M.G.L. c. 21D, § 1 Short title
c. 21D, § 1. Short title
Section 1. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the ''Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Act''.
MASSACHUSETTS HAZARDOUS WASTE FACILITY SITING ACT
M.G.L. pt. Part I, tit. Title II, ch. c. 21D
in effectM.G.L. c. 21D, § 2 Definitions
c. 21D, § 2. Definitions
Section 2. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, when used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
''Abutting community'', a city or town contiguous to or touching upon any land of the host community.
''Chief Executive Officer'', the city manager in any city having a city manager, the mayor in any other city; the town manager in any town having a town manager, the chairman of the board of selectmen in any other town.
''Commissioner'', the commissioner of the department of environmental protection.
''Committee'', the local assessment committee.
''Council'', the hazardous waste facility site safety council.
''Compensation'', any money, thing of value or economic benefit conferred by the developer on any city, town, or person under the terms and conditions specified in the siting agreement established by sections twelve and thirteen of chapter twenty-one D.
''Department'', the department of environmental protection.
''Developer'', any person proposing to construct, maintain, or operate a hazardous waste facility in any city or town of the commonwealth.
''Disposal'', the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, incineration or placing of any hazardous waste into or on any land or water so that such hazardous waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including ground waters.
''Facility'', a site or works for the storage, treatment, dewatering, refining, incinerating, reclamation, stabilization, solidification, disposal or other processes where hazardous wastes can be stored, treated or disposed of; however, not including a municipal or industrial waste water treatment facility if permitted under section forty-three of chapter twenty-one.
''Generator'', a person who produces hazardous waste.
''Hazardous waste'', a waste, or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible illness or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, safety or welfare or to the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, used or disposed of, or otherwise managed, however not to include solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to permits under section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1967 as amended, or source, special nuclear, or by-product material as defined by the Atomic Energy Acts of 1954.
''Hazardous waste management'', the systematic control of the collection, source separation, storage, transportation, processing, treatment, recovery and disposal of hazardous wastes.
''Host community'', the city or town in which a developer proposes to construct, maintain and operate a hazardous waste facility.
''Person'', any agency or political subdivision of the federal government or the commonwealth, any state, public or private corporation or authority, individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, partnership, association, or other entity, and any officer, employee or agent of said person, and any group of said persons.
''Secretary'', the secretary of the executive office of environmental affairs.
''Storage'', the actual or intended containment of hazardous waste on a temporary basis or for a period not exceeding nine months or another period set by regulation or the department of environmental protection, in a manner which does not constitute disposal.
''Treatment'', any method, technique or process, including neutralization, incineration, stabilization or solidification, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological character or composition of any hazardous waste so as to neutralize such waste or so as to render such waste less hazardous, non-hazardous, safer to transport, amenable to storage, or reduced in volume, except such method or technique as may be included as an integral part of a manufacturing process at the point of generation.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 3 Powers and duties
c. 21D, § 3. Powers and duties
Section 3. The department of environmental protection shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) to prepare and issue annually a statewide environmental impact report, after first providing the council an adequate opportunity to review and comment on the contents of said report prior to its final adoption by the department. Said statewide environmental impact report shall describe and evaluate the hazardous waste management situation existing in the commonwealth, together with such feasible alternative solutions as may be available for the treatment, processing and disposal of hazardous waste, which report shall include, but not be limited to information concerning:
(a) the existing sources of hazardous waste;
(b) the types of technologies available for the treatment, processing and disposal of hazardous waste;
(c) the impacts, both favorable and adverse, resulting from the use of each type of technology;
(d) actions which might be taken to avoid dangers, minimize risks, or remedy unavoidable consequences;
(e) the kinds of benefits and protective mechanisms which may be made available to host and abutting communities; and
(f) the existing rules, regulations, procedures and standards which have been established to protect the public health, the public safety, and the environment; and
(g) the sources and types of hazardous waste generated in the commonwealth, the adequacy of existing facilities for the treatment processing and disposal of said hazardous waste, and the additional facility capacity needed in order to eliminate the shortfall in capacity if any, that may exist;
(2) to give due notice to the public, and to conduct briefing sessions pursuant to the provisions of section eight of this chapter;
(3) to solicit proposals for the construction, maintenance and operation of a hazardous waste facility designed to treat, process, or dispose of such hazardous waste shortfalls in capacity as have been indicated in the statewide environmental impact report, to consider if said proposals are environmentally safe and technologically sound, and to report the results of its activities to the council semi-annually;
(4) to disseminate information widely throughout the commonwealth, in cooperation with other state departments, boards, agencies and commissions, on the treatment, processing and disposal of hazardous waste, its impact on the economy of the commonwealth, the types of technology available, and the social and economic benefits and potential dangers resulting from the use of each type of technology;
(5) to publicize throughout the commonwealth all proposals for the construction, maintenance and operation of hazardous waste facilities in order to inform the public and to encourage the development of suggestions for sites; and
(6) to accept any gifts or grants of money or property, whether real or personal, from any source, private or public, including, but not limited to, the United States of America or its agencies, in order to promote the purposes of this chapter.
