H 5267

SECTION 1. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be created a 9 member Advisory Commission to investigate the scope, scale and environmental impact of sand mining in Massachusetts.The Commission shall consist of the following members or their designees: one member from the Executive Office of the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs with an expertise in geographic information systems (GIS); two members, one appointed by the President of the Senate and one appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with knowledge of ecology, ecosystems, forestry or biodiversity; one representative from the Community Land & Water Coalition; one representative from the Conservation Law Foundation, one expert in hydrology nominated by the University of Massachusetts and appointed by the Governor; and one Indigenous person appointed by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe and the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe. The Commission shall be chaired by the Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs or their designee. b) The panel shall serve in an advisory capacity only and shall meet monthly or more frequently in public meetings to study sand mining in the Commonwealth including 1) the current and potential impact on drinking water; 2) the impact on air pollution including worker and public exposure to respirable crystalline silica from sand mines; 3) the impact on Environmental Justice communities and Indigenous history and culture; 4) climate change mitigation and resilience. c) Said investigation shall conclude within two years of this legislation’s passage into law and it shall include recommendations for statutory or regulatory changes to protect drinking water, air quality, worker and public health, and the ecology and environment. Said changes may include changes to licensing laws for mining, Part I, Title II, Chapter 21B, Section 5 of the General Laws.