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DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

M.G.L. pt. Part I, tit. Title II, ch. c. 21
in effect

M.G.L. c. 21, § 1 Department; natural resources defined; duties; divisions

c. 21, § 1. Department; natural resources defined; duties; divisions Section 1. There shall be a department of conservation and recreation, in this chapter called the ''department''. It shall be the duty of said department to exercise general care and oversight of the natural resources of the commonwealth and of its adjacent waters; to make investigations and to carry on research relative thereto; and to propose and carry out measures for the protection, conservation, control, use, increase, and development thereof. The words ''natural resources'', as used herein, shall be held to include ocean, shellfish and inland fisheries; wild birds, including song and insectivorous birds; wild mammals and game; sea and fresh water fish of every description; forests and all uncultivated flora, together with public shade and ornamental trees and shrubs; land, soil and soil resources, lakes, ponds, streams, coastal, underground and surface waters; minerals and natural deposits. The department shall also be concerned with the development of public recreation as related to such natural resources; and shall have control and supervision of such parks, forests, and areas of recreational, scenic, or historic significance as may be from time to time committed to it. In carrying out its duties the department shall co-operate with the departments of food and agriculture, public health, public works, the University of Massachusetts, and such other departments, boards, officials, and institutions of the commonwealth or its subdivisions as may be concerned with matters under its supervision. It shall co-operate with adjoining states, and with the United States of America or any agency thereof, as authorized by the general court, and receive and dispense such funds from such agencies as shall be authorized by the general court. The department of conservation and recreation shall consist of a division of state parks and recreation and a division of water supply protection. Each division shall be under the administrative supervision of a director and shall be under the supervision and control of the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation. The division of water supply protection shall have control over the watershed and water supply systems in accordance with chapter 92A1/2. The division of state parks and recreation shall have control over the state parks, forests, parkways, waterways, rinks, pools, beaches and other recreational lands and facilities outside of the watershed systems as defined in sections 1 and 2 of chapter 92A1/2.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 2 Stewardship council

c. 21, § 2. Stewardship council Section 2. The department shall be under the control of a stewardship council, which shall consist of 13 persons to be appointed by the governor in the manner provided in section 2A for terms of 7 years.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 2A Members of the council

c. 21, § 2A. Members of the council Section 2A. The governor shall appoint 11 members of the stewardship council with due regard to geographical distribution, provided that 5 members shall reside within the urban parks district defined in section 33 of chapter 92, at least one of whom shall be a resident of the city of Boston, and 1 of whom shall be a resident of Berkshire county. Of these members, no more than 1 may come from the same county except as provided herein. The commissioner shall request each of the boards of trustees or directors of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the Massachusetts Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Massachusetts Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Trust for Public Land, the Environmental League of Massachusetts and the Trustees of Reservations, to nominate 6 candidates for the remaining 2 members of the council. From the nominations received from the several boards of such organizations, the commissioner shall select 6 candidates whom he shall recommend to the governor. The governor shall appoint the remaining 2 members of the council from among the candidates recommended by the commissioner.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 2B Removal of members of stewardship council; absence from meetings; appointment of successor; certificates of absence

c. 21, § 2B. Removal of members of stewardship council; absence from meetings; appointment of successor; certificates of absence Section 2B. Members of the stewardship council may be removed for cause by the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, after due notice and a hearing before the governor, for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misconduct in office, or other cause. A copy of the charge or charges against a board member shall be delivered to him not less than twenty-one days prior to the hearing, and he shall have the right to a public hearing and to appear in person and be represented by counsel at the hearing. Upon removal of any board member, the governor shall thereupon cause to be filed in the office of the state secretary a complete statement of all charges made against such board member, the findings thereon and a complete record of the proceedings thereunder. The absence of a board member from three consecutive meetings, except for sickness supported by the certificate of a physician, shall be deemed neglect of duty, and shall be a cause for removal as provided herein. In case of the resignation, removal or death of a board member, his successor shall be appointed to fill the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner and subject to the same qualifications as his predecessor. Prior to such removal, however, the chairperson of the stewardship council shall certify the unexcused absence of said board member from three consecutive meetings by filing a certificate to that effect with the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation and the secretary of the commonwealth. Upon the filing of such certificates, such a member's position shall be deemed vacant and the governor shall appoint a successor thereto. In case of the resignation, removal or death of a board member, said member's successor shall be appointed to fill the remainder of the unexpired term subject to the same terms and conditions as said member, so-called.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 2C Meetings of council; joint meetings with advisory board

c. 21, § 2C. Meetings of council; joint meetings with advisory board Section 2C. The stewardship council shall meet within the commonwealth within thirty days after appointment and at least once a month thereafter. It shall elect, at least annually, its own chairman and secretary, and shall make the appointments required to be made by it in the manner herein provided. Six stewardship council members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, except in the case of appointment or removal of any person appointed by the stewardship council, or the approval of the appointment or removal of a division director. No appointment or removal of any person appointed by the stewardship council and no approval of the appointment or removal of a division director, shall be valid unless written notice of the meeting for such an appointment or removal or approval thereof, setting forth the business to be transacted thereat, shall have been sent by registered mail to each stewardship council member at least twenty-one days prior to such meeting, and then only by the affirmative vote of three or more members present and voting. The stewardship council and the fisheries, wildlife and recreational vehicles advisory board shall meet jointly at least twice each year and may establish such policies as appear to be in the general interest.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 2D Members of council; holding other positions in department

c. 21, § 2D. Members of council; holding other positions in department Section 2D. No member of the stewardship council shall hold any other position in the department while serving as such nor for a period of one year thereafter.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 2E Compensation of council members; expenses

c. 21, § 2E. Compensation of council members; expenses Section 2E. Members of the stewardship council shall serve without pay, but shall be reimbursed, out of any funds available for the purpose, for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties. Such reimbursement shall not in any fiscal year exceed three thousand dollars for the total aggregate expenses of all board members.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 2F Management guidelines for sustainable forestry practices on public and private forest lands

c. 21, § 2F. Management guidelines for sustainable forestry practices on public and private forest lands Section 2F. The director of state parks and recreation shall work in cooperation with the director of the division of fisheries and wildlife within the department of fish and game to establish coordinated management guidelines for sustainable forestry practices on public forest lands within the departments of conservation and recreation and on private forest lands. Said guidelines for public forest lands shall include agreements on equipment, personnel transfers, operational costs, and assignment of specific management responsibilities. The commissioner of conservation and recreation shall submit management plans to the stewardship council for the council's adoption with respect to all reservations, parks, and forests under the management of the department, regardless of whether such reservations, parks, or forests lie within the urban parks district or outside the urban parks district. Said management plans shall include guidelines for the operation and land stewardship of the aforementioned reservations, parks and forests, shall provide for the protection and stewardship of natural and cultural resources and shall ensure consistency between recreation, resource protection, and sustainable forest management. The commissioner shall seek and consider public input in the development of management plans, and shall make draft plans available for a public review and comment period through notice in the Environmental Monitor. Within thirty days of the adoption of such management plans, as amended from time to time, the commissioner shall file a copy of such plans as adopted by the council with the state secretary and the joint committee on natural resources and agriculture of the general court. The commissioner of conservation and recreation shall be responsible for implementing said management plans, with due regard for the above requirement.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 2G Oversight strategy plans

c. 21, § 2G. Oversight strategy plans Section 2G. The stewardship council shall develop an oversight strategy of park management plans, capital planning and policy development. Such oversight strategies will be published annually and after a 30 day public comment period will be finalized and submitted to the Secretary of Environmental Affairs. Such oversight plans must be prepared and submitted 45 days prior to the submission to the legislature of the governor's annual budget.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 3 Commissioner; directors

c. 21, § 3. Commissioner; directors Section 3. The commissioner of conservation and recreation shall be the executive and administrative officer of the department, and he shall exercise supervision, direction and control over all the divisions of the department in accordance with such programs and policies as may from time to time be promulgated by the stewardship council. The commissioner shall be responsible for administering all laws vested in the department by general or special laws. The commissioner shall appoint and remove the directors of state parks and recreation and water supply protection with the approval of the stewardship council. The commissioner shall appoint and remove the directors of other divisions, bureaus or offices which he may establish as he deems appropriate for the efficient management and centralized administration of the department. The directors shall be qualified by training, executive ability, relevant experience and personal participation in the public programs of federal, urban, or state parks and recreation systems, to administer the duties of their respective offices, and shall not be subject to chapter 31. The commissioner may also appoint and remove a professional geologist, who shall be the state geologist and who shall not be subject to chapter 31 or section 9A of chapter 30.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 3A Acting commissioner; commissioner's salary

c. 21, § 3A. Acting commissioner; commissioner's salary Section 3A. The stewardship council may designate an acting commissioner in the absence or disability of the commissioner, such acting commissioner to have the powers of the commissioner, the provisions of the general laws to the contrary notwithstanding. The position of commissioner shall be classified in accordance with section forty-five of chapter thirty and the salary shall be determined in accordance with section forty-six C of said chapter thirty.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 3B Experts and other employees

c. 21, § 3B. Experts and other employees Section 3B. The commissioner and the division directors may employ such experts, clerks, and other employees from time to time, and for such periods as they may determine to be necessary.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 3C Annual budget; report

c. 21, § 3C. Annual budget; report Section 3C. The commissioner shall, with the approval of the stewardship council, prepare an annual budget of the department, and shall file the same pursuant to section three of chapter twenty-nine. Within ninety days after the end of each fiscal year, the commissioner shall render a complete detailed report of all activities, revenue and expenditures of the department and each division thereof, to the stewardship council, the general court and the governor and council.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 3D Acting directors

c. 21, § 3D. Acting directors Section 3D. The commissioner may designate acting directors during the absence or disability of a director. Such acting director shall have the powers of the director, provisions in the general laws to the contrary notwithstanding.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 3E Open space land acquisition; loans to cities and towns

c. 21, § 3E. Open space land acquisition; loans to cities and towns Section 3E. The department shall administer a program of zero interest loans to cities and towns for the acquisition of open space land utilizing monies in the Open Space Acquisition Revolving Fund established under section 2HHH of chapter 29. The department shall accept applications from cities and towns, in a form to be determined by the department, for loans to allow cities or towns to acquire open space land. The loans shall be repayable to the Open Space Acquisition Revolving Fund in 20 annual installments. The department shall set standards and adopt rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of this section.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 3F Rehabilitation and improvement of Olmsted Parks

c. 21, § 3F. Rehabilitation and improvement of Olmsted Parks Section 3F. Subject to appropriation, the department shall administer a program for the rehabilitation and improvement of Olmsted Parks in cities and towns of the Commonwealth. For the purposes of this section and section 3G the term ''Olmsted Park'' shall mean a municipal park designed by the architectural firm headed by Frederick Law Olmsted and designated by the department as an Olmsted Park. A city or town with an Olmsted Park within its boundaries that desires state assistance to rehabilitate or improve the Olmsted Park may apply in writing for a grant from the Olmsted Park Improvement Fund established in section 3G.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 3G Olmsted Park Improvement Fund

c. 21, § 3G. Olmsted Park Improvement Fund Section 3G. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund known as the Olmsted Park Improvement Fund to be administered by the department and used without prior appropriation for the purposes of providing rehabilitation and improvement grants to cities and towns with an Olmsted Park within its municipal boundaries. The fund shall consist of public and private sources such as gifts, grants and donations, interest earned on revenues from gifts, grants and donations and any funds provided from other sources. Revenues deposited in the fund that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the following fiscal year. (b) The department shall award competitive grants from the Olmsted Part Improvement Fund to qualifying municipalities for rehabilitation and improvement projects in Olmsted Parks that are located within those municipalities.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 8 Division of water supply protection

c. 21, § 8. Division of water supply protection Section 8. The division of water supply protection, hereinafter called the division, shall be under the supervision and control of the commissioner of department of conservation and recreation.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 8B Definitions applicable to this section and Secs. 8C and 8D

c. 21, § 8B. Definitions applicable to this section and Secs. 8C and 8D Section 8B. The following words and phrases, as used in this section and sections eight C and eight D, shall have the following meanings:— ''Commission'', the water resources commission. ''Interbasin transfer'', any transfer of the surface and groundwaters, including wastewater, of the commonwealth outside a river basin. If a city or town partially situated within a river basin takes waters from that basin, extension of water services to a portion of the same city or town outside the basin shall not be deemed an interbasin transfer of water. ''Insignificant increase'', an increase insufficient to invoke the provisions of section eight C and eight D as determined by the commission; provided, however, that in no event shall an increase over one million gallons per day be deemed insignificant. ''River basin'', a geographic area within the commonwealth determined by a body of water and its surrounding drainage area as delineated by the commission.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 8C Increase in interbasin transfers of surface and groundwater; approval; exemption

c. 21, § 8C. Increase in interbasin transfers of surface and groundwater; approval; exemption Section 8C. Any increase over the present rate of interbasin transfers of the surface or groundwater of the river basin shall require the approval of the commission, notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary to increase a present interbasin transfer in addition to such other approvals that may be required by law. Said commission shall file a report of its findings, justifications, and decisions in relation to such approval or disapproval, with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, and with the state secretary for publication in the Massachusetts register. Any emergency connections either approved under the provisions of sections forty and forty-one A of chapter forty, or authorized by a law to provide a necessary and adequate water supply shall be exempt from the provisions of this section for a period not to exceed six months of any calendar year, so long as they fulfill the criteria of the division of water supply of the department of environmental protection. The provisions of this section and section eight D shall not apply to any insignificant increase over the present rate of interbasin transfers of the surface and groundwater of a river basin. The criteria for determining any insignificance shall be established by the commission based upon the impact to the donor basin.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 8D Rules and regulations; criteria for approval; hearings; procedure

c. 21, § 8D. Rules and regulations; criteria for approval; hearings; procedure Section 8D. The commission shall promulgate rules and regulations defining and delineating the river basins of the commonwealth, and establish application procedures and criteria upon which the commission shall base its approval or disapproval of any proposed interbasin transfer of waters. Said criteria shall include but not be limited to the following:— (1) that all reasonable efforts have been made to identify and develop all viable sources in the receiving area of the proposed interbasin transfer, (2) that all practical measures to conserve water have been taken in the receiving area, including but not limited to the following: (a) the identification of distribution system sources of lost water, and where cost effective, the implementation of a program of leak detection and repair; (b) metering of all water users in the receiving area and a program of meter maintenance; (c) implementation of rate structures which reflect the costs of operation, proper maintenance and water conservation and encourage the same; (d) public information programs to promote water conservation, including industrial and commercial recycling and reuse; and (e) contingency plans for limiting use of water during seasonal or drought shortages; (3) that an environmental review pursuant to section sixty-one and sections sixty-two to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty has been complied with for the proposed interbasin transfer, (4) that a comprehensive forestry management program which balances water yields, wildlife habitat and natural beauty on watershed lands presently serving the receiving area has been implemented, (5) that reasonable instream flow in the river from which the water is diverted is maintained, said reasonable instream flow shall be determined by the commission in making its determination of applicability of the proposed interbasin transfer of water. The decision of the commission to approve or deny a proposed interbasin transfer shall be determined after at least two public hearings, one of which shall be held in the proposed donor community and one of which shall be held in the receiving community and which shall take place after compliance with said sections sixty-one and sixty-two to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty. All proceedings under sections eight C and eight D shall be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty A.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 9 Federal Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act; programs

c. 21, § 9. Federal Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act; programs Section 9. The division shall be the agency of the commonwealth having administrative responsibility, according to criteria established by the commission, over programs provided for by the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act 16 USC 1001 et seq. and shall carry out, maintain and operate any works of improvement authorized by said federal act and limited by section fourteen; provided that it shall not be an applicant for assistance under said federal act. Any employee or agent of said division may, at any reasonable time, enter upon any premises while engaged in the performance of any duties required under sections nine to sixteen, inclusive. The division may negotiate with any property owners such terms, agreements or contracts as may be necessary or convenient in carrying out the duties required under sections nine to sixteen, inclusive. The term ''works of improvement'' as used in this section and in sections twelve to fifteen, inclusive, shall mean any undertaking for (1) flood prevention, including structural and land treatment measures, or (2) conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water in watershed or subwatershed areas not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand acres and including any single structure which provides more than twelve thousand five hundred acre feet of flood-water detention capacity and more than twenty-five thousand acre feet of total capacity. A number of such watersheds when they are component parts of a larger watershed may be planned together when the local sponsoring organizations so desire.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 9A Acquisition of lands and waters