In preparing the statewide environmental impact report required by this section, the department may revise and update said report to comply with the provisions of this section.
The department shall adopt such rules, regulations, procedures and standards as may be necessary to carry out its powers and to perform its duties pursuant to chapter thirty A of the General Laws. Said rules, regulations, procedures and standards shall be developed by the department after appropriate consultation and review by interested and affected persons and agencies as determined by the department including, but not limited to, the hazardous waste facility site safety council, the department of public health, and city and town officials, including city and town public health officers.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 5 Local assessment committee
c. 21D, § 5. Local assessment committee
Section 5. Not more than thirty days after the receipt of a notice of intent to construct, maintain and operate a hazardous waste facility on a site in a city or town, or notification by the department that this community is a host community in the final list of suggested sites established by the council pursuant to section seven, the chief executive officer of said city or town shall take appropriate action to establish a local assessment committee. Said committee shall be comprised of (1) the chief executive officer, who shall serve as its chairman, (2) the chairman of the local board of health or his designee, (3) the chairman of the local conservation commission or his designee, (4) the chairman of the local planning board or his designee, (5) the chief of the fire department or his designee, (6) four residents of said city or town appointed by a majority vote of the aforementioned city or town officials, three of whom shall be residents of the area of the city or town most immediately affected by the proposed facility; and (7) not more than four members nominated by the chief executive officer and approved by a majority vote of the city council, board of aldermen, or board of selectmen of said city or town. Alternate members shall serve on said committee in the absence of members appointed in accordance with clauses (6) and (7) who, in each instance, shall be appointed in the same manner as those members appointed pursuant to said clauses (6) and (7). Said four members nominated by the chief executive officer may include representatives of abutting communities; each representative of an abutting community shall be approved by a majority vote of the city council, board of aldermen, or board of selectmen of said abutting community. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting all business. The chairman shall preside over meetings of the committee. All actions and decisions of the committee pursuant to this chapter shall be made by majority vote. Not more than thirty days after the receipt of a notice of intent to construct, maintain and operate a hazardous waste facility on a site in said city or town, or notification by the department that this community is a host community on the final list of suggested sites established by the council pursuant to section seven, the chief executive officer of said city or town shall submit to the council the names and addresses of all the members of the local assessment committee. Each member of the committee shall receive, subject to appropriation, fifty dollars for each day or part thereof for his services and shall also receive all reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties.
If the chief executive officer of said city or town fails to take appropriate action to establish a local assessment committee and to submit the names and addresses of its membership to the council not later than thirty days after the receipt of said notice of intent, or notification by the department that this community is a host community on the final list of suggested sites established by the council pursuant to section seven of this chapter, the council shall establish and appoint the membership of said committee.
The chief executive officer shall promptly report to the council any changes that may occur in the members of the local assessment committee.
