Environment & Climate
“For Cape Codders and Islanders, the climate crisis isn’t a hypothetical threat, but very much real and existential to our way of life. We have seen throughout our own lives significant changes to the natural environment around us.
While our unique location causes our community to acutely feel the threat of the climate crisis like few others in the Commonwealth, we are also positioned to be leaders in addressing the causes and mitigating the impacts at the state and national levels.”
— Julian Cyr
Senator Cyr is a member of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.
Protecting our Environment
INVESTING IN WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE
Cape Cod and the Islands have a multi-billion dollar wastewater problem, placing an immense burden on our environment and significant cost to taxpayers. Senator Cyr led the successful effort to establish the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund (CCIWPF) in 2018 to subsidize the cost of crucial nitrogen pollution reduction projects in our region. Necessary wastewater infrastructure improvements are expected to cost tens of millions of dollars in nearly every town on the Cape and Islands. Since its establishment, the CCIWPF has helped alleviate the financial burden for municipalities and offered millions in funding. To date, the CCIWPF has awarded $204 million to eight towns on Cape Cod.
PHASING OUT FOREVER CHEMICALS
Forever chemicals known as PFAS are used in various products that pollute our drinking water and pose a threat to our health. Senator Cyr filed omnibus legislation to remediate contamination, phase out PFAS-containing products, and protect our health from associated harms.
Previously, Julian led an interagency task force that developed multiple policy initiatives to lessen human exposure to PFAS and protect our first responders, who are disproportionately exposed to these harmful chemicals. In 2022, he secured $250,000 to fund a firefighting foam take-back program to protect the health of our firefighters.
Julian also played a leading role in passing a bill to phase out the use of these toxic forever chemicals in firefighting personal protective gear, which became law in 2024.
COASTAL RESILIENCY TO PROTECT OUR HOMES AND MAIN STREETS
Cape Codders and Islanders are already witnessing the effects of the climate crisis and rising seas on our coast. Outer and barrier beaches are particularly vulnerable to erosion, in some places leading to an average loss of three feet of shoreline each year due to increasingly intense waves. Low lying commercial streets and historic downtowns are also particularly vulnerable. Julian has secured millions of dollars to restore estuaries, repair and reinforce our coastal infrastructure, and expand storm water and drainage systems to prepare us for more severe storms and flooding. By collaborating with researchers and municipal planners, Julian aims to assist local officials as they plan for the future sustainability of our built environment.
SAFELY DECOMMISSIONING PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Julian has used his position on Beacon Hill to protect his constituents from potentially harmful effects resulting from decommissioning the former Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in nearby Plymouth. He has filed legislation to levy fees for unsafe fuel storage methods and give the Department of Public Health additional oversight powers over the facility. Julian took a vocal stance alongside scores of Cape Codders and Islanders against the dumping of contaminated water from Pilgrim into Cape Cod Bay. He’s lobbied for ongoing robust environmental monitoring to continue until the decommissioning process is complete.
BEACH ACCESS FOR ALL
Massachusetts has some of the most restrictive beach access laws in the country. Colonial-era ordinances have shaped our beach access laws for far too long, allowing for private ownership of the intertidal zone with exceptions only for “fishing, fowling, and navigation.” These original exceptions to private beach access aimed to protect the public’s ability to access the beach, but today, we have different recreational pastimes. Senator Cyr filed legislation to modernize Massachusetts law to include beach access for “the use of land for relaxation, exercise, watersports, or other enjoyable pastimes.” Everyone deserves to be able to access and enjoy the ocean.
A LOCAL SAY IN THE ENVIRONMENT
Julian knows that his constituent communities are reliable partners in the fight to protect our environment and looks for ways to empower them.
Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket all rely on underground single-source aquifers that are at risk of incidents of environmental degradation. He filed legislation to allow cities and towns to institute tougher pesticide regulations and negotiate with vegetation managers on the use of chemicals. These efforts seek to give communities a stronger say in limiting or prohibiting products that could have an adverse effect on the local environment.
Challenges Unique to Cape Cod & the Islands
The geography and natural environment of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket face significant challenges due to the climate crisis. The Cape and Islands comprise much of the Commonwealth’s coastline and have experienced significant losses in shoreline each year due to erosion. Increasingly intense storms, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification threaten homes and livelihoods. Senator Cyr is resolute in his pursuit of working towards solutions and mitigative efforts to protect our region. The Gulf of Maine and waters surrounding the Cape & Islands are among the fastest warming in the world. Julian led a task force to assess the effects of ocean acidification and wrote legislation to implement its recommendations.
Climate Crisis
RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR OUR FUTURE
With the impacts of the climate crisis already apparent, we cannot delay our transition to renewable energy. Senator Cyr has helped shepherd a bipartisan effort to lead the nation in offshore wind energy production and has continuously supported expansion of solar energy. Currently, our electricity prices are unaffordable and dependent on the volatility of a global fossil fuel market. Wind and solar energy will save rate payers money and help stabilize prices. Senator Cyr has also made it clear that our commitment to renewable energy must be matched by a resolute commitment to our communities. Renewable energy developers must act as good neighbors; anything less than full respect and transparency towards local shoreside communities is simply unacceptable.
A ROADMAP TO NET ZERO
Senator Cyr supported the law that implemented Massachusetts’ goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This law, passed in 2021, included setting five-year emission reduction targets, empowered town governments to apply stricter energy codes to new construction, prioritized access to solar energy in the state’s low-income communities, authorized an additional 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind, set new efficiency standards for appliances, and so much more.
INVESTMENTS IN CLIMATE TECH
Julian believes we need to rapidly invest in future technologies that will put us on course to stop irreparable harm from climate change. Senator Cyr was a strong proponent of the Drive Act, which was signed into law in 2022. The Drive Act increases investments in the state’s renewable energy infrastructure, builds and improves upon existing incentives for homeowners, renters, and consumers to reduce their carbon footprints, and reduces emissions from the building and transportation sectors.
NATION’S FIRST OFFSHORE WIND FARM
Senator Cyr was among a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Beacon Hill who advocated for the development of the Vineyard Wind Project, a deep-water wind farm 14 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. This project presented an opportunity for the region to lead the nation in clean energy production.
Now that Vineyard Wind is producing power and additional project construction is underway, we must continue working with local officials and fishermen to integrate this necessary technology and meet our climate targets for the future.
PROTECTING OUR COASTS FROM OFFSHORE DRILLING
Offshore drilling, exploration, and development were expanded along the East Coast during the Trump Administration. Offshore drilling would pose a severe threat to our ocean ecosystems and coastal economies, and further set us back in solving the climate crisis. Senator Cyr filed legislation that takes the necessary steps to preserve our marine ecosystem by banning offshore drilling, expansion, exploration, and development within the limits of state waters and prohibits Massachusetts ports from assisting in drilling activities.