c. 21, § 9A. Acquisition of lands and waters Section 9A. The division may, subject to the approval of the water resources commission and after proper consideration of the criteria established by the water resources commission, acquire by purchase, gift, lease, eminent domain, or otherwise lands and waters and easements therein to protect and conserve water impoundment sites and land adjacent to such sites which it deems necessary to meet the water resource needs of the commonwealth for flood control, low flow augmentation, and municipal water supply, provided that the exercise of the power of eminent domain shall be subject to the approval of the board of selectmen in a town or the city council in a city in which the land is located. If such board or council fails to approve or disapprove such proposed taking within ninety days after receipt of written notice of the proposed taking from the division, such board or council shall be deemed to have approved the same. No subsequent transfer or sale of such lands or waters by the division to any agency of the commonwealth or to any city, town, or district shall be made and no construction or water resources improvement thereon shall be undertaken without the approval of the general court. The division may enter into an agreement for the temporary supervision and maintenance of such lands and waters with any appropriate public agency, and may permit temporary compatible private uses subject to such conditions as it may impose. Said lands shall be subject to payments in lieu of taxes as provided in sections thirteen to seventeen, inclusive, of chapter fifty-eight. The division of water resources and its duly authorized agents, without being liable for trespass, shall have the right after giving due notice, accompanied by a detailed plan to enter upon any lands for the purpose of making surveys, test pits, borings and geologic investigation. Any damages to property resulting by the exercise of the aforementioned rights shall be reimbursed by the division to the owner of the property so damaged. The water resources commission may also reimburse a city, town or district for acquisition costs of lands, waters and easements necessary for the development and protection of water impoundments for a regional municipal water supply system, provided that said regional water supply system meets criteria which may be established by the water resources commission. For purposes of this section, a regional municipal water supply system shall consist of two or more municipalities. In the event that said city, town or district does not begin said regional water supply system project as authorized by law within a number of years to be determined by said commission, then said city, town or district receiving such reimbursement shall repay all monies at the prevailing interest rates to the commonwealth. When an impoundment site is acquired under the provisions of this section which has the capacity for future development to meet substantially more than the needs of the cities, towns or districts served by the initial regional water supply system, provisions shall be included in the agreement with the water resources commission and in the agreement forming the district which will preserve the opportunity for other cities, towns or districts to later join the district and to share the impounded waters after having participated in the cost of the reservoir enlargement. The water resources commission shall enter into an agreement under this section to facilitate development of a water system to serve the original district and to preserve the opportunity for future expansion of said district.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 9B Groundwater survey program

c. 21, § 9B. Groundwater survey program Section 9B. The division shall be the administrator of the state's contribution to the cooperative survey program of the United States Geological Survey, hereinafter referred to as the USGS, for detailed groundwater assessments and related hydrological studies. Said division, with the approval of and according to the criteria established by the commission, shall contract or cause a contract to be executed, with the USGS to conduct a ten year program of detailed groundwater appraisals, aquifer assessments, and such other appropriate geologic and hydrologic studies as may be required for the protection of existing sources of groundwater supply and for the identification of new groundwater sources. Said groundwater survey program shall include aquifer identification and assessments of quality and yield, and direct technical assistance to localities to solve groundwater problems of less than regional scale. Assistance to localities shall be based on criteria and priorities to be established by the commission which shall include, but not be limited to, the following: a present or recurrent water supply deficit; areas in which the survey would serve more than one community; communities which have suffered loss of supply due to contamination; communities in which demands are placed on supply systems by state institutions; and local commitment to participation. Direct local assistance shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars and shall be funded fifty per cent by USGS and fifty per cent by the commonwealth, and the total cost of said program shall not exceed, in the aggregate, five million dollars. For the purposes of this section, groundwater shall mean water which is below the surface of the earth.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 11 Employees; rules and regulations

c. 21, § 11. Employees; rules and regulations Section 11. The division may employ such technical and clerical assistance and consultants as may be necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the division as specified in section nine. The division may establish rules and regulations as may be necessary for the proper administration of sections nine to sixteen, inclusive.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 12 Federal Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act; applications for assistance

c. 21, § 12. Federal Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act; applications for assistance Section 12. Applications for assistance under the federal Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act shall be initiated by the local organization, and may not be initiated by the division. Such applications shall be filed with the division, which may disapprove the same within forty-five days from the date of filing. The division may give approval only to applications submitted by local organizations, but any local or regional voluntary citizens' group, established under chapter one hundred and eighty for the purpose of furthering water conservation and flood prevention, may join with any local organization in making application to the division for assistance under the federal Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 13 Works of improvement; assistance from commonwealth; conditions

c. 21, § 13. Works of improvement; assistance from commonwealth; conditions Section 13. The division shall require, as a condition to providing assistance from the commonwealth for the installation and operation and maintenance of works of improvement, that local organizations shall (1) assume responsibility for all planning for works of improvement to be constructed within the watershed area, but the local organization may, nevertheless, request, through the division, technical advice from any appropriate agency of the commonwealth; (2) acquire, in the name of the commonwealth, and without cost to the commonwealth, such land, easements or rights of way as will be needed in connection with works of improvement installed with the assistance of the commonwealth; (3) acquire, or provide assurance that landowners have acquired, such water rights, pursuant to the laws of the commonwealth, as may be needed in the installation and operation of the works of improvement; and (4) obtain agreements to carry out recommended soil conservation measures and proper farm plans from owners of not less than fifty per cent of the lands situated in the drainage area above each retention reservoir to be installed with the assistance of the commonwealth.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 14 Works of improvement; contracting authority; agents; costs

c. 21, § 14. Works of improvement; contracting authority; agents; costs Section 14. At such time as the United States Secretary of Agriculture and the interested local organization have agreed upon a plan for works of improvement, the division may (1) assume such proportionate share of the nonfederal cost of installing any works of improvement involving federal assistance as it determines to be equitable in consideration of anticipated benefits from such improvements; provided, that no part of the construction cost for providing any capacity in structures for purposes other than flood prevention and features related thereto shall be borne by the commonwealth; and (2) make arrangements, through the local organizations satisfactory to the said Secretary of Agriculture for defraying the costs of operating and maintaining such works of improvement, in accordance with regulations presented by the said Secretary of Agriculture. In order to carry out the provisions of clause (1) the division shall be the contracting authority for the construction of any works of improvement involving assistance from the commonwealth, but shall designate the appropriate department or departments of the commonwealth or subdivision or subdivisions thereof as the agent or agents of the division for the purpose of making such contracts or performing the work of construction; provided, that whenever the said works of improvement involve stream clearance, channel improvement or construction of dams the division shall designate the division of waterways in the department of conservation and recreation as the contracting agent. In order to carry out the provisions of the above clause (2) the division is authorized to assume such proportionate share of the costs of operation and maintenance of said works of improvement as it determines to be equitable in consideration of anticipated benefits from such improvements. In order to insure the continued operation and maintenance of any and all works of improvement that have been installed with the assistance of state funds, the division is authorized and directed to designate as its agent or agents for this purpose the department or departments of the commonwealth or the subdivision or subdivisions thereof which constructed or contracted for the construction of said works of improvement.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 15 Works of improvement; appropriations; federal, state or local funds

c. 21, § 15. Works of improvement; appropriations; federal, state or local funds Section 15. At such time as the United States Secretary of Agriculture and the interested local organization have agreed upon a plan for works of improvement, and the local organization has met the requirements for receiving assistance from the commonwealth in installing, operating and maintaining the works of improvement as set forth in section fourteen, the division shall request the general court to appropriate such sums of money as are needed to meet (1) the share of the nonfederal cost of installing the works of improvement and (2) the share of the cost of operating and maintaining said works of improvement, which the division proposes to assume under the provisions of section fourteen. Any funds received from local organizations or any other source, including funds made available by the federal government, shall be in addition to funds made available to the division by the general court. With respect to all projects for which funds of the commonwealth have been appropriated as partial or total payment of the nonfederal share of the costs of constructing, operating or maintaining the proposed works of improvement, the division shall be the recipient of any federal, state, or local funds appropriated for such projects. Funds made available from any source for a specific project shall be held by the division for said project, and may not be allocated to any other project. Nothing in this section or in section fourteen shall be construed to prevent or limit a local organization from assuming the full amount of the nonfederal share of the cost of installing any works of improvement.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 17C Public use of land for recreational, conservation, scientific educational and other purposes; landowner's liability limited; exception

c. 21, § 17C. Public use of land for recreational, conservation, scientific educational and other purposes; landowner's liability limited; exception Section 17C. (a) Any person having an interest in land including the structures, buildings, and equipment attached to the land, including without limitation, railroad and utility corridors, easements and rights of way, wetlands, rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, and other bodies of water, who lawfully permits the public to use such land for recreational, conservation, scientific, educational, environmental, ecological, research, religious, or charitable purposes without imposing a charge or fee therefor, or who leases such land for said purposes to the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof or to any nonprofit corporation, trust or association, shall not be liable for personal injuries or property damage sustained by such members of the public, including without limitation a minor, while on said land in the absence of wilful, wanton, or reckless conduct by such person. Such permission shall not confer upon any member of the public using said land, including without limitation a minor, the status of an invitee or licensee to whom any duty would be owed by said person. (b) The liability of any person who imposes a charge or fee for the use of his land by the public for the purposes described in subsection (a) shall not be limited by any provision of this section. For the purposes of this section, ''person'' shall include the person having any interest in the land, his agent, manager or licensee and shall include, without limitation, any governmental body, agency or instrumentality, a nonprofit corporation, trust, association, corporation, company or other business organization and any director, officer, trustee, member, employee, authorized volunteer or agent thereof. For the purposes of this section, ''structures, buildings and equipment'' shall include any structure, building or equipment used by an electric company, transmission company, distribution company, gas company or railroad in the operation of its business. A contribution or other voluntary payment not required to be made to use such land shall not be considered a charge or fee within the meaning of this section.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 17D Public removal of fuel wood; landowner's liability for injuries

c. 21, § 17D. Public removal of fuel wood; landowner's liability for injuries Section 17D. An owner of land who permits the public to use such land for the removal of fuel wood without imposing a charge or fee therefor shall not be liable to any member of the public who uses said land for the aforesaid purpose for injuries to person or property sustained by such member of the public while on said land in the absence of willful, wanton or reckless conduct by such owner. Such permission shall not be deemed to confer upon any person so using said land the status of an invitee or licensee to whom any duty would be owed by said owner. The liability of an owner who imposes a charge or fee for the use of his land by the public for the removal of fuel wood shall not be limited by any provision of this section.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 17G Agreements with nonprofit organizations for stewardship services; charge or solicitation of donations for activity or event on department of conservation and recreation property; liability of volunteer; posting of volunteer guidelines on website

c. 21, § 17G. Agreements with nonprofit organizations for stewardship services; charge or solicitation of donations for activity or event on department of conservation and recreation property; liability of volunteer; posting of volunteer guidelines on website Section 17G. (a) For purposes of this section, the words ''nonprofit organization'' and ''volunteer'' shall have the same meaning as used in 42 U.S.C. 14505. (b) The department of conservation and recreation may cosponsor and participate in an event or activity on department property with a nonprofit organization at which the nonprofit organization may be allowed to charge, or solicit or receive donations of funds at the event or activity, if the event or activity furthers a public purpose of the department and the funds are used and expended by the nonprofit organization or department only for supporting or improving a facility or program of the department. The nonprofit organization shall report to the department and provide an annual accounting of the funds and expenditures therefrom. (c) To encourage and further public participation in stewardship to educate, promote, clean, maintain or improve facilities of the department of conservation and recreation, the department may enter into agreements with nonprofit organizations regarding volunteers participating in the stewardship on department property. If the department enters into an agreement to cosponsor or participate in an event or activity with a nonprofit organization, pursuant and subject to chapter 258 of the General Laws and the guidelines adopted by the department under this section, a volunteer of the nonprofit organization shall not be liable for injury or loss of property or personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of the volunteer while acting within the scope of the volunteer's activities under the agreement. (d) The department shall post on its website for public review and subsequently establish guidelines, requirements and standards for: (1) authorizing and registering volunteers to provide stewardship services; (2) delegating direction, control, safety and supervision of the volunteers to the nonprofit organization; (3) developing accounting and reporting procedures as required in subsection (b); and (4) considering the volunteers, while acting within the scope of volunteer responsibilities for the department or the nonprofit organization, whether or not under delegated authority from the department, as public employees within the meaning of chapter 258. In a civil action involving a volunteer who is considered a public employee, the department may assert any defense or limitation on liability that the volunteer could have asserted under federal or state law.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 18 Division of conservation services

c. 21, § 18. Division of conservation services Section 18. The division of conservation services within the office of the secretary of the executive office of environmental affairs shall be under the administrative supervision of a director who shall be called the director of conservation services. The director shall be qualified by training, experience and executive ability, shall be appointed and may be removed by the secretary and shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one. The division shall administer the provisions of this chapter relating to conservation districts and such other programs and duties as may be assigned to it by the secretary from time to time. It may receive and expend or dispense without further authorization such federal funds, services, grants or subventions as may be made available for the purposes of the division. The director shall appoint, with the approval of the secretary, subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one, such experts, clerks and other employees from time to time, and for such periods, as he may determine to be necessary. The director shall also appoint, with the approval of the secretary, an executive secretary. The appointment and removal of said executive secretary shall not be subject to the provisions of section nine A of chapter thirty or chapter thirty-one. The director may request from the state commission, established under the provisions of section nineteen, a list of no more than three candidates for such position.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 19 State commission for conservation of soil, water and related resources; establishment

c. 21, § 19. State commission for conservation of soil, water and related resources; establishment Section 19. There shall be in the division a commission for conservation of soil, water and related resources, hereinafter called the state commission. Said commission shall consist of thirteen voting members. The thirteen voting members shall include four ex-officio and nine appointed members. The ex-officio members shall be the commissioners of the departments of food and agriculture, environmental protection, environmental management, and fish and game or their designees. The nine appointed members shall be appointed by said ex-officio members as follows:— the chairman or his designee of each of the six divisions of conservation districts, established by section twenty, one from a list of two names submitted by the executive committee of the State Grange, one from a list of two names submitted by the executive committee of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, and one from a list of two names submitted by the executive committee of the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions. The state conservationist of the United States Soil Conservation Service, the state executive director of Agriculture Stabilization for Conservation Service and the dean of the college of food and natural resources at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst shall offer their technical expertise to the commission from time to time as advisory members. Appointed members shall serve for terms of four years, except that the nine members of the state commission initially appointed shall be appointed for terms of one, two, three and four years, respectively, as the members ex-officio may designate and until qualification of their successors. Each appointed member of the state commission shall receive, subject to appropriation, fifty dollars for each day for his services. The state commission shall hold regular meetings on the second Thursday in the months of January, April, July, October, and in addition shall hold meetings at the call of the chairman or on the request of any seven members. The state commission shall annually elect a chairman who is not an ex-officio member and a secretary from among the voting members of the commission. A majority of the voting members of the state commission shall constitute a quorum, and the concurrence of a majority in a matter within their duties shall be required for its determination. Appointed members may be removed by the state commission after notice in writing that said member has failed to attend at least three regular meetings in any one year. Vacancies on the commission shall be filled as provided for in this section.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 20 State commission for conservation of soil, water and related resources; powers and duties.

c. 21, § 20. State commission for conservation of soil, water and related resources; powers and duties. Section 20. The state commission, unless otherwise specified, shall have the following powers and duties:— (1) To encourage and assist educational work in the conservation and development of renewable natural resources, including soil, water, plant life, woodland, fish and wildlife, and recreation resources, the control and prevention of erosion, floodwater and sediment damages, and the conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water, through co-operation with all federal, state, county, local, public and private resource agencies. (2) To advise the director in developing policies of the division of conservation services relating to the operation of conservation districts and to carry out policies and programs affecting conservation districts. (3) To perform the functions hereinafter provided for, relating to the establishment, change of boundaries, or dissolution of conservation districts. (4) To secure the co-operation and assistance of agencies of the United States, the commonwealth and its political subdivisions in promoting the organization and operation of conservation districts. (5) To disseminate information concerning the activities and programs of conservation districts. (6) To allot money appropriated for establishing and maintaining conservation districts and conservation district divisions and for the operation of their projects and programs. (7) To develop annual budgets for the operation and maintenance of conservation districts, conservation district divisions, and the state commission for submission to the director. (8) To establish program priorities and advise conservation districts and divisions on those programs which contribute to the conservation and best use of the natural resources of the commonwealth. (9) To develop a natural resource plan for the commonwealth every five years commencing in January, nineteen hundred and eighty-five. (10) To accept contributions, 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 or its agencies, in order to promote the purpose of this chapter. (11) To establish, with the approval of the majority of the chairmen of the conservation districts, six conservation district divisions. In establishing said divisions, the state commission may include one or more conservation districts. (12) To encourage educational activities which promote the conservation and development of renewable natural resources, including soil, water, plant life, woodland, fish, wildlife, recreation resources, prevention of soil erosion, floodwater and sediment damages and the conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water through cooperation with appropriate federal, state, county, public and private agencies. (13) To set fees for pamphlets, publications or services which shall not exceed the cost of providing such pamphlets, publications or services and to promote uniform fees set by district supervisors. (14) To disseminate information regarding amendments to the general and special laws of the commonwealth, proposed changes in laws and rules and regulations which affect or shall affect businesses in the commonwealth; and, to establish educational outreach programs for the purpose of assisting small business to implement required changes in legislation. (15) To assist in the development of a healthy soils program, as instructed by the director, to: (i) improve soil quality on lands utilized for commercial farming, suburban and urban lawns, yards and gardens, public and private forests, parks and other open or green spaces and non-paved outdoor areas of office complexes, mixed-use facilities, businesses, industries and colleges and other institutions; (ii) increase carbon sequestration or storage on such lands to help reduce harmful atmospheric greenhouse gases and the effects of climate change; and (iii) provide other measurable benefits, determined as applicable under the program to certain types of lands, related to climate change, plant growth, erosion control and water absorption and quality. The commission, in the development of the program or any significant change to the established program, if requested by the director, shall consult with 1 or more of the following organizations, as appropriate for the type of land intended to be covered under the program: (i) the department of agricultural resources; (ii) department of environmental protection; (iii) department of fish and game; (iv) the Nature Conservancy; (v) Massachusetts Forest Alliance Limited; (v) the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Districts, Inc.; (vi) Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, Incorporated; (vii) the National Resources Conservation Services within the United States Department of Agriculture; (viii) Massachusetts chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association; (ix) the University of Massachusetts Extension; (x) the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and (xi) any individual or other organization designated by the director. (16) To encourage and promote the use of healthy soils policies and practices by private and public landowners, including commercial farmers, and any assistance available to program participants, which may consist of grants, technical assistance or education on the benefits and implementation of healthy soils best practices, as the director may instruct, to achieve the purposes of the healthy soils program.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 21 Conservation districts; formation, change of boundaries or dissolution of district; procedure