A local assessment committee shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) to represent generally the best interests of the host community in all negotiations with the developers of proposed facilities in said community;
(2) to negotiate with the developer the detailed terms, provisions, and conditions of a siting agreement to protect the public health, the public safety, and the environment of the host community, as well as to promote the fiscal welfare of said community through special benefits and compensation;
(3) to receive and expend such technical assistance and planning grants as may be made available pursuant to section eleven of this chapter and such other funds as may become available for such purposes from any other source, public or private;
(4) to enter into a nonassignable contract binding upon the host community, and enforceable against said host community in any court of competent jurisdiction, by the decision to sign a siting agreement pursuant to section thirteen of this chapter;
(5) to cooperate wherever possible with abutting communities in negotiations with the developer over compensation for said abutting communities; and
(6) to adopt such rules, regulations, procedures and standards as may be necessary to carry out its functions and perform its duties under this chapter.
The provisions of sections twenty-three A and twenty-three B of chapter thirty-nine shall apply to all meetings of a local assessment committee except that, in addition to the purposes for which executive sessions may be held pursuant to section twenty-three B of chapter thirty-nine, an executive session of a local assessment committee may also be held to discuss strategy with respect to the negotiation of a siting agreement or to consider the terms, conditions and provisions of said siting agreement if such discussion or consideration in an open meeting may have a detrimental effect upon the negotiating position of the local assessment committee or the establishment of the terms, conditions and provisions of said siting agreement.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 6 Information or records confidential
c. 21D, § 6. Information or records confidential
Section 6. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, any information, record, or particular part thereof, obtained by the department pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall, upon request, be kept confidential and not be considered to be a public record when it is deemed by the commissioner that such information, record or report relates to secret processes, methods of manufacture or production, or that such information, record or report, if made public, would divulge a trade secret. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or to deny the power of the department to use such information, record or report as part of aggregated statistics and computations in its statewide environmental impact report including, but not limited to, the capacity shortfall of hazardous waste facilities.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 7 Notice of intent to construct, maintain and operate facility
c. 21D, § 7. Notice of intent to construct, maintain and operate facility
Section 7. Every developer proposing to construct, maintain and operate a hazardous waste facility shall submit a notice of intent to the council, the department, the department of environmental protection, the chief executive officer of the host community, if any, any regional planning agency of which the host community, if any, is a member or in which it otherwise participates, the chief executive officer of all abutting communities, if any, and those persons owning or otherwise exercising control over the real property of any site on which the developer proposes to construct, maintain and operate a hazardous waste facility. A separate notice of intent shall be submitted by the developer for each site proposed by the developer for a facility.
The notice of intent shall include:
(1) a description of the type of hazardous wastes the developer proposes to accept for treatment, processing and disposal at the facility;
(2) a description of the technology and procedures the developer proposes to use to treat, process, and dispose of hazardous waste at the facility;
(3) the site, if any, proposed by the developer as a possible location for the construction and operation of the facility;
(4) a description of the present suitability of the site, and of what additional measures, if any, will be required to make the site suitable for the purpose of constructing, maintaining and operating a facility; or in the event such developer is not proposing a site, the requirements and characteristics of a site that would be appropriate for said facility;
(5) preliminary specifications and architectural drawings of the proposed facility;
(6) a copy of the most recently published statewide environmental impact report issued by the department pursuant to section three; and
(7) any other information required to be submitted in accordance with the rules, regulations, procedures and standards of the department or the council.
In submitting a notice of intent, the developer shall attach thereto such documents prepared or approved by the department which describe and explain the hazardous waste facility siting process as established by the provisions of this chapter, which describe and explain the types of planning and other technical assistance available to the host community and to abutting communities from any source, including, but not limited to, state agencies and the developer, and which describe and explain the types of special benefits that may be included in a negotiated facility siting agreement between a local assessment committee in a host community and a developer including, but not limited to, direct compensation payments to the host community, safety operation and monitoring programs, and future monetary incentives to the host community.
