ACEC/MA Action Alert on Massachusetts Bills – 3-4-2021

Sample email to your State Senator

Dear Senator ________,

I am writing as a constituent living in (the town) in your district who is a/an (engineer, land surveyor, working for an engineering firm, etc with the firm of _______________) to ask you to sign on as a cosponsor of 2 key bills this legislative session:

Please sign on as a co-sponsor of: SD 1362,  An Act Relative to Public Safety in Excavation

• This bill would modernize the Dig Safe law so that we can improve infrastructure design in Massachusetts with earlier identification of underground utilities. This is critical for safety of the public, including design professionals and construction contractors.

Please sign on as a co-sponsor of SD1057, An Act protecting water systems through the labeling of flushable wipes. 

Massachusetts sewers face avoidable costs for clogs, fouled pumps and resulting sanitary sewer overflows. As the popularity of various wipes increases and users flush them, these costs will increase. Since the early 2000s, wipes have been aggressively marketed as a replacement for toilet paper, mops, cleaning brushes and rags. This multi-billion-dollar industry has had disastrous impacts on local sewer systems as clogs and fouled pumps increase.

• Unlike toilet paper, wipes are not “dispersible” in normal sewer conditions
• Many such products are labeled “flushable”
• Clogs and fouling from flushed wipes costs sewer operations in Massachusetts nearly $10million annually.
• NACWA (the National Association of Clean Water Agencies) promotes using science-based standards for dispersibility
• Wipes should be properly and clearly labeled.
• This bill classifies wipes and flushability using standards developed by those most familiar with wipes’ impact on sewer systems—wastewater operators. We ask that those products that do not meet dispersible standards have prominent, mandatory “Do Not Flush” labelling, following NACWA labeling guidelines.

I greatly appreciate your consideration of this request to sign on as a cosponsor of these two bills at this time.  The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts can provide additional information. Please feel free to contact me or Abbie Goodman, our Executive Director 

Sincerely yours,

Name (license, if applicable)

Home address

Daytime tel.

Sample email to your State Representative

Dear Representative ________,

I am writing as a constituent living in (the town) in your district who is a/an (engineer, land surveyor, working for an engineering firm, etc with the firm of _______________) to ask you to sign on as a cosponsor of 2 key bills this legislative session:

Please sign on as a co-sponsor of: HD 3076, An Act supporting safe excavation practices

• This bill would modernize the Dig Safe law so that we can improve infrastructure design in Massachusetts with earlier identification of underground utilities. This is critical for safety of the public, including design professionals and construction contractors.

Please also sign on as a co-sponsor of HD 1625, An Act protecting water systems through the labeling of flushable wipes. 

Massachusetts sewers face avoidable costs for clogs, fouled pumps and resulting sanitary sewer overflows. As the popularity of various wipes increases and users flush them, these costs will increase. Since the early 2000s, wipes have been aggressively marketed as a replacement for toilet paper, mops, cleaning brushes and rags. This multi-billion-dollar industry has had disastrous impacts on local sewer systems as clogs and fouled pumps increase.

• Unlike toilet paper, wipes are not “dispersible” in normal sewer conditions
• Many such products are labeled “flushable”
• Clogs and fouling from flushed wipes costs sewer operations in Massachusetts nearly $10million annually.
• NACWA (the National Association of Clean Water Agencies) promotes using science-based standards for dispersibility
• Wipes should be properly and clearly labeled.
• This bill classifies wipes and flushability using standards developed by those most familiar with wipes’ impact on sewer systems—wastewater operators. We ask that those products that do not meet dispersible standards have prominent, mandatory “Do Not Flush” labelling, following NACWA labeling guidelines.

I greatly appreciate your consideration of this request to sign on as a cosponsor of these two bills at this time.  The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts can provide additional information. Please feel free to contact me or Abbie Goodman, our Executive Director 

Sincerely yours,

Name (license, if applicable)

Home address

Daytime tel.