c. 21, § 21. Conservation districts; formation, change of boundaries or dissolution of district; procedure Section 21. Whenever the state commission receives a petition signed by at least one hundred land occupiers, herein defined as owners, lessees or tenants in possession, residing within an area proposed for the establishment of a conservation district, or whenever the state commission receives a petition for a change in the boundaries of an existing district from the governing body of the district or districts affected or from a majority of the land occupiers who would be affected by such change of boundaries, or whenever the state commission receives a petition for the dissolution of a district signed by at least one hundred land occupiers residing within the district, the following procedure shall be complied with: (1) Upon the receipt of such petition, the state commission shall as soon as possible set a date for a public hearing upon the question of the establishment of the district, the change in the boundaries of an existing district, or the dissolution of the district, as the case may be, and shall cause notice to be given of such hearing at least ten days prior to the date set therefor, by publication in a newspaper having general circulation in the area affected. Such hearing shall be held by the state commission within the affected area. All interested parties shall have the right to attend such hearing and to be heard. (2) If the state commission determines after such hearing that a majority of the land occupiers who would be affected by the organization of the district, the change in the boundaries of the district, or the dissolution of the district, as the case may be, are in favor of the proposal contained in the petition, and that such proposal is in the best interests of the district or in the public interest, the state commission shall record such determinations; and thereupon the district shall be established, the boundaries of the district changed, or the district dissolved, as may be appropriate. (3) If a conservation district is dissolved, the supervisors shall forthwith proceed to terminate the affairs of the district and shall dispose of all property belonging to the district as directed by the director. Any sums remaining on hand after payment of district obligations shall be paid into the state treasury and shall be subject for a period of three years to claims against the district or the supervisors acting in their official capacity to the extent that such claims are found valid.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 22 Conservation districts; supervisors of districts

c. 21, § 22. Conservation districts; supervisors of districts Section 22. Within sixty days after the state commission has established a conservation district it shall appoint a board of no less than five no more than seven district supervisors who shall be individual land occupiers residing on or owning land within the district. Supervisors originally appointed hereunder shall serve for terms of one, two, and three years, respectively. Successors shall serve for terms of three years. Successors for full terms of three years shall be elected or removed for cause by the land occupiers in the district. The state commission shall give public notice of each such election by publication in a newspaper published in the district or having a general circulation therein at least ten days prior thereto. The state commission shall prescribe regulations for the conduct of such elections, which elections shall be conducted by the chairman of the state commission or his designated representative. The person receiving the highest number of votes for any office to be filled at such election shall be declared elected. All supervisors shall serve until the qualification of their respective successors. Vacancies shall be filled by the state commission for the unexpired term. District supervisors shall be paid at a rate established by the director, with the concurrence of the state commission for each day of actual service rendered and their necessary traveling and other expenses, subject to appropriation.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 23 Conservation districts; supervisors as governing body

c. 21, § 23. Conservation districts; supervisors as governing body Section 23. The supervisors of a conservation district shall be the governing body thereof. They shall designate from their membership a chairman and may from time to time change such designation. They may delegate to one or more of their members such powers and duties as they shall deem proper. They shall furnish the director and the state commission, upon request copies of such rules, regulations, orders, contracts, forms and other documents as they shall adopt or employ, and such other information as may be required. The supervisors shall provide for the execution of surety bonds for all employees and officers who shall be entrusted with funds or property, for the keeping of records of all proceedings and orders issued or adopted, and for an annual audit of the accounts of receipts and disbursements. The supervisors may invite the governing body of any political subdivision of the commonwealth, or any department, board or commission thereof, to designate a representative to advise and consult with them on questions of programs and policies which may affect the property, water supply, natural resources conservation or other interests of such political subdivision or agency thereof.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 24 Conservation districts; supervisors' powers and duties

c. 21, § 24. Conservation districts; supervisors' powers and duties Section 24. A conservation district and its supervisors shall, in addition to any other powers granted under sections 21 to 25, inclusive, have the following powers and duties: (1) To conduct surveys, investigations and research relating to the conservation and development of natural resources, the control and prevention of soil erosion, the prevention of erosion, floodwater and sediment damages, and the conservation, development utilization and disposal of water, and the preventive and control measures needed, to publish the results of such surveys, investigations or research, and to disseminate information concerning such preventive and control measures; provided, that in order to avoid duplication of research activities no district shall initiate any research program except in co-operation with the proper authorities of the commonwealth or its departments, boards or commissions, or with the United States or any of its agencies. (2) To carry out preventive and control measures within the district including, but not limited to, engineering operations, methods of cultivation, the growing of vegetation, changes in use of land, and measures for the purposes mentioned in paragraph (1), on lands owned or controlled by the commonwealth or any of its departments, boards or commissions, with the co-operation of the department, board or commission administering and having jurisdiction thereof, and on any other lands within the district at the request or with the consent of the occupier of such land or upon obtaining the necessary rights or interests therein. (3) To co-operate or enter into agreements with, and within the limits of funds available to the district, including appropriations duly made by law, to furnish financial or other aid to any agency, governmental or otherwise, or any occupier of lands within the district in the carrying on of measures for any of the purposes mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (2), subject to such conditions as the supervisors may deem necessary. (4) To acquire and to make available, on such terms as they shall prescribe to land occupiers within the district, necessary machinery, equipment and materials to assist such land occupiers to carry on operations upon their lands for any of the purposes mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (2). (4A) To: (i) acquire by purchase, exchange, gift, grant, bequest or otherwise, any ownership interests and rights in real property located within the boundaries of the district and in personal property; (ii) hold such real and personal property interest in the name of the conservation district; (iii) subject to law and the nature of such interest, maintain, administer and improve any such property so acquired; (iv) receive income from such property and to expend any such income to carrying out the purposes and provisions of the conservation district as provided under sections 21 to 25, inclusive; and (v) sell, lease or dispose of such property or interests therein; provided, however, that interests in real property and personal property shall be acquired for conservation purposes and shall not be used or disposed of except in furtherance of such conservation purposes; provided further, that upon acquisition by a conservation district, such ownership interest and restricted purpose in real property shall be recorded in the name of the district in the registry of deeds or land court for the jurisdiction wherein the property is located; and provided further, that all such property, including any income realized from such property or upon sale thereof, shall be exempt from taxation for state, county and municipal purposes and from betterments and special assessments. (5) To construct, improve, operate and maintain such structures as may be necessary or convenient for the performance of any of the operations authorized by sections eighteen to twenty-five, inclusive. (6) To develop comprehensive plans for any of the purposes mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (2) which shall specify in such detail as may be practicable the acts, procedures, performances and avoidances which are necessary or desirable for accomplishing such plans, including the specification of engineering operations, methods of cultivation, growing of vegetation, cropping programs, tillage practices, and changes in use of land; and to publish plans and information and bring them to the attention of occupiers of lands within the conservation district. (7) To accept contributions or appropriations in money, services, materials, or otherwise, for carrying on their operations, from federal agencies, or from the commonwealth, or any political subdivision thereof, or from any person, firm or corporation. (8) To sue and be sued in the name of the conservation district; to have a common seal which shall be judicially noticed; to have perpetual succession unless terminated as herein provided; to make and execute contracts and other instruments, necessary or convenient to the exercise of their powers; to make, and from time to time amend or repeal, rules and regulations to carry into effect the purposes and powers of the district. (9) As a condition to extending any benefits under sections eighteen to twenty-five, inclusive, to, or performing work upon, any lands not owned or controlled by the commonwealth or any of its departments, boards or commissions, the supervisors may establish reasonable fees with the approval of the commission, and may ask for contributions in money, services, materials or otherwise to any operations conferring such benefits, and may ask land occupiers to enter into and perform such agreements or covenants as to the permanent use of such lands as the supervisors deem appropriate. (10) To periodically review the natural resource management and management policies of state owned land within their respective districts and to advise the state commission from time to time as to their findings, if any. (11) To adopt by-laws following a public hearing governing the operation of their districts, subject to the approval of the state commission. (12) To elect by majority vote, a representative to the conservation district division in which the district is located.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 25 Conservation districts; inter-district cooperation

c. 21, § 25. Conservation districts; inter-district cooperation Section 25. The supervisors of any two or more districts may co-operate and enter into agreements with one another in the exercise of any or all powers conferred by sections eighteen to twenty-five, inclusive.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 25A Conservation districts; powers

c. 21, § 25A. Conservation districts; powers Section 25A. Conservation district divisions established pursuant to section twenty may exercise any and all powers set forth in sections twenty-one to twenty-five, inclusive.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 26 Division of water pollution control

c. 21, § 26. Division of water pollution control Section 26. There shall be in the department of environmental protection, a division of water pollution control, hereinafter in this section and in sections twenty-seven to fifty-three, inclusive, called the division. The division shall be headed by a director who shall be appointed and may be removed by the commissioner, and shall not be subject to section nine A of chapter thirty or to chapter thirty-one. The director shall be responsible for carrying out the work of the division under the supervision, direction and control of the commissioner. The director shall be qualified by training and experience to carry out the duties of the division. No person may serve as director who received, or who has during the preceding two years received, ten per cent or more of his income directly or indirectly from persons who are required to obtain discharge permits under section forty-three, and the attorney general upon request may issue guidelines and such opinions as may be necessary to implement this provision. The commissioner may appoint and remove a deputy director for the division who shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one or section nine A of chapter thirty, and such other professionals, technical and clerical assistants and consultants as may be necessary. The water resources commission shall advise the commissioner on administration and enforcement of this chapter. Said division of water pollution control shall be subject to the supervision, control and direction of the commissioner.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 26A Definitions applicable to Secs. 26 to 53

c. 21, § 26A. Definitions applicable to Secs. 26 to 53 Section 26A. Unless the context otherwise requires, when used in sections twenty-six to fifty-three, inclusive, the following words shall have the following meanings: ''Abatement facilities'', facilities for the purpose of treating, neutralizing, or stabilizing sewage and such industrial and other wastes as are disposed of by means of the facilities, including treatment or disposal plants, the necessary intercepting, outfall and outlet sewers, pumping stations integral to such facilities and sewers, equipment and furnishings thereof and their appurtenances. ''Board'', the board of certification of operators of wastewater treatment facilities. ''Collection system'', each and all of the common lateral sewers and appurtenances of publicly owned treatment works which are primarily installed to receive wastewaters from individual structures or from private property, and which include service connection ''Y'' fittings and service connections within the boundary of the public way or easement. ''Commissioner'', the commissioner of the department of environmental protection, or his authorized designee. ''Director'', the director of the division of water pollution control, or his authorized delegate or representative. ''District'', a district created pursuant to section twenty-eight. ''District commission'', the governing body of a district. ''Effluent limitation'', a requirement, established under state or federal law, specifying the maximum permissible quantity or concentration of any pollutant that may be present in discharges, or their maximum permissible hydraulic flow, over designated periods of time, to waters of the commonwealth or to a public sewerage system. ''FWPCA'', the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et sequens, as amended. ''Green infrastructure'', practices involving the management of water, stormwater and wastewater to achieve water quality mandates set forth in the federal Clean Water Act; practices designed using natural or engineered techniques to capture, remove or prevent nutrient, nitrogen and phosphorous loading to any part of a water system including groundwater deposits and discharges to surface waters from septic systems, wastewater treatment facilities and stormwater runoff. ''Green infrastructure projects'', projects which shall include, but shall not be limited to: decentralized wastewater systems that infiltrate treated water; water reuse for other beneficial purposes; low impact development projects; the conservation, enhancement and restoration of natural landscape features that naturally filter and remove silt and pollution from surface waters, maintain or restore natural hydrologic cycles, minimize imperviousness in a watershed through preservation and restoration of natural landscape buffers such as forests, floodplains, wetlands and other natural systems and restoration of natural stream channels; land acquisition and restoration projects that protect and filter drinking water supplies and buffer reservoirs; and the mitigation of risks of flooding and erosion using the restoration of saltmarsh, oyster reefs and eelgrass beds from sea-level rise, storm surges and extreme weather events, including the protection and restoration of natural coastal landscapes; provided, that green infrastructure projects may be stand-alone and shall also be used to complement built water management infrastructure technologies such as pipes, dikes and treatment facilities; and provided, further, that green infrastructure projects may include innovative technologies that further the mandates under the federal Clean Water Act. ''Person'', any agency or political subdivision of the commonwealth, public or private corporation or authority, individual, partnership or association, or other entity, including any officer of a public or private agency or organization, upon whom a duty may be imposed by or pursuant to any provision of sections twenty-six to fifty-three, inclusive. ''Pollutant'', any element or property of sewage, agricultural, industrial or commercial waste, runoff, leachate, heated effluent, or other matter, in whatever form and whether originating at a point or major nonpoint source, which is or may be discharged, drained or otherwise introduced into any sewerage system, treatment works or waters of the commonwealth. ''Priority list'', the ranking, in terms of priority, of projects eligible for funding during a given planning period, which has been established pursuant to the priority system. ''Priority system'', the methodology for rating and ranking projects eligible for grant assistance under sections thirty A and thirty-three of this chapter and for establishing priority lists for those projects. ''Public entity'', any city, town, special district, or other existing governmental unit eligible to receive a grant for the construction of treatment works from the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Title II of the FWPCA, as amended. ''Treatment works'' and ''facilities'', any and all devices, processes and properties, real or personal, used in the collection, pumping, transmission, storage, treatment, disposal, recycling, reclamation or reuse of waterborne pollutants. ''Waters'' and ''waters of the commonwealth'', all waters within the jurisdiction of the commonwealth, including, without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwaters.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 27 Division of water pollution control; powers and duties

c. 21, § 27. Division of water pollution control; powers and duties Section 27. It shall be the duty and responsibility of the division to enhance the quality and value of water resources and to establish a program for prevention, control, and abatement of water pollution. Said division shall: (1) Encourage or require the adoption and execution by cities, towns, districts, commissions, authorities and other public agencies, and industries and other users of the waters of the commonwealth and by cooperative groups of municipalities and industries of plans for the prevention, control and abatement of water pollution. (2) Cooperate with appropriate federal agencies or the agencies of other states, or with interstate agencies in matters related to water quality control, and shall receive and dispense such funds from any such agencies as may be available for the prevention, control and abatement of water pollution. Said division shall also cooperate with and assist departments, boards, officials and institutions of the commonwealth or its political subdivisions that may be concerned in any way with problems of water pollution. (3) Take all action necessary or appropriate to secure to the commonwealth the benefits of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Public Law 92–500, as amended, and other federal legislation pertaining to water pollution control. (4) Conduct a program of study and research and demonstration, by itself or in cooperation with other governmental agencies, relating to new and improved methods of pollution abatement or more efficient methods of water quality control, including the treatment, neutralization and stabilization of sewage and industrial waste and the disposal thereof by treatment or disposal plant, sewer systems, pumping stations, or acceleration flow or by other methods, facilities or equipment so as to insure cleaner waters in the coastal waters, rivers, streams, lakes and ponds of the commonwealth. (5) Adopt standards of minimum water quality which shall be applicable to the various waters or portions of waters of the commonwealth. Standards relating to the public health shall not be adopted without the approval of the commissioner of public health. (6) Prescribe effluent limitations, permit programs and procedures applicable to the management and disposal of pollutants, including, where appropriate, prohibition of discharges. (7) Require dischargers to establish monitoring, sampling, record keeping and reporting procedures and facilities, and to submit to the director data gathered therefrom and such other data as he shall reasonably request for purposes of carrying out this chapter. The director may make such data, and any data obtained pursuant to the provisions of section forty, available to other government agencies concerned with the protection of public waters or water supplies, and to the public for inspection and copying, except that he shall not permit disclosure, other than to another government agency as provided in the preceding clause, of any information, other than effluent data, obtained by or submitted to him pursuant to any provision of this chapter, upon a showing, satisfactory to him, that such information if made public would divulge methods or processes entitled to protection as trade secrets of any person. (8) Examine periodically the water quality of the various coastal waters, rivers, streams, lakes and ponds of the commonwealth, or separate portions of such waters, and publish the results of such examinations together with the standard of water quality established for the various waters or portions thereof. (9) Adopt regulations requiring proper operation and maintenance of waste treatment facilities. (10) Conduct a continuing planning process which will result in plans for reducing, controlling and eliminating discharges to all waters of the commonwealth, and prepare or supervise the preparation of, and adopt, comprehensive river basin, watershed-based and regional plans for abatement of such discharges by means of treatment works or other practical control facilities and methods. No such facility or method shall be approved for a construction grant under section thirty-three or for a permit under section forty-three unless it is in conformity with any applicable plans adopted by the division. (11) Arrange for personnel engaged in the work of water pollution prevention and abatement to take courses designed to instruct employees of water pollution control facilities, including sewage treatment and disposal systems, in the latest and most efficient methods of water pollution control and the latest developments in the operation and maintenance of plants and facilities for the prevention or abatement of water pollution. (12) Adopt, amend or repeal after hearing from time to time, with the approval of the water resources commission, rules and regulations which it deems necessary for the proper administration of the laws relative to water pollution control and to the protection of the quality and value of water resources, including regulations to control or prevent the discharge of sewage, garbage or other waste material from watercraft of any type, including houseboats. Such rules and regulations as shall relate to the public health shall not be adopted without the written approval of the commissioner of public health. (13) Require submissions for approval of reports and plans of abatement facilities or any part thereof, and inspect the construction thereof for compliance with the approved plans.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 27A Water pollution abatement projects; certification; financial assistance; eligibility