The council shall, within fifteen days of the receipt of a completed notice of intent, review the proposed project to determine if the proposed project is feasible and deserving of state assistance. The department shall publish and disseminate any determination by the council that a proposed project is feasible and deserving of state assistance by notifying all those who previously received the notice of intent pursuant to this section and the chief executive officer of every city and town in the commonwealth. The department shall include its schedule of briefing sessions pursuant to section eight of this chapter in such notification.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 8 Briefing sessions
c. 21D, § 8. Briefing sessions
Section 8. The department shall conduct briefing sessions for the purposes of insuring the participation of interested persons in the hazardous waste facility siting process pursuant to this chapter and of informing the public about every proposal which the hazardous waste facility siting council has determined to be feasible and deserving of state assistance. The department shall establish whatever schedule of briefing sessions it deems appropriate to achieve these purposes, holding said sessions in such a manner, place, and at such times as in its sole discretion are best calculated to achieve these purposes. The department shall conduct its first briefing session on a proposal within thirty days after it has completed its dissemination of the determination of the council that the proposed project is feasible and deserving of state support pursuant to section seven of this chapter. The department shall give a reasonable opportunity to persons attending the hearing to discuss, comment upon, or criticize all or any part of the proposal and may ask questions of the developer, the department, or any other agencies represented at said briefing session.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 9 Review of proposals; suggestions for sites
c. 21D, § 9. Review of proposals; suggestions for sites
Section 9. If the developer suggests a site in his notice of intent and indicates therein his unwillingness to accept suggestions for alternative sites, the council shall proceed to review the proposal pursuant to section ten. If the developer indicates in his notice of intent a willingness to accept suggestions for a site, whether as alternative sites to a site already proposed or as initially suggested sites if none has been proposed in his notice of intent, the department shall for a period of fifty days after the conclusion of the briefing sessions pursuant to section eight accept suggestions for sites proposed and submitted by any of the following persons:
(1) private individuals who own, or have a substantial financial interest in, the suggested site;
(2) the chief executive officer or the local assessment committee of a host community suggesting a site within said host community which is publicly owned and probably available for lease or sale to the developer, or which is privately owned, where reasonable grounds exist for the belief that said site might be readily available for use as a site for a facility;
(3) the developer suggesting a site either as an alternative to, or in addition to the site originally proposed in his notice of intent or as an initial suggestion for a site if none was proposed in his notice of intent;
(4) any agency of the commonwealth suggesting a site which is publicly owned and probably available for lease or sale to the developer, or which is privately owned, where reasonable grounds exist for the belief that said site might be readily available for use as a site for a facility; and
(5) the chief executive officer of any city or town in the commonwealth suggesting a site in his city or town which is publicly owned and probably available for lease or sale to the developer, or which is privately owned, where reasonable grounds exist for the belief that said site might be readily available for use as a site for a facility.
Any person or agency so suggesting a site shall prior to such suggestions notify in writing the owner or owners of record of the site and the chief executive officer of the host community.
Any suggestion of a site may be withdrawn by the person or agency making said suggestion within the fifty day period permitted for the making of suggestions. If upon the conclusion of the fifty day period, no sites have been suggested by any person or agency, the council may extend the period within which suggestions may be made for an additional thirty days and the department may suggest a reasonable number of sites in the host community which are publicly owned and probably available for lease or sale to the developer or which are privately owned, where reasonable grounds exist for the belief that said sites might be readily available for use as sites for a facility.
If, upon the conclusion of the period or any extension permitted for suggestions, more than three suggested sites have been proposed, the council shall, upon consultation with the department of environmental protection, reduce the number of suggested sites to three, including the developer's suggested site, if any. The council shall determine, prior to establishing its final list of suggested sites, whether or not the owner of record desires to withdraw his real property from consideration as a suggested site. If the owner of record so desires, the suggested site shall be withdrawn and the council shall endeavor to replace said suggested site on its final list.
