The Trustees and Massport host Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Environmental Justice Meeting
On Tuesday, March 7, 2023, The Trustees and Massport came together to host a Piers Park II and III information session. The meeting served as the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Environmental Justice meeting, which ensures that populations that have historically been excluded from meaningful participation in decisions that impact their communities’ environmental health are engaged in the development of projects within their neighborhoods. While the MEPA environmental justice meeting is a requirement, the Trustees have been out hosting meetings and events in the community for the past two years to understand how to best build a park that will serve those who live in East Boston and surrounding communities.
There are 33 census block groups defined as environmental justice populations within one mile of the project site for Piers Park II and III. The environmental justice communities in the surrounding area are primarily those that are minority populations, speak a first language other than English (English Isolation), are low-income (Income Isolation), or any combination of the three. “East Boston, in its rich demography, actually meets all of those different qualifications. It’s one of the reasons why we were interested in pursuing this project in East Boston in the first place,” shared Nick Black, Managing Director of the Boston Waterfront Initiative.
For those who have been following the Piers Park III project from the beginning, this meeting was another in a long list of engagement efforts in East Boston, bringing residents and stakeholders together to weigh in on this park that will serve the community. In 2022, the Boston Waterfront Initiative engaged with over 4500 residents in East Boston and the surrounding communities, and in addition, hosted a variety of free events for families in the current Piers Park, from family festivals, to waterfront on wheels tours, to the harvest festival, and more in collaboration with community partners.
“These events gave us the chance to host fun events in the community while also informing the public about the design and the direction that this project is heading,” shared Nick. “In addition to those events, we also hosted six different design review meetings, two of those in person, and the others online, in both English and Spanish.”
While there weren’t many new design updates to share, the team took the time to share a bit about the project through the lens of how it is being permitted and its impact on the surrounding neighborhood and environment. “One of the things we have really been focused on as this project has progressed is reducing the environmental impact of the park’s design. We have rethought some of our approaches about how the park will be built, to continue to meet our goals and providing amenities that the community wanted to see, while not having such an outsized impact on the environment,” Nick shared. The updated design leverages some of the existing conditions of the pier to create this new space.
One of the key issues in previous designs was its reliance on dredging and filling of the park site to create the design elements. The new design reduces environmental impact and impact on the community during construction by utilizing different marine engineering strategies. This design continues to allow for a unique experience on the harbor, including the critical element of access to the water, and enhanced habitat area.
The Trustees filed an Environmental Notification Form (ENF) with MEPA on February 28, which has recently appeared in the Environmental Monitor. This opened a period of public comment until April 7, 2023. To submit a public comment before the April 7 deadline, visit the Environmental Monitor site, scroll to the Piers Park III project listing, and click on the Comment option under Actions. Comments may also be submitted via email, mail, or hand delivery—for more information click here. Please feel free to reach out to our team at onewaterfront@thetrustees.org with any questions.