacturing process. 

Solar Compactor Energy Efficiency Research Demonstration Project   $300,000

Recipient – City of Boston

The Solar Compactor Energy Efficiency Research Demonstration Project  would implement a city-wide installation of wireless enabled solar compactors with attached recycling units throughout Boston. It would also conduct a comprehensive analysis of the impact on fuel and labor costs, carbon dioxide emissions, additional environmental effects, as well as the impact on the public’s recycling habits of these compactors

Marine Systems Energy/Environmental Sustainability Research            $300,000

Recipient – UMASS Boston

For the past several years, UMASS-Boston researchers have been conducting path-breaking work into the development and sustainability of marine systems, with a particular focus on the process of photosynthesis and exploring the possibility of biologically based renewable energy generation capability in the sea.

Translational Biomedical Research                                                             $400,000

Recipient – Pioneer Valley Life Science Institute

The purpose of the Pioneer Valley Life Science Institute Translational Biomedical Research Project is to support groundbreaking translational research being performed at the Pioneer Valley Life Science Institute, which offers great promise for addressing a host of diseases that affect the length and quality of American lives.

RNAI Research                                                                                             $300,000

Recipient – UMASS Medical, Worcester

UMASS Medical School is seeking funding to support research associated with RNAi (RNA interference), a mechanism that inhibits gene expression at the stage of translation or by hindering the transcription of specific genes. RNAi has become a premier research tool across the entire range of biological fields, based on its specificity and potency in silencing gene expression in both primary and cultured cell systems.

Targeted Radiotherapy Melanoma                                                             $300,000

Recipient – Alphamed, Acton

The overall objective is to support the development of a new targeted radiotherapy treatment for melanoma.  Funds will be used to complete preclinical tests, demonstrate radiopharmaceutical production to regulatory requirements, prepare clinical trial sites, and submit an Investigational New Drug application to the FDA.

The bill has also authorized the completion of the following three projects. 

Milford Pond Restoration, Milford                                    

Recipient – Army Corps of Engineers, NE Division

The purpose of this project is to restore Milford Pond to ecological health after decades of heavy sedimentation that have made the pond a “dead pond” with heavy algae and low oxygenation levels. 

North River Mitigation, Peabody                                                   

Recipient – Army Corps of Engineers, NE Division

The purpose of this project is to devise mitigation measures to prevent the flooding that has occurred more than 10 times in the last fifty years in downtown Peabody and which has caused tens of millions in damages.  The requested funds are expected to be used to complete the design phase of this project.

Woods Hole/Great Harbor                                                              

Recipient – Army Corps of Engineers, NE Division

The purpose of this project is to remove siltation from the federally maintained navigation channels at Woods Hole, Massachusetts which currently poses a safety risk to mariners and which prevents the berthing of a federal research vessel badly needed to conduct cutting-edge ocean and fisheries management science.