Within ten days after the end of the suggestion period, the department shall notify the chief executive officers of each host community and all abutting communities, the members of the local assessment committee of each host community, the owner or owners of record of suggested sites, and newspapers, radio stations, and television stations serving each host community of the final list of suggested sites by distributing said list to them.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 10 Preliminary project impact report
c. 21D, § 10. Preliminary project impact report
Section 10. The developer shall prepare a preliminary project impact report to be submitted to the secretary and to the council for each site under consideration. Said preliminary project impact report shall consist of two parts: (1) the environmental impact report required by sections sixty-two to sixty-two H, inclusive of chapter thirty and (2) a social economic appendix as prescribed by the rules, regulations, procedures and standards adopted by the council. The secretary shall continue to administer and manage the environmental impact report as part of the preliminary project impact report pursuant to the procedures and time requirements of sections sixty-two to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty in order to determine whether or not said environmental impact report complies with the provisions of said sections. Insofar as possible, the council shall administer and manage the social and economic appendix as part of the preliminary project impact report in accordance with the procedures and time requirements established for an environmental impact report pursuant to sections sixty-two to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty in order to determine whether or not the social and economic appendix is in its judgment in compliance with the rules, regulations, procedures and standards which it has prescribed for said appendix. The secretary and the council shall cooperate in the administration and management of the preliminary project impact report, shall from time to time during the review process exchange reports, comments and information developed and received, and shall to the maximum feasible extent endeavor to have both parts of the preliminary project impact report proceed through the review process at the same time pursuant to the procedures and timing requirements of section sixty-two to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty.
The developer shall file a project notification form with the secretary and the council. The council shall issue public notice of the availability of such report. The project notification form shall consist of an environmental notification form pursuant to section sixty-two A of chapter thirty and such other social and economic information as the council shall prescribe by its rules, regulations, procedures and standards.
The council shall limit the scope of the social and economic appendix as part of the preliminary project impact report. Notwithstanding the provisions of section sixty-two A of chapter thirty, the council may establish a specific procedure for the evaluation and review of the social and economic impacts of the proposed project, whether or not the secretary has designated said project as a major and complicated project. The secretary shall have the authority to determine in his sole discretion that a proposal to construct, maintain and operate a hazardous waste facility should be designated as a major and complicated project requiring the establishment of a specific procedure for evaluation and review of the environmental impact of said project pursuant to section sixty-two A of chapter thirty.
Upon the establishment of a siting agreement pursuant to sections twelve and thirteen, the developer shall prepare a final project impact report which shall be in accordance with the provisions of the siting agreement and which shall contain information, comments, and facility redesign data resulting from the negotiations preceding the establishment of said agreement. The council shall declare that an established siting agreement is operative and is to be given full force and effect only when a final project impact report has been found by the secretary and the council to be in compliance with all applicable provisions of law.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 11 Technical assistance grants
c. 21D, § 11. Technical assistance grants
Section 11. The local assessment committee of a host community and the chief executive officers of abutting communities may request technical assistance grants from the council. If a local assessment committee of a host community or the chief executive officer of an abutting community requests a technical assistance grant on or before the date that the secretary has defined the scope of the environmental impact report part of the preliminary project impact report, the council shall act on said request within thirty days after the secretary has so defined the scope and shall award, subject to funds appropriated therefor, such amounts as in its discretion shall be appropriate, upon consultation with the executive office of housing and livable communities. All technical assistance grants awarded to the chief executive officers of abutting communities and to the local assessment committee of a host community which has requested such a grant after the secretary has defined the scope of the environmental impact report part of the preliminary project impact report shall be awarded in such amounts and form, subject to funds appropriated therefor, as the council in its discretion shall deem to be appropriate.
