reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 21 § 3f (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 3g (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 8 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 8b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 8c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 8d (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 9 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 9b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 11 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 12 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 13 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 14 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 15 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 17c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.
MA Gen L ch 21 § 17d (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management|Section 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.