c. 21, § 27A. Water pollution abatement projects; certification; financial assistance; eligibility Section 27A. (a) The department of environmental protection shall cooperate with the board of trustees of the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust established by chapter twenty-nine C to achieve the water pollution abatement objectives of the commonwealth intended to be advanced by the trust. As a prior necessary condition to the award of a loan by the trust to a local governmental unit to finance costs of a water pollution abatement project, the board shall receive a certificate issued by the department approving the project and certifying those costs of the project determined by the department to be eligible for financial assistance pursuant to section 6 of chapter 29C. The department may approve a loan for costs of a project not eligible for financial assistance pursuant to said section 6; provided, however, that no federal capitalization grants or associated matching grants from the commonwealth shall be applied to fund or secure a loan for any such costs unless otherwise approved by the board. Any project approval by the department may require that financial assistance provided by the trust to a regional local governmental unit shall be allocated and credited to each city or town, or board, commission or agency thereof, which is a member or other service recipient of the regional local governmental unit in accordance with regulations establishing a classification system for project approvals promulgated by the department pursuant to this section. Any project approval by the department may also contain such other conditions and limitations as the division shall deem necessary to implement its powers and prerogatives under this chapter. (b) Any water pollution abatement project or part thereof shall be eligible for loan approval if included on the priority lists pursuant to the priority systems under section thirty A, thirty-three and the last paragraph of section twelve of chapter two hundred and eighty-six of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty-two, for commonwealth fiscal year nineteen hundred and ninety-one or any later commonwealth fiscal year. The department, by regulation, may adopt such modifications to the priority systems and the priority lists for purposes of this section, including limitations on the amount of total financial assistance that a local governmental unit is authorized to receive in any fiscal year, as shall be consistent with the loan programs of the trust and necessary to comply with the requirements of law. (c) The department shall cooperate with the trust in the development of capitalization grant agreements and other agreements for federal capitalization grants under Title VI of the Clean Water Act and may enter into such agreements and other undertakings with the trust and applicable federal agencies as necessary to secure to the commonwealth the benefits of Title VI of the Clean Water Act. The trust and department shall enter into an operating agreement for implementing their respective rights, duties and obligations with respect to the approval of water pollution abatement projects and the costs thereof and the award of loans and grants to finance such costs under chapter twenty-nine C, this section and section thirty-three E. The operating agreement shall provide that the board shall award a loan to a local governmental unit to finance all eligible costs of any water pollution abatement project approved by the department and not otherwise provided for by a grant awarded by the department. (d) The department shall have and shall exercise all powers and duties otherwise conferred upon the division by law with respect to the regulation and supervision of water pollution control abatement projects in the commonwealth, which powers and duties shall in no respect be diminished by this section or chapter twenty-nine C. Regulations, procedures and guidelines shall be promulgated by the department for the efficient administration of its regulatory and supervisory powers in respect of the approvals and prerogatives reserved to the department concerning water pollution abatement projects for which loans are requested from the trust. Such regulations, procedures and guidelines shall include, without limitation, (1) provisions for priority systems, priority lists and the determination of eligible project costs; (2) establishment of a classification system taking into account the financial capability of the respective responsible local governmental units and, in the case of regional local governmental units, each city, town or other service recipient thereof; (3) in cooperation with the secretary of environmental affairs, such modifications to rules and regulations under sections sixty-two to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty as may be necessary to comply with federal law applicable to projects and loan approvals; and, (4) notwithstanding any provision of special law to the contrary, provisions for compliance by local governmental units with regulatory requirements in the construction and operation of projects. Regulations adopted pursuant to clause (4) shall include, without limitation, requirements that (a) applicants for such assistance must demonstrate that these projects are consistent with existing state, regional and local water resource and wastewater planning requirements including but not limited to (1) river basin water quality plans pursuant to section 303(e) Federal Clean Water Act; (2) nonpoint source management plans pursuant to section 319, Federal Clean Water Act; (3) estuaries management plans pursuant to section 320 of the Federal Clean Water Act; (4) local water resource management plans pursuant to regulations of the water resources commission; (5) water emergency planning pursuant to chapter twenty-one G. Applicants shall certify that land use and other controls in place are consistent with the wastewater system service populations projected in the applicants facilities plan. Failure by any public entity to implement and conform with the land use and other controls upon which such certification is based and over which it has direct authority, including without limitation issuance of permits or approvals not in conformity with such controls, failure to enforce such controls, or revision of such controls without making appropriate compensation for any increased wastewater flows, shall be violations of this chapter, and the department may take enforcement action pursuant to sections forty-two, forty-four, and forty-six. In promulgating regulations under this section and approving any loan by the trust, the department shall also take into account any financial assistance provided by the local governmental unit under section thirty-three E and the regulations of the department thereunder. Regulations, procedures and guidelines respecting the financial capability of responsible local governmental units, and cities, towns and other service recipients thereof, shall be adopted by the department jointly with the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the Massachusetts Municipal Association. All such rules, regulations, and guidelines shall be adopted in full compliance with chapter thirty A. (e) The department shall utilize the priority systems and priority lists as the basis for selecting projects for eligibility for loan approval. Regulations for determination of eligible project costs shall be used for purposes of approval of project cost eligibility for loans by the trust. (f) The department may by regulation establish different levels of subsidy available for projects eligible under each of the priority list. (g) All terms defined in chapter twenty-nine C shall have the same meanings in this section as are defined in said chapter twenty-nine C, unless the context otherwise requires.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 28 Water pollution abatement districts; establishment; dissolution; enlargement or consolidation

c. 21, § 28. Water pollution abatement districts; establishment; dissolution; enlargement or consolidation Section 28. (a) The division is hereby authorized, with the approval of the water resources commission, to propose water pollution abatement districts consisting of one or more cities or towns, or designated parts thereof, for the purposes set forth in section thirty. The district so proposed shall be deemed to be established after approval by the city or town, or designated parts thereof, proposed for inclusion in the district or upon the mandatory formation of the district in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b). (b) Within 90 days of receipt by a city or town council of a proposal by the division and approved by the commission or within 90 days of receipt by a municipality of an approval of an area-wide waste treatment management plan update under section 208 of the federal Clean Water Act that includes a proposed water pollution abatement district as the designated area-wide waste treatment management agency for that municipality or that a water pollution abatement district which includes that municipality shall be established, the city or town council shall consider the proposal and indicate its approval or disapproval by voting by yeas and nays upon a question in substantially the following form: ''Shall there be established a water pollution abatement district as recommended by the division of water pollution control and approved by the water resources commission, to include the city (cities) of (herein name of city or cities so proposed for inclusion) and the town (towns) of (herein name of town or towns proposed for inclusion in part) and the construction, acquisition, extension, improvement, maintenance and operation of a system of water pollution abatement facilities by the the district in accordance with chapter 21 of the General Laws?'' Within 90 days of receipt by the selectmen or the city or town council of a municipality of a proposal by the division and approved by the commission that a water pollution abatement district which includes that municipality or a part of a municipality shall be established or within 90 days of receipt by the selectmen or the city or town council of any municipality of an approval of an area-wide waste treatment management plan update under section 208 of the Federal Clean Water Act that includes a proposed water pollution abatement district as the designated area-wide waste treatment management agency for that municipality, the selectmen or the city or town council shall cause to be presented for determination by vote, with printed ballots at an annual or special town meeting or special election called for the purpose, the question of approving the proposal, which question shall be in substantially the form set forth above. If the proposed district includes any part of a city or town, the selectmen or the city or town council shall call a special meeting for the purpose of approving the proposal at which only registered voters resident in that part of the municipality proposed to be included in the district may vote. The warrant for such meeting shall be posted in not less than 2 public places in the part of the municipality affected at least 7 days before the day of the meeting and the moderator or city clerk shall preside at such meeting and the city or town clerk shall keep the records thereof. Whenever within that 90–day period each municipality or part thereof proposed for inclusion in the district shall have indicated its approval of the proposed district by vote in the affirmative on the question in the manner described in this subsection, the district shall be deemed to be established. In the event that the municipality or a part of the municipality proposed by the division for inclusion in a district fails to vote in the affirmative on the question within the 90–day period, the director shall conduct a public hearing. Upon completion of the hearing, the director may, upon finding that the creation of the district is necessary for the prompt and efficient abatement of water pollution and with the approval of the water resources commission, declare the mandatory formation of the district. (c) An established district may be dissolved only by act of the general court. The division, with the approval of the commission, may from time to time propose the enlargement of a district or the consolidation of two or more districts, subject to approval by the general court or approval in the manner provided in subsection (b). If the enlargement or consolidation involves a district formed mandatorily as provided in subsection (b), the director shall conduct a public hearing. Upon completion of the hearing, the director may, upon finding that the formation of the district is necessary for the prompt and efficient abatement of water pollution and with the approval of the water resources commission, declare the enlargement or consolidation on the part of the district. (d) If the division deems water pollution abatement necessary, but the benefits of such abatement are likely to be increased, or its costs to the commonwealth reduced by joint action with another state or states contiguous to the commonwealth, it shall report said fact to the water resources commission which shall consult with the appropriate agency of such other state or states on such matters and shall make recommendations to the general court in relation thereto. (e) The provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section, of sections twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-two, thirty-five and thirty-six shall apply only to a district or district commission created pursuant to this section, and to any city, town or portion thereof which is a member of such district.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 29 Status of district; district commission; membership; executive director; treasurer; personnel

c. 21, § 29. Status of district; district commission; membership; executive director; treasurer; personnel Section 29. Each district shall be a body politic and corporate and shall have a commission to be known as the district commission. Except as provided in the following paragraph, the district commission shall consist of two members from each town included in whole or in part in the district selected by the board of selectmen of such town and two members from each city included in the district selected by the city council. If only part of a town is included in the district, at least one of the two members so selected shall, unless impracticable, be a resident in the part so included; provided, however, that whenever a town or city has a population exceeding twenty thousand persons resident within such district, the board of selectmen or the mayor, but in the case of the city having a Plan D or Plan E charter the city manager, shall, if the resident population does not exceed fifty thousand persons, designate one additional person, or, if it exceeds fifty thousand persons, two additional persons, to serve as members of the district commission. In the event of the formation of a mandatory district, the district commission shall consist of three members appointed by the director, with the approval of the water resources commission. Each member of the commission shall be sworn and shall serve for three years or until his successor is selected and qualified. The district commission shall employ a registered professional engineer who shall be the executive director of the district, and a person with accounting and financial experience who shall be the treasurer of the district, and shall fix their respective salaries. Said director shall be the executive and administrative head of the district, and the treasurer shall give a bond for the faithful performance of his duties in an amount required by the director. The executive director may, with the approval of the district commission, employ such other persons as he shall deem necessary, and such persons shall be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 30 Powers of district commission

c. 21, § 30. Powers of district commission Section 30. A district commission: (i) may act by a majority vote of the full commission; (ii) shall adopt by-laws and regulations for the conduct of its affairs; (iii) shall adopt a name and a corporate seal; (iv) may sue and be sued; (v) may enter into contracts, (vi) may incur expenses in order to carry out its purposes; (vii) may issue bonds and notes as hereinafter provided; (viii) may acquire, dispose of and encumber real and personal property for the purposes of the district; (ix) may manage, control and supervise abatement facilities; (x) may construct, acquire, improve and maintain and operate abatement facilities; (xi) may exercise the power of eminent domain under chapter 79; (xii) shall provide revenue to carry out the purposes of the district in accordance with sections 35 and 36; (xiii) may apply for, accept and receive financial assistance from the federal government and the commonwealth; and (xiv) shall apply for and hold permits issued by the department of environmental protection and any other federal or state regulatory agency required for those facilities and operations necessary to prevent, control or abate water pollution. A district commission may lay out, construct, maintain and operate a system of common sewers and main drains in public or private ways for a part or the whole of its territory as it adjudges necessary for the public health or convenience with such connections and other works as may be required for a system of sewerage and drainage, stormwater treatment and disposal and sewage treatment and disposal including, but not limited to, alternative wastewater treatment techniques approved or permitted by the department of environmental protection and proposed as part of an approved area-wide wastewater management plan adopted under Section 208 of the federal Clean Water Act. Such works for sewage treatment and disposal may include: (i) any wastewater treatment facility for treating, neutralizing or stabilizing sewage, including treatment or disposal plants; (ii) the necessary intercepting, outfall and outlet sewers; (iii) pumping stations integral to such facilities; and (iv) equipment and appurtenances related to the foregoing and the facilities, structures or other measures for alternative wastewater management treatment techniques. The works for drainage may include a stormwater treatment facility or measure of treating, or removing sediment or contaminants from, stormwater discharges. For the purposes of this chapter, ''sewage'' shall mean water-carried human or animal wastes from homes, public buildings, commercial or industrial establishments or any combination thereof and shall include any surface or ground water that may be present therein. For the purposes of this chapter, ''stormwater'' shall mean surface runoff from precipitation. A district commission may install and maintain, in any public or private way in the district where sanitary sewers are constructed, such connecting sewers within the limits of such way as may be necessary to connect any estate which abuts upon the way. No act shall be done except in the making of surveys, reports and other preliminary investigations until the plan for any such system of sewerage and sewage treatment and disposal has been approved by the department of environmental protection. A district commission may acquire, install, operate, maintain, remove, repair or replace any septic system located within its district. A district commission may take by eminent domain under chapter 79 or acquire by purchase or otherwise any lands, rights of way or easements, public or private, in the district which may be necessary for accomplishing any of the purposes of this section and may construct such sewers or drains under or over any bridge, railroad, railway, or public way, or within the location of any railroad, and may enter upon and dig up any private land, public way or railroad location for the purpose of laying such sewers or drains and maintaining and repairing the same and may do any other thing proper or necessary for the purposes of this section; provided, however, the commission shall not take in fee any land of a railroad corporation and shall not enter upon or construct any sewer or drain within the location of any railroad corporation, except at such time and in such manner as it may agree upon with such any railroad corporation or, in case of failure to agree, as may be approved by the department of telecommunications and energy. Any person whose property is injured by any such action may recover damages from the district under chapter 79. A district commission may make contracts with, or may go to aid any other city, town, commission or district with regard to the operation, repair and maintenance of the physical properties of its system of sewers and drains. Members of such districts while in the performance of their duties under any such contracts or in extending such aid shall have the same immunities and privileges as if performing the same work in their respective cities, towns, commissions and districts. Any city, town, commission or district aided under this section shall compensate the district rendering aid as aforesaid for such aid and for the whole or any part of any damage to its property sustained in the course of rendering such aid. Any contracts under this section may be for a period not exceeding 20 years.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 30A Grants for construction of collection systems

c. 21, § 30A. Grants for construction of collection systems Section 30A. The division may make grants to public entities for the costs of constructing collection systems. Subject to appropriation, such grants shall be made in accordance with the priority system and list established for this section by regulation of the director, and, in no event, shall exceed fifty per cent of the construction costs of such projects, as determined by the division. No project shall be eligible for a grant under this section unless the abatement facilities to which the project facilities would be added have been constructed or have received a grant for construction under section thirty-three. No project shall be eligible for a grant under this section if the sewage flows to be added by the use of the project facilities would result in or contribute to a condition in violation of this chapter, or any regulation, permit or order issued or adopted thereunder. No grant made under this section shall exceed three million dollars. The division shall not award a grant under this section to a public entity which has accepted another such grant within the previous year, unless the division determines, in accordance with the priority system and list for a given fiscal year, that all other projects which are ready to proceed have been brought to the fundable list for such fiscal year. Payments of financial assistance by the commonwealth pursuant to this section shall be made in accordance with a payment schedule established by the division with the approval of the commissioner of administration.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 31 Development of comprehensive water pollution abatement, integrated water asset management or green infrastructure opportunities plans; planning or technical assistance grant

c. 21, § 31. Development of comprehensive water pollution abatement, integrated water asset management or green infrastructure opportunities plans; planning or technical assistance grant Section 31. A public entity, including regional planning agencies, may apply to the division for a planning or a technical assistance grant by the commonwealth for the following purposes: assisting a public entity in developing a comprehensive water pollution abatement plan for the public entity; assisting a public entity in developing an integrated water asset management plan for the public entity; or assisting a public entity identify and plan for green infrastructure opportunities for the public entity. The division may accept and shall give preference to planning and technical grants applied for jointly by 2 or more public entities. Upon approval by said division, the division may grant for such purpose, a sum not to exceed 30 thousand dollars. In no case shall a grant exceed the reasonable and necessary cost of such planning, after subtracting therefrom any federal grant made to such public entity for the same purpose. The division may direct that such planning be undertaken in such manner as to maximize federal reimbursement, or to minimize the cost to the commonwealth, including, in appropriate cases, metropolitan-wide comprehensive planning and programming for co-ordinating activities affecting the development of the area. Planning or technical assistance grants authorized under this section need not be repaid to the commonwealth, and shall be in addition to financial assistance made available under other sections of this chapter.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 31A Matching grant program for communities who desire to join the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority or other regional system for wastewater, drinking water or for both wastewater and drinking water

