Council President Lederman Praises Steps Towards Eliminating Incentives for Biomass Incinerators

Springfield City Council President Jesse Lederman issues the following statement on passage of the statewide climate bill eliminating subsidies for biomass incinerators:

“I’m grateful to the Springfield legislative delegation and the Massachusetts legislature for heeding the call to continue chipping away at public funds that could prop up polluters in Springfield or any other community in our region. I commend the residents and activists who worked so hard to see this legislation pass.

We know first hand in Springfield the threat these polluters pose to the health and safety of our community. More than ten years ago polluters targeted our city with a proposed biomass waste incinerator, we fought back, and today is an important step to ensure other communities don’t face the same threat and can turn our full attention to transitioning to clean and renewable forms of energy.

I’m hopeful Governor Baker will sign this bill into law swiftly, and should he not, the legislature should certainly override any veto.

The days of polluters being rubber stamped in communities like ours are over.”

Council President Lederman is a longtime opponent of biomass incineration. Last year Lederman introduced a local resolution urging the legislature to adopt a ban on such subsidies, and submitted testimony earlier this year in support of these provisions.