The local assessment committee of a host community and the chief executive officers of abutting communities may expend these funds, and such other funds as a city or town may appropriate therefor, to pay the costs incurred by said communities for participation in the hazardous waste facility site process established by this chapter.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 12 Siting agreements; contents
c. 21D, § 12. Siting agreements; contents
Section 12. No facility shall be constructed, maintained or operated unless a siting agreement shall have been established by the developer and the local assessment committee of a host community pursuant to sections twelve and thirteen and said agreement has been declared to be operative and in full force and effect by the council. After said declaration by the council, a siting agreement shall be a nonassignable contract binding upon the developer and the host community, and enforceable against the parties in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The siting agreement shall specify the terms, conditions and provisions under which the facility shall be constructed, maintained and operated if the developer chooses to construct, maintain and operate a facility on said site, including, but not limited to the following terms, conditions and provisions:
(1) facility construction and maintenance procedures;
(2) operating procedures and practices, the design of the facility and its associated activities;
(3) monitoring procedures, practices and standards necessary to assure and continue to demonstrate that the facility will be operated safely;
(4) the services to be provided the developer by the host community;
(5) the compensation, services, and special benefits that will be provided to the host community by the developer, and the timing and conditions of their provision;
(6) the services and benefits to be provided to the host community by agencies of state government, and the timing and condition of their provision;
(7) any provisions for tax prepayments or accelerated payments, or for payments in lieu of taxes;
(8) provisions for renegotiation of any of the term, conditions of provisions of the siting agreement, or of the entire agreement;
(9) provisions for resolving any disagreements in the construction and interpretation of the siting agreement that may arise between the parties; and
(10) appendices of the compensation to be paid abutting communities established pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen.
The siting agreement may also include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(1) provisions for direct monetary payments from the developer to the host community in addition to payments for taxes and special services and compensation for demonstrable adverse impacts;
(2) provisions to assure the health, safety, comfort, convenience, and social and economic security of the host community and its citizens;
(3) provisions to assure the continuing economic viability of the project; and
(4) provisions to assure the protection of the environment and natural resources.
Any financial benefits received by host communities or abutting communities, other than taxes on real or personal property, shall not be deducted from any amounts of state assistance, reimbursements or distributions provided by general and special laws or under the Local Aid Fund.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 13 Siting agreements; negotiations
c. 21D, § 13. Siting agreements; negotiations
Section 13. A siting agreement may be established by the signature of the chief executive officer of a host community who has been directed by a majority vote of the local assessment committee of said host community to sign and the signature of any officer of the developer expressly authorized by the developer to sign said agreement, or by arbitration pursuant to section fifteen.
All state agencies shall endeavor to assist in facilitating negotiations between local assessment committees, the chief executive officer of abutting communities, and the developer. The council shall be available during such negotiations to assist in the exchange of information and to encourage and facilitate access to opinions, reports, documents and other materials relevant to the siting agreement including, but not limited to, all public records produced as part of the hazardous waste facility siting process established by this chapter.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 14 Petition for compensation; hearing; arbitration panel
c. 21D, § 14. Petition for compensation; hearing; arbitration panel
Section 14. The chief executive officer of any abutting community may, within sixty days of the determination by the secretary and the council that a preliminary project impact report is in their judgment in compliance with applicable law, petition the council for the establishment of compensation to be paid by the developer to the abutting community for the demonstrably adverse impacts to be imposed upon said community by the construction, maintenance and operation of a hazardous waste facility in a host community. As a condition precedent to the filing of said petition, the chief executive officer shall agree in writing on a form prescribed by the council, and he is herewith given the authority to bind his city or town to such an agreement, that his city or town shall either accept the compensation to be determined by the council or the compensation established by arbitration pursuant to the procedures established in this section in full settlement of any claims for demonstrably adverse impacts imposed by the current proposed project. The chief executive officer shall also agree, as an essential part of said condition precedent, that he will sign an agreement with the developer accepting the amount established by the council or by arbitration pursuant to this section, which agreement shall be a nonassignable contract binding on the abutting community and the developer, and enforceable as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The council, after due notice to the developer, the local assessment committee, and the chief executive officer of the abutting community which has petitioned shall conduct a public hearing to determine and establish the compensation to be given to the abutting community by the developer. If the chief executive officer of the abutting community or the developer is aggrieved by the amount of compensation established by the council, either party may appeal to the council to establish an arbitration panel, which shall be comprised of three arbitrators, to resolve the dispute. The council, upon such appeal, shall establish said arbitration panel by appointing one arbitrator selected by the chief executive officer of the abutting community, one arbitrator selected by the developer, and the third an impartial arbitrator, who shall be selected by the chief executive officer of the abutting community and by the developer and who shall act as chairman of the panel or, if the chief executive officer of the abutting community and the developer agree, a single impartial arbitrator acceptable to the chief executive officer of the abutting community and the developer.
