Bill > H732

This bill establishes the Assawompset Pond Complex Flood Management District, a district encompassing the cities of New Bedford and Taunton and the towns of Freetown, Lakeville, Middleborough, and Rochester, to address flood management issues within the Assawompset Pond Complex. The district will be overseen by a commission composed of representatives from each town, the mayors of New Bedford and Taunton (or their designees), a representative from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and a representative from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). This commission, which will serve without compensation and meet as needed, is tasked with managing flood risks, assessing conditions, recommending and implementing flood control measures, promoting ecological sustainability, protecting water supplies and wildlife, improving river flow, managing water levels for water supply and flood control, and preserving the Assawompset Pond Complex. Within 120 days of the bill's passage, the commission must solicit proposals for funding to conduct a flood management study of the area, with the awarded contract needing to align with existing provisions for flood management and mitigation studies. The Department of Environmental Protection may issue project approval certificates for contracts procured under this study, and public notice of the proposal request will be published. The district and the involved municipalities are also authorized to enter into inter-municipal agreements to further implement the act's provisions.