c. 21, § 31A. Matching grant program for communities who desire to join the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority or other regional system for wastewater, drinking water or for both wastewater and drinking water Section 31A. Subject to appropriation, the department of environmental protection shall administer a matching grant program for communities who desire to join the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority or any other regional system for wastewater, drinking water or for both wastewater and drinking water. Each grant shall match, on a 1:1 basis, money committed by a local government unit or a regional local governmental unit, as defined in section 1 of chapter 29C, to pay the entry fee established by the: Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, under section 8 of chapter 372 of the acts of 1984; or other fees required to join a regional system. The department shall award grants only to a local governmental unit or regional local governmental unit that satisfies the department that it has committed funds to join said Authority or regional system. Should the local governmental unit or regional local governmental unit fail to join said Authority or regional system after receiving a grant under this section, the local governmental unit or regional local governmental unit shall return money granted under this section to the department. For the purpose of this section, the term ''regional system'' shall include any system established by mutual agreement of 2 or more municipalities or by a county in which all municipalities of said county have an agreement to provide drinking water or wastewater services, or both, through shared facilities, sources or distribution networks.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 32 Presentation of plan to division; contents; approval

c. 21, § 32. Presentation of plan to division; contents; approval Section 32. A district shall present a plan for abatement of water pollution to the division within one year after its establishment or such greater or lesser period as the division may prescribe. Such plan shall include detail as to the sources of pollution within the district, the means by which and the extent to which such pollution is to be abated, a project or projects for the construction, acquisition, extension or improvement of facilities required by the plan, estimates of the capital outlay costs thereof, the amount of federal grants applicable to such costs for which the district proposes to apply, the method of apportioning among the several cities and towns and parts thereof in the district the amounts required by the district for the payment of capital outlay costs incurred by it for such capital outlays, the method of apportioning among the several cities and towns and parts of towns in the district the maintenance and operating costs incurred by it in maintaining and operating the facilities, as provided in section thirty-six, or, instead of such apportionment, the method whereby the district may provide for the payment in whole or in part of such maintenance and operating costs by establishing and collecting reasonable and equitably classified charges for the use of the services provided by the facilities, and such other information as the division shall require. After approval, a plan may be altered only with the approval of the division. Plans submitted under this section shall make provision for securing compliance with any applicable requirements of state or federal law concerning payment by industrial users of their proportional shares of the costs of constructing, operating and maintaining treatment works and services to be made available to such users. Every district is hereby authorized to contract, as may be appropriate, with present or prospective users of its facilities concerning terms and conditions of their use, conformably with applicable provisions of law. Every district is hereby further authorized to meet its expenses through assessments of equitable and proportional user charges in the same manner as cities and towns in a district may do under the second paragraph of section thirty-six. The division shall not approve a plan unless it finds that such plan includes a method or formula for apportioning among the several cities and towns and parts of towns in the district the amounts required by the district for payment of both capital outlay costs and maintenance and operating costs which the division deems just and equitable. Such a formula may consist in whole or in part of fixed percentages assigned to each city, town or part of a town within the district as their respective shares of the amounts required by the district or may be based in whole or in part upon any one or a combination of two or more of the following factors: (a) population; (b) equalized valuation; (c) flow and characteristics of the wastes contributed; (d) any other factor deemed appropriate for the purpose by the division.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 33 Financial assistance

c. 21, § 33. Financial assistance Section 33. The division may make a grant to a public entity for the eligible costs of a planning, design or construction project for abatement facilities where the federal government has awarded the public entity a grant pursuant to Title II of the FWPCA, as amended. Where (i) the federal government has awarded a seventy-five per cent grant for the eligible costs of the project, the division may award a fifteen per cent grant for such eligible project costs, or (ii) the federal government has awarded a fifty-five per cent grant for the eligible costs of the project the division may award a thirty-five per cent grant for such eligible project costs; provided, however, that in the event the grant awarded by the federal government is less than seventy-five per cent or fifty-five per cent of such eligible costs, as the case may be, the division may award a grant in such amount to assure that the public entity's share of the eligible costs of such project does not exceed ten per cent; or (iii) that in the event that a project eligible for such a federal grant has not been awarded a federal grant, the divisions may award a grant of up to thirty-five per cent of the eligible costs of such project; or (iv) that in the event that a combined sewer outfall project or a project eligible for such a federal grant has not been awarded a federal grant, the division may, in fiscal years nineteen hundred and eighty-six through nineteen hundred and ninety-four, inclusive, award a grant of up to seventy percent of the eligible costs of such project. Where, because the project entails the use of innovative or alternate technology, the federal government has awarded an eighty-five per cent grant for the eligible costs of the project, the division may award a nine per cent grant for such eligible project costs; provided, however, that in the event the grant awarded for such a project is less than eighty-five per cent the division may award a grant in such amount to assure that public entity's share of the eligible costs of such project does not exceed six per cent. In the event that the federal government does not award grants for the planning and design of such facilities, the division may advance such funds as may be necessary to enable the public entity to complete the eligible portions of said approved projects; provided, that funds advanced for planning and design shall be considered part of the total grant for said project, and the division shall deduct from the construction grant such sums as it deems necessary. The division may award grants in an amount not exceeding ninety per cent of the approved eligible costs for the planning and design of such facilities; provided, however, that in the event the federal government includes an allowance for such costs in their construction grant, the division shall deduct from its construction grant such sums as it deems necessary. Payments of financial assistance by the commonwealth pursuant to this section shall be made in accordance with a payment schedule established by the division with the approval of the commissioner of administration. The division may require any information from the public entity necessary to ensure that the public entity is complying with the conditions of the grant awarded for the project, and the division may withdraw its approval of the project if such information is not supplied or if the public entity is not complying with the conditions of the grant. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the division from conditioning the grant of financial assistance under this section, or section thirty A or thirty-one upon the establishment of a district or other intermunicipal arrangement for the purpose of abating water pollution.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 33A Financial assistance in towns of more than 20,000 inhabitants

c. 21, § 33A. Financial assistance in towns of more than 20,000 inhabitants Section 33A. Notwithstanding the provisions of section thirty-three, if a town having a population of more than twenty thousand inhabitants according to the latest federal census, has received a grant from the division equal to sixty per cent of the cost of construction, the division shall make an additional grant to said town to ensure a total of ninety per cent federal and state funding on the eligible portions of the project or projects of said town.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 33B Engineering reports of plans for facilities; failure of governmental units to submit as ordered; preparation by director; distribution of costs

c. 21, § 33B. Engineering reports of plans for facilities; failure of governmental units to submit as ordered; preparation by director; distribution of costs Section 33B. If any city, town or special district, or other existing governmental unit authorized to construct, own, operate, extend or improve abatement facilities as defined in section thirty, fails to comply with an order of the director to submit a preliminary engineering report of final engineering plans to the division for approval, the director may, with the approval of the water resources commission, act in behalf of such city, town, special district, or other existing governmental unit to prepare or cause to be prepared a preliminary engineering report or final engineering plans. Where more than one city, town or portion thereof is included in a district, the costs shall be distributed between or among such cities and towns according to a formula established by the division of water pollution control. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any city, town, special district, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, or other existing governmental unit who fails to comply with an order of the director from being eligible for financial assistance from the commonwealth and from the United States government.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 33C Action by director pursuant to Sec. 33B; contract for engineering reports authorized

c. 21, § 33C. Action by director pursuant to Sec. 33B; contract for engineering reports authorized Section 33C. When it is necessary for the director of the division of water pollution to take the action referred to in section thirty-three B, said director may, with the approval of the water resources commission, contract for engineering reports or final plans from existing bond issues.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 33D Director authorized to order governmental units to construct facilities

c. 21, § 33D. Director authorized to order governmental units to construct facilities Section 33D. In order to prevent or reduce discharges to the waters of the commonwealth or to implement comprehensive basin or regional plans approved by the division of water pollution control, the director of the division may order the appropriate municipalities, districts and other competent public entities to construct the necessary facilities for which financial assistance has been authorized under chapter twenty-nine C or for which construction grants are authorized under section thirty-three or section thirty-three E in accordance with timetables for compliance specified in the orders.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 33E Water pollution abatement projects; grants

c. 21, § 33E. Water pollution abatement projects; grants Section 33E. The department of environmental protection may make a grant to a local governmental unit as defined in chapter twenty-nine C for the eligible costs of planning, design or construction of water pollution abatement projects eligible for financial assistance under section six of said chapter twenty-nine C. The department may award grants for such projects in accordance with regulations of the department promulgated pursuant to section twenty-seven A, in amounts which, when added to the financial assistance provided by the local governmental unit, or each city, town or other public body which is a member or other service recipient thereof, under the provisions of section six of chapter twenty-nine C, will result in total financial assistance provided to or for the benefit of such local governmental unit, city, town or other public body, as determined by the department equivalent to a grant of twenty-five percent of the eligible costs of such projects. Payments of financial assistance by the commonwealth pursuant to this section shall be made in accordance with a payment schedule established by the department with the approval of the secretary of administration and finance and may, at the department's direction, be applied to the reduction of the principal balance of loans to the local governmental unit made or approved under said chapter twenty-nine C.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 34 Supervision of operation and maintenance of treatment works

c. 21, § 34. Supervision of operation and maintenance of treatment works Section 34. The division shall supervise the operation and maintenance of treatment works within the commonwealth, and the director may require the person owning and operating such facilities to maintain the facilities in conformance with the provisions of this chapter and any regulations, permits, licenses or orders issued thereunder, and in conformance with applicable federal law and regulations.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 34A Board of certification of operators of wastewater treatment facilities; members; duties

c. 21, § 34A. Board of certification of operators of wastewater treatment facilities; members; duties Section 34A. There shall be within the department of environmental protection a board of certification of operators of wastewater treatment facilities. The purpose of the board shall be to insure the proper management, operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment systems and facilities. The board shall consist of nine members, as follows: the commissioner of environmental protection or his designee, the commissioner of public health or his designee, and seven members appointed by the governor. Of the members appointed by the governor, one shall be a faculty member of an accredited school of engineering, one a registered professional engineer engaged in the practice of sanitary engineering, one a member of the Massachusetts State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, one to be appointed from a list of qualified operators of wastewater treatment facilities in the commonwealth which has been recommended by the executive committee of the New England Water Pollution Control Association, one a member of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, one to be appointed from a list of qualified persons recommended by the Massachusetts Waste Water Treatment Plan Operators Association, and one who shall be a representative of the public, subject to the provisions of section nine B of chapter thirteen. The commissioner of environmental protection or his designee shall be chairman of the board. The board shall meet at the call of the chairman. Each appointive member of the board shall receive his necessary traveling expenses incurred in the performance of official duties; provided, however, that the expenses of the members of the board, including those of such employees as it may appoint, shall not in any one year exceed its receipts. Each appointive member shall serve for a term of four years, except for persons appointed to fill vacancies who shall serve for the unexpired term. Any appointive member shall be eligible for reappointment. The division shall provide professional, technical and clerical assistance necessary for the administration and enforcement of the board's programs.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 34B Evaluation and certification program; application; certification; fees

c. 21, § 34B. Evaluation and certification program; application; certification; fees Section 34B. The board shall conduct a program of evaluating and certifying individuals who wish to be certified as operators of wastewater treatment facilities. The board may establish classes and categories of certifications, and the minimum qualifications and standards for said certifications. The board may prepare and conduct examinations, maintain records, and may issue, renew or deny, or suspend or revoke, after reasonable opportunity for hearing and for cause, certificates of competency. The board may adopt, amend or repeal rules and regulations for the performance of its duties. Any individual who desires to be certified as an operator of a wastewater facility shall file with the board an application upon a form furnished by the board. Each applicant shall include in such application under oath his qualifications and shall pay with such application an application fee. Prior to issuing an original certificate, the board shall evaluate each applicant to determine his competence and fitness with respect to the class or category of certification for which certification is sought. Said evaluation shall include such examinations as the board may require. Examinations may be taken only upon payment of a nonrefundable examination fee. Prior to renewal of a certificate, the board may make such review of an applicant's competence and fitness as it deems necessary and appropriate. Such renewal shall be made only upon payment of a renewal fee. Each certification issued by the board shall be valid only for the individual to whom it is issued, may not be transferred, and shall not continue in force and effect after the death of the individual to whom it is issued. Certification and renewals thereof shall be issued for a term not to exceed one year, unless sooner revoked. The board may issue, for good cause shown and upon payment of a fee, a temporary emergency certification which shall be in effect for a period not to exceed six months. Fees for the aforementioned application, examination, original certification, renewal and temporary emergency certification shall be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provisions of section three B of chapter seven.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 34C Certification requirement; violation; penalty

c. 21, § 34C. Certification requirement; violation; penalty Section 34C. No person shall manage, operate or maintain a facility used for the treatment, neutralization or stabilization of wastewater from homes, public buildings, or commercial or industrial sources or any combination thereof, unless the individual in charge of the facility is in possession of a currently valid certificate of competency issued by the board pursuant to section thirty-four B. Any person who violates any provision of this section or any valid regulation, order or permit issued by the board; or who knowingly makes any false representation in any application required under the provision of said section thirty-four B shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty-five hundred dollars per day of such violation or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, or shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five hundred dollars per day of such violation, which may be assessed in an action brought on behalf of the commonwealth in any court of competent jurisdiction.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 35 General obligation serial bonds or notes; temporary notes; indebtedness

c. 21, § 35. General obligation serial bonds or notes; temporary notes; indebtedness Section 35. The district by vote of the commissioners is authorized to issue, from time to time, general obligation serial bonds or notes of the district to pay for its share of the costs of capital outlay required in connection with the project or projects contained in an approved plan, in such amount or amounts as the district commissioners may determine and as may be approved by the division, and may refund any such serial bonds or notes. Such serial bonds or notes may be callable with or without premium, shall contain such terms and conditions, bear such rate or rates of interest, be sold in such manner, at public or private sale, and mature at such times and in such amounts as the commissioners shall determine; provided, however, that each issue of such bonds or notes shall be payable in annual installments, the first of which shall be payable not later than three years after its date and the last of which shall be payable not later than thirty years from said date. If the district votes to issue serial bonds or notes, the commissioners may authorize the issuance, in the name of the district, of general obligation temporary notes for a period of not more than two years in anticipation of the money to be received from the sale of such serial bonds or notes; but the time within which such serial notes or bonds shall become payable shall not be extended by reason of the making of such temporary loans beyond the time fixed in the vote authorizing such serial bonds or notes. The district by vote of the commissioners is authorized to issue, from time to time, general obligation temporary notes of the district in anticipation of assessments and other revenues of the district of the year in which such notes are issued. Temporary notes in anticipation of assessments or other revenues shall be payable not more than one year from their dates. If at any time any principal or interest is due or about to become due on any bond or note issued by a district and funds to pay the same are not available, the district may temporarily borrow money and issue temporary general obligation notes of the district, payable not more than one year from their dates, to pay such principal and interest. Temporary notes issued under this section for a shorter period than the maximum permitted may be renewed by the issuance of other temporary notes maturing within the required period; provided, that the period from the date of issue of the original temporary note to the date of maturity of the renewal note shall not exceed the maximum period for which the original temporary note may have been issued. Such temporary notes or renewal notes may be sold at discount or with interest payable at or at and before maturity. Notes or bonds authorized by this section shall be signed by the treasurer and countersigned by the executive director of the district and serial notes and bonds shall have the district seal affixed. Sections sixteen B and sixteen C of chapter forty-four shall be applicable to such bonds and notes. Indebtedness incurred under this section shall not be included in computing the limit of indebtedness of any city or town any portion of which is included in a district.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 36 Amounts necessary for payment of bonds and notes and maintenance of district; determination; apportionment of costs; schedule of charges

c. 21, § 36. Amounts necessary for payment of bonds and notes and maintenance of district; determination; apportionment of costs; schedule of charges Section 36. The district commission shall annually determine the amounts required for the payment of principal and interest on such bonds and notes issued or to be issued by the district which will be due during the ensuing calendar year and shall apportion the amounts so determined among the several cities and towns or parts thereof in the district in accordance with the provisions of the plan approved under section thirty-two. The district commission shall also annually determine the amounts necessary to be raised to maintain and operate the district during the said year, for capital outlay items the cost of which is not to be funded, and for all other matters for which the district is required to raise money, and if and to the extent said plan so requires shall apportion among the several cities and towns or parts thereof the amounts so determined in accordance with the provisions of the said plan reduced by the amounts of revenues of funds which are available or are to be received by the district during said year and are applicable to costs of maintenance and operations. Each amount so apportioned for each city or town or portion thereof shall prior to December thirty-first, in each year, be certified by the district commission to the assessors of each city and town included in whole or in part in the district. The assessors of each such city and town shall without further vote include each amount so certified in those amounts to be annually raised by taxes under section twenty-three of chapter fifty-nine; provided, however, that in the event only a part of a town is within the district, the assessors shall assess a tax to the amounts so certified only on the property within such part. The respective city or town treasurers shall pay the amounts so certified to the treasurer of the district in four substantially equal payments, to be made on or before the first day of March, June, September and December. A city or town in a district may raise all or a portion of the amounts certified annually by the district to the assessors of such cities and towns as provided in the preceding paragraph, through equitable and proportional charges against inhabitants, corporations, and other users for the services rendered by the district in each such city or town. For the purpose of establishing an equitable and proportional schedule or reasonable charges, the property benefited by the services of the district may be classified taking into consideration the volume of water, including surface or drain waters, the character of the sewage or industrial or other wastes, and the nature of the use made of the sewerage system, including the facilities. The charges may include standby charges to property not connected but for which the district's facilities have been made available. The schedule thus established may be modified in accordance with the plan and as may be necessary to raise the amounts required by the district. The failure of such user charges to raise the amounts required by the district in any year shall not relieve any city or town from its obligation to provide the amounts assessed by the district hereunder. If a city or town fails to pay the district commission the apportioned amount, the commissioner of corporations and taxation is authorized and directed to pay to the district commission such amounts from the city's or town's share of monies distributed by the commonwealth on an annual basis.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 37 Reimbursement for costs of water pollution abatement project