If an arbitration panel or single arbitrator has not been selected within thirty days after an appeal for arbitration has been filed, the council shall appoint the arbitrator or arbitrators necessary to complete the three person panel, which shall act with the same force and effect as if the panel had been selected without the intervention of the council.
The arbitration panel by a majority vote or single arbitrator shall within forty-five days after establishment determine the amount of compensation to be paid by the developer to the abutting community. The council, upon request of the arbitration panel or the single arbitrator, may extend the time for the conduct of arbitration.
The arbitrators or arbitrator, subject to appropriation, shall receive from the council such compensation for each day or part thereof for his services as a majority of the council shall establish. He shall also receive, subject to appropriation, all reasonable expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of his official duties.
The developer shall agree in writing on a form prescribed by the council that, as a condition precedent to the establishment of a siting agreement, he shall accept the amount established by the council or by arbitration pursuant to this section as the amount of compensation he shall pay to the abutting community. The developer shall also agree, as an essential part of said condition precedent, that he will expressly authorize one of his officers to sign an agreement with the chief executive officer of the abutting community, which agreement shall be a nonassignable contract binding on the developer and the abutting community, and enforceable as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The provisions of chapter two hundred and fifty-one shall govern the conduct of arbitration proceedings pursuant to this section, including the provisions of said chapter for judicial review of an arbitration award.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 15 Impasse in negotiations; final arbitration procedures
c. 21D, § 15. Impasse in negotiations; final arbitration procedures
Section 15. If sixty days after the secretary and the council determine that the preliminary project impact report is in compliance with applicable law, the department, the developer or the local assessment committee of the host community informs the council that an impasse in the negotiations of a siting agreement exists, the council, upon investigation, may determine that such an impasse exists and may proceed to frame the issues in dispute between the local assessment committee and the developer for submission to final and binding arbitration. Upon request of both the developer and the host community, the council may postpone the making of its determination that an impasse exists and that the issues in dispute should be resolved by final and binding arbitration for such a reasonable period of time as the council in its sole discretion shall determine to be appropriate. Upon the making of the determination that an impasse in the negotiation of a siting agreement exists, the council shall establish either an arbitration panel which shall be comprised of three arbitrators, one selected by the developer, one selected by the local assessment committee of the host community, and a third, an impartial arbitrator who shall act as chairman of the panel, who shall be selected by the developer and the local assessment committee of the host community, or, if the developer and the local assessment committee of the host community can agree, a single impartial arbitrator acceptable to the developer and local assessment committee of the host community.
If an arbitration panel or single impartial arbitrator has not been selected within thirty days after the council's determination that an impasse exists, the council shall appoint the arbitrator or arbitrators necessary to complete the three-person panel, which shall act with the same force and effect as if the panel had been selected without intervention of the council.
An arbitrator shall receive from the council such compensation for each day or part thereof for his services as a majority of the council shall establish. He shall also receive reimbursement for all reasonable expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of his official duties.
The arbitration panel or the single arbitrator shall within forty-five days after establishment resolve the issues in dispute between the local assessment committee and the developer. The council, upon request of the arbitration panel or single arbitrator, may extend the time permitted for the conduct of arbitration.
In the event that the parties mutually resolve each of the issues in dispute and agree to be bound, they may at any time prior to the final decisions of the panel or single arbitrator request that the arbitration proceedings be terminated, the panel acting through its chairman, or the single arbitrator, shall terminate the proceedings.
