May 29, 2026
by Kate Selig
Mystic Generating Station, a retired power plant in Everett that was once the largest fossil fuel electric plant in New England. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
Governor Maura Healey swept into office pledging that environmental justice would be at the center of her efforts to tackle climate change, a commitment she backed up by allocating nearly $9 million to the issue, an unprecedented sum.
The money helped launch a state office that strengthened oversight of energy projects in vulnerable neighborhoods and issued grants for tree planting and fresh produce distribution. And it created pathways for people frustrated with the environmental injustices in their towns to voice them to the state.
But just three years later, the governor and the Legislature have advanced budgets that would slash that funding by half.
Advocates say the loss of funds could threaten the state’s mandate to ensure its most vulnerable residents are protected from environmental pollution and the harms of global warming. Amid the Trump administration’s dismantling of federal environmental justice programs, some advocates worry that the Healey administration is stepping back its commitment.
“We were hoping for a bit more backbone,” said John Walkey, director of climate justice and waterfront initiatives at GreenRoots, an environmental group based in Chelsea.
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One of the environmental justice office’s major achievements last year was developing statewide standards requiring developers to assess the cumulative impact of large energy projects on vulnerable communities, rather than evaluating projects in isolation.
The environmental justice funding also supports the state Environmental Justice Council, which meets in libraries, schools, and other community spaces across Massachusetts to hear residents’ concerns and gather input on decisions being made by state agencies. At a meeting in Taunton, for example, community members spoke to the health and traffic repercussions of nearby industrial plants. In Lowell, residents shared the environmental consequences of living next to hydropower facilities.
Dwaign Tyndal, executive director of Alternatives for Community and Environment, a Roxbury-based nonprofit, acknowledged that the work funded by the line item may seem modest compared to the scale of injustices across the state — including rising asthma rates, devastating flooding, and extreme heat.
“When you have generational issues like air quality, and you point to the siting reforms, it sounds not as important,” he said. “But it’s literally the foundational step of changing environmental justice in frontline communities.”
State Senator Lydia Edwards, who represents East Boston, filed an amendment to maintain last year’s funding level. She said that growing environmental threats and a hostile federal government called for more investment, not less.
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