c. 21, § 37. Reimbursement for costs of water pollution abatement project Section 37. The metropolitan district commission, or any city, town or other political subdivision which prior to the sixth day of September, nineteen hundred and sixty-six had constructed or had under construction a water pollution abatement project which qualifies as an approved project as hereinbefore provided, and which project was financed in whole or in part by the proceeds of serial bonds or notes issued on or after December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and fifty-seven, under any general law or special law, shall be annually reimbursed by the commonwealth in an amount equal to thirty per cent of the principal payments of such serial bonds or notes maturing each year beginning January first, nineteen hundred and sixty-eight; provided, however, that if grants under any federal law on or after January first, nineteen hundred and fifty-six, have exceeded thirty per cent of such project's construction cost, the percentage of the principal payments to be paid by the commonwealth shall be reduced by the number of percentage points by which the federal grant exceeded thirty per cent. Reimbursements under this section shall be paid from amounts appropriated therefor from the Local Aid Fund under section 18C of chapter 58. Any public entity which has constructed abatement facilities shall be eligible, subject to appropriation, for reimbursement of up to fifty per cent of the annual costs involved in the purchase of chemicals used for chlorination, sludge dewatering, odor control and advanced waste treatment for phosphorous removal and nitrification during the operation and maintenance of said abatement facilities. Any such public entity seeking such reimbursement shall prior to the end of any calendar year submit a statement of the cost of such chemicals used by it for said facilities during the preceding fiscal year. The division shall verify the statements of costs submitted and report upon the same to the general court. Reimbursements under this program shall be paid from amounts appropriated therefor from the Local Aid Fund under the provisions of section 18C of chapter 58.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 37A Program for preservation and restoration of publicly-owned lakes and great ponds

c. 21, § 37A. Program for preservation and restoration of publicly-owned lakes and great ponds Section 37A. The department of environmental management, in this section referred to as the department, shall administer a program for the preservation and restoration of the publicly-owned lakes and great ponds of the commonwealth. Said program shall conform to and complement the program authorized by 33 USC 1324 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The department shall survey and investigate said lakes and great ponds and shall classify them according to their trophic condition and taking into account their value for public recreation, the availability of their public beaches and swimming facilities, for such lakes and great ponds which have beaches and swimming facilities, for use by all residents of the commonwealth, and other relevant matters, shall determine the priority of said lakes and great ponds for the studies and projects set forth in this section. The department shall provide for the conduct of studies to diagnose the limnological and environmental characteristics of said lakes and great ponds and, on the basis of said diagnosis, determine the feasibility of methods and procedures to preserve and restore the quality of said lakes and great ponds. Where the federal government has provided financial assistance in the amount of seventy per cent of the costs of any such study, the department, subject to appropriation, shall provide financial assistance for such study in the amount not exceeding thirty per cent of the costs eligible for such federal financial assistance, as determined by the department. In the event that the Congress does not appropriate funds for such studies under said section 1324 of said Title 33 in any fiscal year, the department, subject to appropriation, shall provide financial assistance for such studies in an amount not exceeding seventy per cent of the costs which would have been eligible for federal financial assistance. The department shall provide for the conduct of projects to implement methods and procedures for the preservation and restoration of said lakes and great ponds. When the federal government has provided financial assistance in the amount of fifty per cent of the costs of any project, the department, subject to appropriation, shall provide financial assistance for such project in an amount not exceeding twenty-five per cent of the costs eligible for such federal financial assistance, as determined by the division. In the event that the Congress does not appropriate funds for such projects under said section 1324 of said Title 33 in any fiscal year, the department subject to appropriation, shall provide financial assistance for such projects in an additional amount not exceeding seventy-five per cent of the costs which would have been eligible for federal financial assistance. Financial assistance provided by the department under this section shall be paid in reimbursement in accordance with a schedule of payments approved by the commissioner of administration.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 37B Aquatic nuisance control program

c. 21, § 37B. Aquatic nuisance control program Section 37B. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Aquatic nuisance'', undesirable or excessive substances or populations that interfere with the recreational or ecological potential of a body of water or interfere with the natural resources thereof and that shall include, but not be limited to, rooted aquatic vegetation and algae populations, dreissena mussels, spiny water fleas and any other invasive species that the commissioner declares to be an aquatic nuisance. ''Boat transporter'', any vehicle combination including a low-boy boat transporter, a stinger-steered boat transporter or a truck-trailer boat transporter, designed and used specifically for the transport of assembled boats and boat hulls; provided, however, that such boats may be partially disassembled to facilitate transportation. ''Inland waters'', all waters within the jurisdiction of the commonwealth other than coastal waters. ''Low-boy boat transporter'', a semi-trailer unit, the trailer of which is designed and used specifically for the transport of assembled boats and hulls; provided, however, that the top surface of the deck platform of such semi-trailer shall not be more than 36 inches above the surface on which the wheels of the vehicle rest. ''Stinger-steered boat transporter'', a boat transporter configured as a semitrailer combination on which the fifth wheel is located on a drop frame located behind and below the rear-most axle of the power unit. ''Truck-trailer boat transporter'', a boat transporter combination consisting of a truck towing a trailer typically using a ball and socket connection and the trailer axle thereon is located substantially at the trailer center of gravity, rather than at the rear of the trailer, so as to maintain a downward force on the trailer tongue. ''Vessel'', as defined in section 1 of chapter 90B. (b) The department shall establish and maintain an aquatic nuisance control program. The aquatic nuisance control program shall: receive and respond to aquatic nuisance complaints; work with municipalities, local interest organizations and agencies to develop long-range programs regarding aquatic nuisance controls; work with federal, state and local governments to obtain funding for aquatic nuisance control programs; and administer the grant program under sections 37C and 37D. (c) The department shall promulgate rules and regulations, in consultation with the department of fish and game, to enable the aquatic nuisance control program to suppress, eradicate, control and otherwise mitigate or reduce the risk of the spread of aquatic nuisances. (d) The department shall study and promote improved methods of suppressing, controlling or otherwise mitigating or reducing the risk of the spread of aquatic nuisances and shall act in cooperation with federal and state agencies engaged in the study or control of aquatic nuisances. (e) The department may: enter into contracts for the study, control and eradication of aquatic nuisances on behalf of the commonwealth; act in cooperation with any state agency, person or subdivision of the commonwealth, any other state, the United States or any foreign government; issue orders or establish quarantines to suppress or eradicate aquatic nuisances; and advise, make use of and require the use of all lawful means to suppress, control or otherwise mitigate or reduce the risk of the spread of aquatic nuisances. (f) Except as otherwise authorized by the department, no person shall knowingly or intentionally place, or cause to be placed, an aquatic nuisance in or upon inland waters. (g) Except as otherwise authorized by the department, no person shall place or cause to be placed in or upon inland waters any vessel, boat transporter, truck-trailer boat transporter or any other equipment used in conjunction with such vessel boat transporter or truck-trailer boat transporter, if the vessel, boat transporter, truck-trailer boat transporter or other equipment has growing thereon or attached thereto an aquatic nuisance, unless the vessel, boat transporter, truck-trailer boat transporter or other equipment used in connection therewith has been cleaned, decontaminated or treated to kill or remove the aquatic nuisance in accordance with the department's regulations. (h) Whoever: (1) violates subsection (f); (2) knowingly and willfully resists or obstructs the department and its duly authorized employees or agents from suppressing or eradicating aquatic nuisances shall be subject to a civil assessment of not more than $5,000 for each violation; provided, however, that each day that such violation occurs or continues shall be deemed a separate violation; provided further, that the penalty may be assessed by the department and may be recovered in an action brought on behalf of the commonwealth by the attorney general in the superior court; or (3) knowingly and willfully violates subsection (g) or knowingly violates any rule, regulation, order or quarantine issued by the commissioner pursuant to this section shall be subject to the fines and sanctions set forth in section 5D of chapter 90B. (i) In addition to the penalties and assessments under subsection (h), the commonwealth may bring an action for injunctive relief in the superior court relative to any such violation and the superior court shall have jurisdiction to enjoin such violation and to grant such further relief as it deems appropriate. (j) Nothing in this section shall be construed to or have the effect of limiting the authority of the division of fisheries and wildlife to manage and regulate inland fisheries resources and other wildlife pursuant to chapter 131 or chapter 131A.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 37C State assistance to municipalities or agencies for aquatic nuisance control

c. 21, § 37C. State assistance to municipalities or agencies for aquatic nuisance control Section 37C. A municipality, or group of municipalities, or an agency of the state, which desires state assistance to control aquatic nuisances may apply in writing to the department in a manner prescribed by the department. When the department finds that a proposed aquatic nuisance control program is suitable to control or minimize the effect an aquatic nuisance has on water quality and water use, it may grant an award of up to fifty percent or less of the project costs as determined by the department. Recurring maintenance projects may be awarded grants of twenty percent or less of the annual project cost. In approving requests and determining the amount of any grant, the department shall consider the following: (a) the use of the waters by persons outside the municipality in which the waters are located; (b) the long range effect of the control project; (c) the recreational use of the waters; and (d) the effectiveness of municipal shoreland zoning and other controls in minimizing or preventing existing or new development from having any adverse effects on the waters subject to the control program.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 37D Priority of projects

c. 21, § 37D. Priority of projects Section 37D. The department shall make awards to priority projects to the extent that funds are available. First priority shall be projects to manage incipient infestations of aquatic nuisances, second priority shall be projects to prevent or control the further spread of aquatic nuisances, and third priority shall be recurring maintenance projects. In establishing priorities for individual projects, the department shall consider the following: (a) public accessibility and recreational uses; (b) the importance to commercial, agricultural or other interests; (c) the degree of local interest, as manifested by municipal or other contributions to the project; (d) local efforts to control aquatic nuisances; (e) other considerations affecting feasibility, probability of achieving long term control, necessity or advantage of the proposed work; and (f) the extent to which the control project is a development rather than a maintenance project.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 38 Water pollution control, innovative water technologies, green infrastructure research and demonstration projects; environmental quality studies; management plans; training and support programs

c. 21, § 38. Water pollution control, innovative water technologies, green infrastructure research and demonstration projects; environmental quality studies; management plans; training and support programs Section 38. The director, from funds appropriated or provided by grants, with the approval of the commissioner, shall provide for the conduct of research and demonstration projects relating to water pollution control, innovative water technologies, green infrastructure and other scientific and engineering studies relating to environmental quality. Such projects and studies may include, but shall not be limited to, new and improved methods of controlling and discharge of untreated or inadequately treated sewage, stormwater, or industrial, chemical, radioactive, flammable, toxic, explosive or other wastes hazardous to the public or the environment. The director may also contract for the development of comprehensive river basin, water quality management, or waste treatment management plans. The commissioner shall also provide training and technical assistance to municipalities and other public entities in the implementation and administration of title 5 of 310 CMR 15.00 and in the development, implementation and administration of other wastewater management and water resource protection programs, including providing funding for the transfer of related technologies such as, but not limited to, computers, software and alternative wastewater treatment systems, and shall require as a condition of receipt of such training and technical assistance that municipalities and other public entities, including the local boards of health, provide advice and other reasonable assistance to homeowners in their efforts to conform with the provisions of said title 5 and to minimize the financial impact of such compliance. The director shall provide for inservice training programs in methods of water pollution control, in accordance with the provisions of section twenty-eight A of chapter seven, and may conduct or support programs for the training of waste treatment plant operators. For the purposes of this section, the director may contract with any person, or any instrumentality or agency of the federal government or of any other state, or any interstate agency.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 38A Clean waters scholarship intern program

c. 21, § 38A. Clean waters scholarship intern program Section 38A. There shall be in the division a clean waters scholarship intern program which shall be administered by the director. The director, subject to appropriation and grants from other sources, may grant scholarships providing for the payment of room, board, tuition and other fees to any person who is eligible to attend an accredited college or university and who enrolls at such college or university in a course of study leading to an engineering degree satisfactory to the director. In no event shall any student receive such scholarship aid for more than four years. To be eligible for such scholarship a person shall (1) be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the commonwealth; (2) be a high school graduate or have an equivalent education; (3) have been accepted for admission as a regular student in an accredited college or university approved by the director to pursue a course of instruction satisfactory to the director; (4) contract, with the consent of his parent or legal guardian if he is a minor, with the director or his designated representative, to serve with the division for a period of three years following his graduation, and to serve with the division during the regular periods of summer vacation while attending such college or university except for such vacation periods as the director may establish by regulation; provided however, that the division shall not be liable to pay wages to said student during said vacation periods. Service rendered to the division by a recipient of such a scholarship during the three year period following his graduation, and during the regular periods of summer vacation, and such other vacation periods as the director may establish, shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one. The director may, subject to available appropriations and grants from other sources, establish within the division a program of graduate study for eligible persons wishing to attend any accredited graduate program at a college or university in order to further the training of personnel for the more efficient administration of sections twenty-six to fifty-three, inclusive. The scholarship awards or aid granted by the director under this section shall be on a competitive basis. The director may adopt such rules and regulations as he deems necessary to carry out the programs authorized by this section.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 39 Reservoirs

c. 21, § 39. Reservoirs Section 39. The water resources commission may, from the proceeds of bond issues authorized for water pollution control, construct or expand reservoirs at locations throughout the commonwealth for the purpose of providing low flow augmentations in time of drought and in such other times as rivers and streams may require additional water flow to carry off treated effluents discharged into said rivers and streams. The commission, in behalf of the commonwealth, may take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine or acquire by purchase, gift, or otherwise any land, water rights, or other easements, public or private, necessary for accomplishing the purpose of this section; provided that no taking may be made of water which is used for municipal, agriculture or industrial water supply purposes. The commission may enter into agreements with any federal agency to accept any federal grants that may be available for the aforesaid purpose. Such a reservoir shall not be used for public water supply purposes unless its location, design, and operation, and any subsequent treatment or purification shall be approved by the department of public health.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 40 Entry upon property; investigation or inspection; examination of records

c. 21, § 40. Entry upon property; investigation or inspection; examination of records Section 40. The director, his authorized representative, or personnel of the division of watershed management in the metropolitan district commission or of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority may enter at reasonable times any property, public or private, for the purpose of investigating or inspecting any condition relating to the discharge or possible discharge of pollutants and may make such tests as may be necessary to determine the existence and nature of such discharge; provided, however, that personnel of said division may investigate or inspect only such conditions as affect the watershed system under the care and control of said division, and provided, further, that personnel of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority may investigate or inspect only such conditions as affect the sewer and waterworks systems under the care and control of said Authority. He may inspect any monitoring equipment or procedure required by the terms of a permit issued under section forty-three. The director or his authorized representative may examine any records pertaining to operation of treatment works, and any records required to be kept by the terms of a permit issued under said section forty-three.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 41 Recommendations by water resources commission

c. 21, § 41. Recommendations by water resources commission Section 41. The water resources commission shall from time to time recommend to the governor and the interstate water pollution control commission programs for interstate river basin water quality control and water pollution abatement, and for interstate compacts with neighboring states to effectuate a river basin approach to water quality control, which programs and compacts shall be aided by federal grants available for the purpose.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 42 Discharge into water; violations of chapter, regulation, order or permit; false representations; tampering with monitoring device or method; criminal and civil penalties

c. 21, § 42. Discharge into water; violations of chapter, regulation, order or permit; false representations; tampering with monitoring device or method; criminal and civil penalties Section 42. Any person who, directly or indirectly, throws, drains, runs, discharges or allows the discharge of any pollutant into waters of the commonwealth, except in conformity with a permit issued under section 27 or 43; or who violates any provision of this chapter, any valid regulation, order or permit prescribed or issued by the director thereunder; or who knowingly makes any false representation in an application, record, report or plan, or falsifies, tampers with or renders inaccurate a monitoring device or method, required under this chapter, (a) shall be punished by a fine of not less than two thousand five hundred dollars nor more than $50,000 for each day such violation occurs or continues, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both; or (b) shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $50,000 per day of such violation, which may be assessed in an action brought on behalf of the commonwealth in any court of competent jurisdiction. This section shall not apply to sections thirty-four B and thirty-four C. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as adversely affecting the rights of any person to secure judicial relief against actual or potential waste dischargers under other rules or provisions of law. No information submitted or made available for inspection in accordance with requirements established by or under this chapter may be used in any criminal proceeding against the individual who submits it, certifies it, or makes it available, except in a prosecution for the making of a false statement or record, or for otherwise failing to comply with reporting or recording requirements under this chapter.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 43 Permit proceedings; regulations; requirements of permit; application; forms; fees