The provisions of chapter two hundred and fifty-one shall govern the conduct of arbitration proceedings pursuant to this section, including the provisions of said chapter for judicial review of an arbitration decision.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 16 Licenses and permits; time for granting or denial
c. 21D, § 16. Licenses and permits; time for granting or denial
Section 16. No license or permit granted by a city or town shall be required for a hazardous waste facility which was not required on or before the effective date of this chapter by said city or town. All permits and licenses required for a hazardous waste facility in a city or town shall be granted or denied within sixty days after application for said permits and licenses by the developer, or twenty-one days after the establishment of a siting agreement pursuant to sections twelve and thirteen, whichever is the later.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 17 Petition for and exercise of eminent domain authority; leases
c. 21D, § 17. Petition for and exercise of eminent domain authority; leases
Section 17. If all permits and licenses required by law have been issued to the developer and a siting agreement has been established pursuant to sections twelve and thirteen, the developer may petition the department to exercise its eminent domain authority pursuant to the provisions of chapter seventy-nine as authorized by section nineteen of chapter sixteen. Upon a showing by the developer, after due notice and a hearing thereon, that he has been unsuccessful in a good faith attempt to acquire all or a portion of the site by purchase or lease, the department shall exercise its eminent domain authority to make said acquisition, subject to approval by a majority vote of the city council, board of aldermen, or board of selectmen pursuant to the provisions of section nineteen of chapter sixteen. The department shall lease any land acquired under this section for a hazardous waste facility for the treatment, processing or disposal of hazardous waste to the developer for the purpose of construction, maintaining, and operating a privately owned hazardous waste facility. Any land acquired under this section may be disposed of by the department upon termination of a hazardous waste facility or completion of use of a site, with the concurrence of the department of environmental protection, in the best interest of the commonwealth and for a use compatible with local zoning by-laws or ordinances; provided, however, that in no event shall such land be so disposed of unless said department, with the concurrence of the department of environmental protection, first offers, in writing, to convey it to the city or town wherein such land lies for an amount of money not less than the fair market value of the land as determined by an independent appraisal which the department has caused to be made, and such offer is not accepted within two months after being made or is refused by the chief executive officer of the city or town wherein such land lies.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 18 Application of chapter
c. 21D, § 18. Application of chapter
Section 18. This chapter shall not apply to any hazardous waste facility exempt from the licensing requirements of chapter twenty-one C which was lawfully organized and in existence on May first, nineteen hundred and eighty, or to any hazardous waste facility which was licensed as such by any division of the department of environmental protection as of May first, nineteen hundred and eighty. If any facility has its license revoked and reapplies for a license after May first, nineteen hundred and eighty, the provisions of this chapter shall apply to said reapplication; provided, however, that the provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any facility, or the operation of any facility under receivership by a federal or state agency or by a judicially appointed and supervised receiver of any court of competent jurisdiction where the license of the facility has been suspended or revoked and said receivership has been imposed.
Chapter twenty-one D shall not apply to any generator who stores, treats, processes or disposes of hazardous waste produced exclusively on-site; provided, however, that chapter twenty-one D shall apply to any such generator who disposes of hazardous waste into or on the land. For purposes of this section, ''on-site'' shall be defined to mean the same or geographically contiguous property which may be divided by public or private right-of-way, provided that the entrance and exit between the properties is at a crossroads intersection, and access is by crossing as opposed to going along the right-of-way; as well as non-contiguous properties owned by the same person but connected by a right-of-way which he controls and to which the public does not have access.
M.G.L. c. 21D, § 19 Application of chapter to increase of capacity
c. 21D, § 19. Application of chapter to increase of capacity
Section 19. Notwithstanding the first paragraph of section eighteen, chapter twenty-one D shall apply to the increase of capacity to store, treat, or dispose of any particular type of hazardous waste, unless an existing siting agreement established pursuant to the requirements of chapter twenty-one D provides for the conditions under which such increase of capacity shall be permitted.
Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter21DFetched: 10/20/2026