March 24, 2003

Boston Business Journal

State environmental secretary puts call out for 'action items'
By Mark Micheli

The Romney administration is in the process of putting together an agenda on environmental issues and is looking for ideas from the private sector, members of the Economic Business Council of New England were told at a breakfast meeting on Tuesday.

Ellen Roy Herzfelder, the state's new secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental affairs, said state officials are putting together a vast list of items that eventually will be whittled down to "a handful of things that will actually get done."

She encouraged the approximately 175 members at the breakfast who might have specific concerns to send her "two-page documents" on their suggestions that could help her contribute to that action list.

She said some items on that list so far include:

A smart-growth plan: Herzfelder said once the state decides where it would like to encourage and discourage growth, it will attempt to link state funding for a variety of items (including housing, sewers, municipal aid, and transportation) to that plan.
The merger of the Metropolitan District Commission and the state Department of Environmental Management.
Maintaining the state's renewable-energy fund.
The creation of an ocean management task force.
Expanding the state's bottle bill to include water, juice and liquor bottles.

Herzfelder also said the administration's proposal to create a single legal department for the state should help streamline legal services for the environmental community. When asked by an audience member about this proposal, Herzfelder said the state's environmental lawyers would be able to concentrate solely on environmental matters and would not be asked to work on other cases as they are now.

She said the Office of Solicitor General "will have more of a law firm feel." And added, "Lawyers will also be able to move around within the office to get more experience."