c. 21, § 43. Permit proceedings; regulations; requirements of permit; application; forms; fees Section 43. (1) For purposes of this section, ''permit proceeding'' includes the consideration of any application for a permit and of any proposal or request to suspend, revoke, modify or renew a permit. ''Permit determination'' means the decision of the director upon such application, proposal or request. (2) No person shall discharge pollutants into waters of the commonwealth nor construct, install, modify, operate or maintain an outlet for such discharge or any treatment works, without a currently valid permit issued by the director. No person shall engage in any other activity that may reasonably be expected to result, directly or indirectly, in discharge of pollutants into waters of the commonwealth, nor construct, effect, maintain, modify or use any sewer extension or connection, without a currently valid permit issued by the director, unless exempted by regulation of the director. (3) The director shall adopt regulations with respect to permit proceedings and determinations. Applications for permits shall be submitted within times and on forms prescribed by the director and shall contain such information as he may require. (4) Public notice of every permit proceeding, including proceedings under paragraph (10), shall be given in the manner provided by section three of chapter thirty A. The director shall circulate information received concerning the matter pending in accordance with the provisions of clause (7) of section twenty-seven and may hold a public hearing if he deems such hearing to be in the public interest. If the applicant or permittee requests a hearing, the director shall hold a public hearing on the matter in a community within the affected area of the discharge, at least thirty days after giving notice thereof. The director may, upon request of a permittee, revise a schedule of compliance in an issued permit if the director determines that good and valid cause, for which the permittee is not at fault, exists for such revision, and in such cases the provisions of this paragraph for public notice and hearing shall not apply. The director may also suspend this paragraph for public notice and hearing by promulgating regulations establishing a process for renewal of a previously issued permit where renewal of such permit does not require significant changes. If the director has proposed to suspend or revoke a permit, in whole or in part, pursuant to paragraph (10), and if the permittee requests an adjudicatory hearing under section forty-five on the proposed determination, the requested hearing may be held as part of the public hearing to be afforded under this paragraph. (5) The director shall grant a permit only if the discharge and the treatment works proposed in an initial or an amended application will, in his judgement, conform to effluent limitations specified in the permit, and will conform to regulations, receiving water standards and comprehensive plans adopted by the division. The director shall issue any permit proposed for issuance under this section providing it conforms to all applicable provisions of federal law and of rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. (6) The director shall establish standard and short application forms for discharge permits. (a) Upon submission of an application short form to the director, an applicant shall pay a fee determined pursuant to section eighteen of chapter twenty-one A; (b) Upon submission of an application standard form to the director, an applicant shall pay a fee to be determined pursuant to section eighteen of chapter twenty-one A, and if there is more than one outlet from which the discharge will flow, an additional fee, also determined under the aforementioned provision, shall be paid for each additional outlet. Any applicant submitting an application standard form who has previously filed an application short form may deduct from the fee submitted the amount previously submitted with the short form; (c) Any new or increased discharges of pollutants, however, shall be reported in the appropriate application form. Agencies or instrumentalities of federal, commonwealth, or local governments shall not be required to pay any fee to the commonwealth in connection with the filing of an application. (7) A permit shall specify effluent limitations, interim and final deadlines as appropriate for compliance, the term for which the permit is issued, which shall not be in excess of 20 years, as prescribed by the director by regulation for each category of permits and such requirements of proper operation and maintenance, monitoring, sampling, recording, reporting and inspection as the director may prescribe; provided, however, that the term for permits issued for wastewater discharges of 10,000 gallons per day or more to ground waters of the Commonwealth, and wastewater discharges to surface waters shall not be in excess of 5 years. Permits may specify additional requirements as the director deems necessary to safeguard the quality of the receiving waters or to comply with pertinent provisions of the laws of the commonwealth or of federal law, including technical controls and other components of treatment works to be constructed or installed and provisions for insuring payments of user charges. (8) A permit for a discharge to publicly owned treatment works shall require a user to comply with pretreatment standards and other safeguards which the director may require to prevent excessive or improper waste loadings. With the approval of the director, a municipality, individually or acting in concert with other municipalities, a district, commission, authority or other public agency operating treatment works may administer, in whole or in part, the system of permits that shall regulate discharges to those works. (9) A permit for a discharge from publicly owned treatment works shall require the applicant to have in effect or to establish without delay, and to enforce, an adequate sewer ordinance that prohibits introduction of incompatible wastes and slug loadings into the works, and that requires pretreatment where appropriate. A permit granted under this section shall require the permittee to monitor and report periodically to the director upon waste flows to the treatment works, to adopt procedures that will assist in identifying the source and nature of any new source of discharges to the works and any significant change in such flow and to safeguard against excessive loading of the collection and treatment system and to report same to the director. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as superseding the powers of any district or municipality under existing law to enact and enforce sewer ordinances and to issue permits for sewer connections consistent with the provisions of this chapter and any regulations issued hereunder. (10) The director may propose and determine to modify, suspend, or revoke any outstanding permit, in whole or in part, for cause, including, but not limited to, violation of any permit term, obtaining a permit by misrepresentation or failure to disclose fully all relevant facts or any change in or discovery of conditions that calls for reduction or discontinuance of the authorized discharge. The director may also modify a permit at the request of the permittee upon a showing, satisfactory to the director, that the requested modification is appropriate in view of circumstances for which the permittee is not at fault.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 43A Public notification of sewage discharge

c. 21, § 43A. Public notification of sewage discharge Section 43A. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: ″Combined sewer system″, a sewer system designed to collect and convey storm water runoff and sewage in shared piping. ″Department″, the department of environmental protection. ″Discharge″ or ″discharging″, a release or diversion of sewage, industrial waste or other effluent, which is untreated or partially treated, including from a combined sewer system overflow, that is emitted from an outfall directly or indirectly into waters of the commonwealth. ″Outfall″, an outlet designed for the purpose of allowing a discharge that is part of, or connected to, a combined sewer system, sanitary sewer system or treatment works, including a connection to any such system or facility intended to allow wastewater to divert or bypass treatment by a facility. ″Permittee″, a person granted a permit under section 43 to operate and maintain a particular outlet for the discharge of pollutants into waters of the commonwealth or a person discharging pollutants from an outlet without a required permit or in violation of the conditions of a valid permit. (b) A permittee shall issue a public advisory when there is a discharge from the permittee's outfall in accordance with this section. The department may allow a permittee to issue a combined advisory message when a weather event or other related occurrence involves more than 1 of the permittee's outfalls discharging into the same water body or waterway. A permittee shall update its advisory as required by the department. A permittee shall issue an updated public advisory every 8 hours for an ongoing discharge and within 2 hours when a discharge ceases or is projected to cease, unless the department requires otherwise. A public advisory shall, to the extent a permittee has the information available, describe in plain language the: (i) outfall's location; (ii) approximate time, date and duration of the discharge; (iii) estimated volume of the outfall discharge based on the average discharge from data reported to the department for the prior 3 calendar years; (iv) waters and land areas affected or expected to be affected by the discharge; (v) identity of the outfall permittee; (vi) precautionary measures for the public to avoid health risks from contact with effluent; and (vii) any other information required by the department. In addition, the public advisory shall include a statement that the outfall discharge consists, or likely consists, of untreated sewage and waste. (c) As soon as possible, but no later than 2 hours after the discovery of a discharge from the permittee's outfall, a permittee shall issue a public advisory and any updates required by subsection (b) to the department of public health, the municipal board of health or the health department where the outfall is located, any municipality directly impacted by the discharge and to the department. (d) Not later than 2 hours after discovery of a discharge from the permittee' s outfall, the permittee shall issue a public advisory and any updates required by subsection (b) by email or text messaging to individuals subscribed to receive notifications about a discharge from the permittee's outfall. The permittee shall also send the advisory and any updates required by subsection (b) to the 2 largest news organizations that report on local news in communities near the outfall. (e) A permittee of an outfall shall establish a public website to post advisories when issued and to receive requests from the public to subscribe to permittee's discharge notifications. The department may require that permittees provide advisories by other means, including, but not limited to, telephone voice messaging and social media. (f) The department, in consultation with the department of public health, shall establish standards for municipal boards of health or their health departments to issue public health warnings when notified by a permittee about a discharge pursuant to subsection (c). When warnings are necessary, as determined by the department, a municipal health board or its health department shall utilize the municipality's existing emergency notification system, including, if available, reverse 911 emergency calls. The commissioner may direct a municipal health official of a board or department to issue a public warning about a discharge in order to protect public health. Nothing in this subsection shall preempt a municipal board of health or health department from issuing necessary public warnings concerning an outfall discharge. (g) A permittee shall coordinate with the department to establish the metering, modeling or other method the permittee shall use to determine or discover when a discharge occurs at its outfall to comply with the notification requirements of this section. If an outfall will not have metering equipment to detect and transmit reliable information about a discharge within the timeframes established by subsections (c) and (d), the permittee shall apply to the commissioner for authorization to use another method. The commissioner shall approve the proposed method, provided the permittee can obtain reliable information by such method about any discharge from its outfall and issue public advisories within said established timeframes. If the proposed method or the current discharge detection capabilities of the permittee's outfall will not provide timely or reliable information, the commissioner may extend the time for a permittee to issue a public advisory; provided, that such time shall be extended only as necessary, and by not more than 24 hours after discovery of the discharge. A permittee that has been granted an extension shall make necessary improvements to its outfall, if any, to detect an outfall discharge within the timeframes established pursuant to subsections (c) and (d). Upon application of the permittee, the commissioner may waive any requirement under this section related to a permittee's outfall; provided, that: (i) the outfall is decommissioned; or (ii) there has not been significant discharge from the outfall, as determined by the department, during the preceding 5 years; and (iii) the waiver will not pose a substantial threat to public health or to the environment. A waiver shall be valid for not more than 5 years. Authorizations and waivers allowed by the commissioner under this subsection shall be in writing and shall specify the conditions for each waiver. (h) The department may require a permittee to install and maintain conspicuous warning signage at the location of its outfall and at public access points to waters affected by a potential discharge from permittee's outfall as determined by the department, including entrances to boat ramps, piers and designated swimming areas. Signage shall be suitable for its location and be of the size and form of notice as the department shall prescribe in accordance with this subsection. Each sign shall: (i) identify the existence of the outfall; (ii) inform about weather events that may cause a discharge; (iii) warn of the potential threat to public health by recreating in, or using waters and shores affected by a discharge; (iv) provide information for the public to subscribe to notifications about outfall discharges in local area waters; and (v) provide other information as required by the department. Such signage shall conform to all applicable provisions of federal law and regulations. The department shall coordinate with the department of conservation and recreation, municipalities and other landowners that have public access points that may be affected by a discharge, for the placement and maintenance of such signage on public and private property. (i) The department shall provide information about discharge notifications sent by permittees to the department under subsection (c) on its website. The website shall: (i) display information about current outfall discharges in the commonwealth, which shall be posted within 24 hours of the department receiving such data: and (ii) provide access to public advisories and timely updates regarding discharges. (j) Not later than May 15 of each year, the department shall issue a report providing a summary of all outfall discharge activity reported for the previous calendar year, including information about total discharge volumes, frequencies and pretreatment of effluent from any outfall discharging during that year into water bodies or waterways of defined regional areas. Annual reports shall be posted on the department's website. (k) The department shall promulgate regulations to carry out this section.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 44 Discharge violations; orders to comply

c. 21, § 44. Discharge violations; orders to comply Section 44. (1) Whenever it appears to the director that there are discharges of pollutants without a required permit, or that such discharges are in violation of a permit issued under this chapter, or in contravention of any regulation, standard or plan adopted by the division, the director may order the discharger to apply forthwith for a permit, or for a new permit, or to take other appropriate action under rules and regulations adopted by the director subject to the provisions of chapter thirty A, and to cease and desist from making or allowing further discharges beyond a specified date until compliance with the order is fully achieved. Issuance of an order under this paragraph shall not be deemed an election to forego any action for criminal or civil penalties under section forty-two. (2) In the event that any condition of a permit for discharges issued under paragraph (9) of section forty-three to publicly owned treatment works is violated, the director may order the violator to prohibit all additional connections to such works from any source not already so connected, until the violation ceases and corrective action specified in the order has been taken. No permits for such connections may be issued while the order remains in effect. (3) If the director finds, on the basis of information available to him, that an industrial user of publicly owned treatment works is not complying with a system of user charges to which he is subject under the conditions of his permit or under commonwealth or federal law, the director may order him to comply forthwith.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 45 Proposals to suspend or revoke permit; cease and desist orders; request for hearing

c. 21, § 45. Proposals to suspend or revoke permit; cease and desist orders; request for hearing Section 45. Any proposal to suspend or revoke a permit, in whole or in part, under paragraph (10) of section forty-three, including any proposed reduction in an authorized discharge, and any cease and desist order under paragraph (1) of section forty-four, shall inform the person to whom it is issued of his right to request, within thirty days, a hearing under the provisions of chapter thirty A. If he fails to make such a request, he shall be deemed to have consented to the order. If a timely request is submitted, the director shall within a reasonable time hold a hearing under the provisions of chapter thirty A.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 46 Injunctive relief; jurisdiction

c. 21, § 46. Injunctive relief; jurisdiction Section 46. The attorney general may, upon request of the director, bring action for injunctive relief against any person violating a provision of this chapter, or of any permit, order, regulation or determination issued thereunder, and the superior court in equity shall have jurisdiction to enjoin such violation and to grant such further relief as it may deem appropriate. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if the director finds that a discharge or combination of discharges presents an imminent and substantial threat to the health, welfare or livelihood of any persons, he shall request the attorney general to bring suit, and the attorney general may bring suit in the superior court to enjoin forthwith the discharges causing such a threat or to require the offending discharges to take such other action as may be necessary.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 46A Judicial review; jurisdiction

c. 21, § 46A. Judicial review; jurisdiction Section 46A. Any person aggrieved by an order, permit determination or other action of the director, other than an order consented to, may obtain judicial review by filing an application for review in the superior court within thirty days after receipt of notice of the final decision of the director. The superior court shall have jurisdiction in equity to enforce any order, decision or determination of the director, and any provision of sections twenty-six to fifty-three, inclusive, or regulation issued thereunder.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 48 Annual estimates and reports

c. 21, § 48. Annual estimates and reports Section 48. The director shall annually submit to the budget director the estimates required by sections three and four of chapter twenty-nine, and shall file an annual report as required by sections thirty-two and thirty-three of chapter thirty.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 50 Terminals; licenses; inspections

c. 21, § 50. Terminals; licenses; inspections Section 50. The division shall have the power to license all terminals in the commonwealth for the loading or discharge of petroleum products from vessels, and may issue reasonable rules and regulations in connection therewith for the purposes of protecting the public safety and for preventing the spilling of the liquids into the waters of the commonwealth. The division shall inspect periodically hoses, gaskets, tanks, pipelines and other equipment to make certain that they are in good operating condition, and may order the renewal of any of such equipment found unfit for further use. The division may require by rules and regulations that suitable equipment be readily available to remove from the waters of the commonwealth any petroleum or chemical liquids spilled or discharged therein. The division may require the payment of reasonable fees, designed to cover the costs incurred by the above inspections and its other duties.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 50A Oil terminals; pollution prevention; revocation of license

c. 21, § 50A. Oil terminals; pollution prevention; revocation of license Section 50A. Notwithstanding the provisions of section fifty, every owner or operator of an oil terminal or wharf shall employ a trained crew and have a boom, on terminal property or readily available under a plan with other persons complying with the law or rules and regulations of the division and of a design approved by the division, which is capable of encircling any ship or vessel depositing oil into tanks or other receptacles at such terminal or wharf, and which is designed to prevent seepage, overflow or excess oil from polluting or contaminating any lake, river, harbor, tidal water or flats. If the director finds that because of the negligence of such owner, operator or one of his agents or servants repeated seepage, overflow or excess oil has contaminated any lake, river, harbor, tidal water or flats, he shall require every such owner or operator to encircle every ship or vessel depositing oil at his wharf or terminal with such a boom. The authority granted to the director under the preceding sentence shall not be construed to diminish his powers to regulate and control oil spillage, including his power to require the use of booms, granted by section fifty. The owner or operator of any such wharf or terminal shall remove any oil held within such boom prior to a ship or vessel leaving the same. A license issued under section fifty to operate a terminal may be revoked for violation of any of the provisions of this section.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 50B Definitions applicable to Secs. 50C to 50E

c. 21, § 50B. Definitions applicable to Secs. 50C to 50E Section 50B. As used in sections 50C to 50E, inclusive, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meaning:— ''Area of special interest'' any water of the commonwealth that is found by the secretary of environmental affairs to contain 1 or more immobile obstacles to navigation, abut or include areas of critical environmental concern, are designated as an estuary of national significance, abut or include habitat for endangered species, abut or include public recreation areas, support shell fishing, fin fishing or tourist industries or abut or include sensitive public safety areas. Such waters shall include, but not be limited to, Buzzards bay, Vineyard sound and Mount Hope bay. ''Department'', the department of environmental protection. ''Discharge'', any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, releasing, dumping or disposing into the environment. ''Hazardous material'', material including, but not limited to, material, in whatever form, which, because of its quantity, concentration, chemical, corrosive, flammable, reactive, toxic, infectious or radioactive characteristics, either separately or in combination with any other substance, constitutes a present or potential threat to human health, safety or welfare or to the environment. The term shall also include all those substances which are included under 42 USC Sec. 9601(14), but shall not be limited to those substances. ''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. ''Oil'', insoluble or partially soluble oil of any kind or origin or in any form including, but not limited to, crude or fuel oil, lube oil or sludge, asphalt and soluble or partially soluble derivatives of mineral, animal or vegetable oil. ''Vessel'', every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 50C Vessel; certificate of financial assurance

