WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) announced the successful inclusion of $2,500,000 in federal community project funding for the City of Somerville’s Poplar Street Pump Station & Art Farm project in the FY2022 House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which is expected to pass the House this week.

Funding for the project, which Rep. Pressley has been advocating for through Congress’s Community Project Funding initiative, will be used to provide critical stormwater climate change management infrastructure below ground as well as an open community space and arts facilities designed to foster community engagement, learning, and creativity. These funds will also help relieve flooding in the city, prepare for climate change, reduce Combined Sewer Overflows in the region, and alleviate capacity constraints in the regional combined sewer system.

“This critical funding will help the Somerville community address systemic inequities in its water infrastructure, prepare for the impacts of climate change, and create space for joy and creativity,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “I am deeply grateful to Mayor Curtatone and our advocates for their partnership throughout this process, and look forward to seeing this project become a key resource for the community.”

“Our community applauds Congresswoman Pressley for successfully advancing critical sewer and drainage investments in Somerville,” said Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “The Congresswoman’s leadership on this funding will fundamentally change how stormwater is managed in Somerville, reducing flooding, mitigating Combined Sewer Overflows, and providing capacity in regional infrastructure needed to facilitate transformative development in Union Square.”  

This project is among the ten Community Project Funding requests submitted by Rep. Pressley to the Appropriations Committee. This month, Rep. Pressley announced the advancement of federal funding for community projects in Randolph and Milton, Cambridge, Boston, as well as Chelsea and Everett.  Information on the status of additional requests will be announced in the coming days.   

The inclusion of this funding in the FY22 House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill is the first step in the Congressional appropriations process, and Rep. Pressley will continue fighting for this funding as the bill moves forward for consideration on the House floor.

To read more about Rep. Pressley’s Community Project Funding requests, click here. To watch her testify before the Appropriations Committee in support of her requests, click here.

Rep. Pressley was also successful in securing over $18.5 million in federal funding in the House Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, the INVEST in America Act, which will support several projects championed by the Congresswoman through the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee. The INVEST in America Act passed the House earlier this month, and included several other priorities championed by Rep. Pressley.

# # #