c. 21, § 50C. Vessel; certificate of financial assurance Section 50C. (a) Any vessel, whether or not self-propelled, in or entering upon the waters of the commonwealth for the purpose of transporting, discharging or receiving a cargo of oil, hazardous material, or hazardous waste, shall be subject to the financial assurance requirements and penalty authority as provided in subsections (b) to (d), inclusive. (b) A certificate of financial assurance obtained individually or jointly by the vessel, its owner or agent, its charterer, or by the owner or operator of the terminal at which the vessel discharges or receives its cargo, shall be provided to the department in the amount of at least $1,000,000,000. Vessels with a capacity of less than 6,000 barrels shall present a certificate of financial assurance to the department of environmental protection in the amount of $5,000,000. A copy of the financial assurance shall be posted on the vessel. (c) For the purposes of this chapter, a certificate of financial assurance shall be demonstrated by evidence of insurance, surety bond, letter of credit, qualifications as a self-insurer or any combination thereof or other evidence of financial assurance approved by the commissioner. (d) The department may allow financial assurance in a lower amount based upon criteria that includes, but is not limited to, the type and amount of the above cargo transported by the vessel; the size and construction of the vessel, including whether the vessel is double hulled; the safety record of the vessel or the vessel owner, the loss or accident history of the vessel or vessel owner involving maritime spills and the safety equipment used by the vessel. The financial assurance shall be in a form approved by the department.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 50D Maritime spill incident; hazardous materials; environmental police officers

c. 21, § 50D. Maritime spill incident; hazardous materials; environmental police officers Section 50D. For the purpose of investigating a maritime spill incident resulting in, or reasonably likely to result in, either directly or indirectly, a discharge of oil, hazardous material, or hazardous waste, to the waters of the commonwealth, the environmental police officers of the office of environmental law enforcement of the executive office of environmental affairs may board and inspect any vessel. Such inspection may include, but shall not be limited to, inspecting copies of the financial assurance and bond required pursuant to section 50C, and may require the operator of such vessel to give his true and correct name and address and present a current and valid form of identification. Whoever attempts to prevent an officer from boarding such vessel for the purpose of inspecting, or whoever attempts to prevent such officer from making an inspection of such vessel, or otherwise violates section 38 of chapter 90B shall be punished by a fine of $5,000. The office of law enforcement within the executive office of environmental affairs, by regulation, may authorize other law enforcement officers to board and inspect a vessel, if the other law enforcement officers have relevant training, experience and equipment to conduct such activities. Such other law enforcement officers may include harbor masters and assistant harbor masters, police officers assigned to harbor patrol, fish and game wardens, members of the state police and city and town police officers assigned to patrol the waters of the commonwealth. The superior court shall have jurisdiction to enforce this section and sections 50B and 50C. The department may adopt rules and regulations to implement sections 50B and 50C. The office of law enforcement may adopt rules and regulations to implement this section 50D.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 50E Waters of the commonwealth; areas of special interest

c. 21, § 50E. Waters of the commonwealth; areas of special interest Section 50E. The secretary of environmental affairs or his designee shall identify specific ''areas of special interest'' within the waters of the commonwealth as defined in section 50B to include or exclude areas based on scientific research and observation regarding areas of critical environmental concern and endangered species habitat or based on economic dependence or public safety concerns. Such areas may be identified by geographic boundaries and may be mapped for use by mariners. The secretary may promulgate rules and regulations for the designation of areas of special interest within the waters of the commonwealth.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 51 Coordination with federal government and local authorities; agreements

c. 21, § 51. Coordination with federal government and local authorities; agreements Section 51. The division shall represent the commonwealth in its relations with the federal government and with cities, towns and authorities in all matters relating to oil pollution in the waters of the commonwealth or off-shore waters. It may enter into agreements with said agencies to coordinate supervisory activities and, subject to appropriation, to share reasonable costs. It may contract with public or private individuals, concerns or agencies for such protective and clean-up services as it may require.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 52A Waste oil retention facilities; installation and maintenance

c. 21, § 52A. Waste oil retention facilities; installation and maintenance Section 52A. Every automobile service station, marina serving powered watercraft and retail outlet selling automobile lubricating oil shall, no later than June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and seventy-four, install on the premises and maintain waste oil retention facilities, properly sheltered and protected to prevent spillage, seepage or discharge of the waste oil into storm or sanitary sewers or into the waters of the commonwealth. Every such station, marina and other such outlet shall be required to accept at no additional charge, waste oil in quantities not exceeding two gallons per day from any individual with sales receipts or other proof of purchase from such outlet. Every such station, marina and other such outlet shall periodically remove or have removed the accumulated waste oil so as not to violate any water pollution control or other statute or regulation.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 53 Short title; investigation and prosecution of violations

c. 21, § 53. Short title; investigation and prosecution of violations Section 53. Sections twenty-six to fifty-three, inclusive, shall be known and referred to as the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act and the officers of the division of law enforcement shall, upon request of the water resources commission or the division of water pollution control, investigate and prosecute violations of law, orders or rules and regulations relating to said act.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 53A Sewer charges; base rate

c. 21, § 53A. Sewer charges; base rate Section 53A. All municipalities or sewer districts within the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, but not including communities serviced by the Connecticut Valley Aqueduct shall institute sewer charges and fees that incorporate a base rate for all users; provided, however, that said base rate shall be increased at an increasing rate to fairly reflect the resource demand and discharge of high volumes of sewage.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 54 Division of mineral resources

c. 21, § 54. Division of mineral resources Section 54. The division of mineral resources shall be within the department of environmental protection in this section and in section fifty-five called the department and shall be under the administrative supervision of a director who shall administer the laws, rules and regulations relating to the mineral resources of the commonwealth. The term ''mineral resources'', as used in this section and in sections fifty-two and fifty-three, shall mean oil, gas, fossil fuels, sulphur, metals, ores, minerals, rock, soil, sand and gravel, or in coastal waters, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and thirty, or lands thereunder. Said director may appoint such employees, experts and consultants as he deems necessary to carry out his duties. He shall, with the approval of the department, (a) license orderly exploration for mineral resources; (b) lease exclusive rights for extraction of such mineral resources as have been discovered; (c) establish charges and fees for such licenses and leases which will permit a fair profit for the licensee and lessee; and (d) adopt, after a public hearing, such rules and regulations relating to such exploration and extraction of mineral resources, and the transportation thereof in or over the coastal waters of the commonwealth, as will insure the proper utilization of such resources consistent with the harvesting and propagation of other valuable natural resources and the general safety, welfare and convenience of the commonwealth. No license to explore in the coastal waters shall be issued, no lease for extraction of mineral resources shall be granted, no charge or fee for such license or lease shall be established, no rule or regulation relating to such exploration or extraction shall be adopted, amended or rescinded unless and until said director shall first, and in each instance, hold a public hearing, notice of which, including a statement of intent, shall be sent, at least thirty days prior to said public hearing, to each city and town bordering on the coastal waters of the commonwealth. Such rules and regulations may provide for reasonable exemptions from the requirements of section fifty-three relative to leases for the extraction of mineral resources. Sub-surface exploration for the purposes of design of, and the removal of material necessary for, beach replenishment, navigational improvement projects and piers, and bridges, culverts and other similar structures, approved by the department of highways and the department shall be exempt from the provisions of this section. Explorations for or extraction of minerals necessary for other public purposes may be exempted by the director from the provisions of this section requiring payment of a fee and posting of an indemnity and performance bond. No lease shall be issued for the extraction of any mineral resource until such time as the department has obtained reliable information as to the quantities, quality and location of the resource available within the commonwealth, and as to the extent of and risk of harm to marine and other natural resources, which information shall be made public prior to the public hearing on any lease for the extraction of said resource. The licensee or lessee shall not carry out any authorized operation in such a manner as to interfere unreasonably with navigation or fishing, or with the conservation of natural resources. The licensee or lessee shall permit any official of the commonwealth thereunto authorized by the director to observe operations from time to time, and shall make available to said official any and all records in regard to depths being dredged or drilled, quantities being removed and type of materials found during extraction operations. The licensee or lessee shall at all times keep the commonwealth effectually indemnified against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, claims and demands whatsoever which may be made or brought against the commonwealth or its agents by any third party in relation to or in connection with this license or lease on any matter or thing done or purported to be done in pursuance thereof by posting a bond satisfactory to the director. No licensee or lessee shall proceed to remove any minerals from the seabed and subsoil of the commonwealth until a bond has been posted with the department guaranteeing faithful performance of the contract with the commonwealth, faithful observance of any applicable rules, regulations and statutes, and timely payment as provided in said contract for any materials removed. The director shall reserve the right to revoke or suspend, with the approval of the department, any license or lease issued hereunder, thereby terminating all rights granted thereunder, upon any breach or non-observance by the licensee of any of the terms and conditions of the license or lease, or upon any attempt to assign the rights of the licensee to any third party, for any reason, or any evidence of insolvency or other inability to perform the contract.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 55 Cooperation with other governmental units; agreements; federal and private grants

c. 21, § 55. Cooperation with other governmental units; agreements; federal and private grants Section 55. Said director with the approval of the department shall cooperate with all departments, boards, officials and institutions of the commonwealth and its political subdivisions that may in any way be concerned with matters under its supervision; cooperate and consult with adjoining states and with the United States, or any agency thereof; enter into agreements relative to the federal administration and enforcement of off-shore exploration and extraction beyond the marine jurisdiction of the commonwealth; and may apply for, receive and expend such federal grants or reimbursements or private grants as may be available therefor in carrying out the duties of the division.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 56 License and lease requirements; violations; penalties; enforcement

c. 21, § 56. License and lease requirements; violations; penalties; enforcement Section 56. No person shall explore by seismic, electronic or any other method for mineral resources on or in said coastal waters or lands thereunder without a license from said director. No person shall, except for purposes of exploration permitted under a license, extract mineral resources from said coastal waters or lands thereunder without a lease issued by said director. Any person violating any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars and, in addition thereto, any equipment, vehicles, boats and appurtenances used in said violation shall be liable to seizure and forfeiture. Any person violating any rule or regulation of the director shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, and his license or lease, if any, shall be subject to revocation or suspension. Violations committed within the coastal waters may be prosecuted in any district which has venue over coastal waters. The division of law enforcement shall enforce the laws, rules and regulations relating to mineral resources.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 59 Watershed preservation restrictions program

c. 21, § 59. Watershed preservation restrictions program Section 59. (a) The secretary of environmental affairs shall establish a program to assist the commonwealth in the acquisition of watershed preservation restrictions, as defined in section 31 of chapter 184, for land classified as watershed land as defined in regulations to be promulgated by the department of conservation and recreation. (b) The commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation, the ''commissioner'', may from funds appropriated to carry out the provisions of this section, or received from other sources, pay the owner of watershed lands which he determines to be beneficial to the maintenance of the water supply of the commonwealth an amount determined to be equitable but not to exceed the difference between the fair market value of such land and the fair market value of such land restricted for watershed purposes pursuant to this section. Title to such watershed preservation restrictions shall be held in the name of the commonwealth; provided, however, that a city or town in which such land is located, which provides assistance satisfactory to the commissioner, including but not limited to providing of funds or portions thereof toward the purchase of such restriction, the providing of legal services and the enforcement of the preservation restriction, shall hold title to such restrictions jointly with the commonwealth. (c) Watershed preservation restriction projects shall be administered by conservation commissions in cities and towns in which such commissions have been established, or in a city, by the city council or its delegated agency subject to the provisions of the city charter, or in a town, by the board of selectmen or its delegated agency. The commissioner, subject to the approval of the secretary of environmental affairs, shall establish procedures for the management of such programs.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 60 Watershed lands preservation committee

c. 21, § 60. Watershed lands preservation committee Section 60. There is hereby created a watershed lands preservation committee in the department of conservation and recreation, the members of which shall be the commissioner of conservation and recreation, the secretary of environmental affairs, the director of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, the director of the division of water supply in the department of environmental protection, 1 member appointed by the speaker of the house, 1 member appointed by the minority leader of the house, 1 member appointed by the president of the senate, 1 member appointed by the minority leader of the senate, and 2 members appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall represent an organization dedicated to conservation of natural resources and 1 of whom shall have expertise in the field of hydrology. The committee shall advise the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation on the evaluation of projects and shall advise the commissioner on any rules or regulations necessary to carry out the intent of the watershed preservation restriction program.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 61 Watershed preservation restrictions program; annual report

c. 21, § 61. Watershed preservation restrictions program; annual report Section 61. The commissioner of conservation and recreation shall prepare an annual report on the watershed preservation restriction program. The report shall include the number and geographic distribution of applicants accepted and rejected, the acreage and cost of purchase and such other information as will enable evaluation of the program.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 62 Watershed preservation restrictions; tax assessment

c. 21, § 62. Watershed preservation restrictions; tax assessment Section 62. Land under watershed preservation restriction, while remaining under such restriction, shall be assessed for general tax purposes, to reflect the diminution of land value which may be caused by such watershed preservation restriction.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 63 Surveys, soundings, drillings or examinations

c. 21, § 63. Surveys, soundings, drillings or examinations Section 63. Whenever the department deems it necessary to make surveys, soundings, drillings or examinations to obtain information for or to expedite the construction of its watershed system, parks, recreational facilities or other projects under its jurisdiction, the department, its authorized agents or employees, may, after due notice by registered or certified mail, enter upon any lands, waters and premises in the commonwealth for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, drillings and examinations as they may deem necessary or convenient for the purposes of this section, and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass nor shall an entry for such purposes be deemed an entry under any condemnation proceedings which may then be pending. The department shall make reimbursement for any injury or actual damage resulting to such lands, waters and premises caused by any act of its authorized agents or employees and shall, so far as possible, restore such lands to the same condition as prior to the making of such surveys, soundings, drillings or examinations.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 64 Annual report on dams

c. 21, § 64. Annual report on dams Section 64. The commissioner of conservation and recreation, in conjunction with the commissioner of fish and game, the division of fisheries and wildlife, and the riverways program, or any successor agencies, shall annually, on or before June 30, submit a detailed report on all dams, whether on public or private property, to the joint committee on environment, natural resources and agriculture and to the senate and house committees on ways and means. The report shall include (1) a comprehensive list of each person, agency, municipality or entity that owns and operates a dam and the location of each dam where such ownership or operation is registered with the department; (2) a list of specific owners who have failed to meet regulatory requirements including, but not limited to, registration and inspection requirements; (3) the hazard classification status of any dams that pose a threat to public health, safety, welfare, property or the environment and when or whether any such dam has been repaired; (4) a comprehensive list of dams that are abandoned as defined in section 44 of chapter 253; and (5) a comprehensive list of dams, the existence, condition or operation of which poses a threat to freshwater animal and plant and resident or migratory fish species habitat or movement.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 65 Emergency action plans for high and significant hazard dams; inspection schedule; review of hazard classification

c. 21, § 65. Emergency action plans for high and significant hazard dams; inspection schedule; review of hazard classification Section 65. (a) As used in this section and section 66, the following words shall, unless the context clearly require otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''High hazard dam'', a dam located where structural failure will likely cause loss of life and serious damage to homes, industrial or commercial facilities, essential public utilities, main highways or railroads. ''Low hazard dam'', a dam located where structural failure may cause minimal property damage and loss of life is not expected. ''Significant hazard dam'', a dam located where structural failure may cause loss of life and damage to homes, industrial and commercial facilities, secondary highways or railroads or interruption of use of service of relatively important facilities. (b) The department shall ensure that emergency action plans shall be developed for all high hazard dams and significant hazard dams. The department shall establish and make available to dam owners an emergency action plan template. The department shall ensure that necessary local and state dam safety officials have immediate access to such plans in the event of a potential dam failure. (c) The department shall develop an inspection schedule to ensure that all high hazard dams are inspected at least every 2 years, all significant hazard dams are inspected at least every 5 years and all low hazard dams are inspected at least every 10 years. (d) The department shall review the hazard classifications of dams at least every 10 years to ensure the accuracy of the dam classification. Requests for review of the hazard classification of a dam shall be made at the expense of the owner of the dam.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 66 Interagency support for duties under Secs. 64 and 65 and Secs. 44 to 48B of Chapter 253

c. 21, § 66. Interagency support for duties under Secs. 64 and 65 and Secs. 44 to 48B of Chapter 253 Section 66. The department may consult with and receive inspection and other support from the department of fish and game, the division of fisheries and wildlife and the riverways program, or any successor agencies, to accomplish its duties pursuant to sections 64 and 65 of this chapter and sections 44 to 48B, inclusive, of chapter 253.

M.G.L. c. 21, § 67 System interruption devices required for newly installed or renovated irrigation systems to override and suspend programmed operation of irrigation system during periods of sufficient moisture; regulations; inapplicable to systems operating on agricultural lands

c. 21, § 67. System interruption devices required for newly installed or renovated irrigation systems to override and suspend programmed operation of irrigation system during periods of sufficient moisture; regulations; inapplicable to systems operating on agricultural lands Section 67. (a) For the purposes of this section, ''irrigation system'' shall mean any assemblage of components, materials or special equipment, which are constructed and installed underground or on the surface, for controlled dispersion of water from any safe and suitable source for the purpose of irrigating landscape vegetation or the control of dust and erosion on landscaped areas and shall include integral pumping systems and required wiring within that system and connections to a public or private water supply system; provided, however, that an irrigation system shall not include plumbing, as defined in section 1 of chapter 142, or a plumbing system. (b) The department of environmental protection shall promulgate regulations that require system interruption devices for newly installed or renovated irrigation systems to override and suspend the programmed operation of the irrigation system during periods of sufficient moisture. The department shall specify the criteria for the system interruption devices. The regulations shall: (i) be in accordance with generally accepted standards of irrigation practice; (ii) include a requirement that system interruption devices be inspected at least every 3 years by an irrigation contractor certified and in good standing with a nationally recognized association; and (iii) require each irrigation contractor to complete and submit documentation, along with a reasonable fee, which shall reflect the costs of accepting and processing such documentation, to the municipality for each newly installed or renovated irrigation system within the municipality. The department may impose reasonable fines on an irrigation contractor for a violation of the regulations promulgated under this section. (c) This section shall not apply to systems operating on agricultural lands.
Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter21Fetched: 10/20/2026

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