reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 91 § 2a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 2a - Powers as to Property Acquired, Built or Improved in Plymouth by Pilgrim Tercentenary Commission

Section 2A. The department, having charge under section two of the lands, pier, structures and other property in the town of Plymouth belonging to the commonwealth which were acquired, built or improved by the Pilgrim tercentenary commission under chapter one hundred and eighty-seven of the Special Acts of nineteen hundred and nineteen, may repair, alter and maintain said pier and other structures, and if it deems it advisable remove said pier, or may equip, operate and administer the same for the benefit of the commonwealth, and may from time to time make such rules and regulations, and may charge such reasonable rates for the use of said pier and equipment, as shall be approved by the governor and council. All receipts hereunder shall be paid into the state treasury. The town of Plymouth shall have police jurisdiction over said lands, pier and other property. Subject to appropriation and with the approval of the governor and council, the department may arrange with said town or with any appropriate memorial or historical society for the care, maintenance and use of said lands, pier and other property or any part or parts thereof, and said town is hereby authorized to appropriate money to pay the costs and expenses of such care and maintenance. With the approval of the governor and council, the department may sell and convey or lease said pier.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 3 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 3 - Powers as to Boston Harbor

Section 3. The department shall have all the rights, powers and duties transferred to the directors of the port of Boston under section four of chapter seven hundred and forty-eight of the acts of nineteen hundred and eleven in respect to lands, rights in lands, flats, shores, waters and rights belonging to the commonwealth in tide waters and land under water in Boston harbor, or which adjoin the same or are connected therewith, and shall have the same powers and duties relative thereto as it has with respect to the commonwealth flats under section two. It may, in accordance with such plans as it adopts, excavate and dredge in Boston harbor wherever public convenience and necessity require. It shall at all times have access to any maps, charts, plans and documents in the custody of any public board, commission or officer relating to waters and lands in charge of the department, shall have immediate charge of lands owned or acquired by the commonwealth upon or adjacent to the Boston harbor front, and shall have charge of the construction of piers and other public works in said harbor, shall administer all terminal facilities under control of the department and shall secure and keep full information as to the present and probable future requirements of steamships and shipping and the best means which can be provided at the port of Boston for the accommodation of steamships, railroads, warehouses and industrial establishments.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 4 - Improvement of Boston Harbor; Access to Piers, Railroads, Etc.

Section 4. The department shall undertake such work for the improvement, development, maintenance and protection of Boston harbor as it deems reasonable and proper. It may, with the approval of the governor and council, grade and suitably surface any railroad locations or traffic ways which are or may be located on lands, flats or rights therein, owned or acquired by the commonwealth in Boston harbor, and may carry said ways or railroads over or under any railroad or railway location or public way in order to eliminate crossings at grade, and may provide suitable and convenient track connections between the rails serving any pier or piers and those of any existing or proposed railroad that now reaches or hereafter may reach Boston. All piers controlled by the department shall be accessible and open to all teaming and lighterage traffic, subject to such regulations as the department may from time to time make. Upon application to the department, any railroad company that now reaches or hereafter may reach Boston, either by its own rails or under trackage or traffic contract or agreement with any other railroad company, shall be provided by the department with a track connection with the tracks serving such pier or piers.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 6 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 6 - Power to Lease Piers, etc.; Port of Boston Fund

Section 6. The department may lease for a period not exceeding twenty years, under such covenants and conditions as it prescribes, storage facilities, wharves, piers, bulkheads, docks, sheds, warehouses, foreshores and industrial locations in Boston harbor within its charge. It may lease sites for warehouses and industrial locations for a longer period, but every lease of such sites for a period exceeding twenty years shall provide for a readjustment of the rental at intervals of not more than twenty years. No lease for a term exceeding five years shall be valid until approved by the governor and council. The income from all wharfage and storage rates, use of cranes, lighterage, dockage and other charges, and from the leases of lands, storage structures, wharves, piers, docks, sheds, warehouses and industrial sites, all moneys received by the commonwealth under section twenty-one for tide water displacements in Boston harbor, and all moneys hereafter received which on May twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and twelve, were required to be paid into the Commonwealth's Flats Improvement Fund, shall be collected by the department and paid to the commonwealth, to the credit of the Port of Boston Fund. Said fund may be invested by the state treasurer at his discretion from time to time as provided for the investment of the commonwealth's funds; and all income from such investments shall be added to the fund. The department may expend the Port of Boston Fund to operate, maintain, repair and preserve the property in Boston harbor in the control of the department, and such sums as the legislature may appropriate annually for salaries, office expenses, and general engineering expenses in connection with the work of the department in Boston harbor shall be paid so far as possible from said fund; any balance remaining from said fund after the aforementioned expenses have been paid shall be applied to the payment of interest and to the annual payments on account of principal of any securities which may have been or may be issued to raise money to be expended by the department for the development of the port of Boston.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 7 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 7 - Piers, etc.; Freight Loading Equipment; Rules and Regulations

Section 7. All piers and other similar structures in Boston harbor built by the department or its predecessors shall be equipped, either by the department or by the lessees thereof, with fireproof sheds, railway tracks, cranes and other machinery and accommodations for the convenient, economical and speedy loading and discharge of freight; and the department may acquire, hold and operate such lighters and other vessels as it deems convenient and needed therefor. The department shall make such reasonable rules and regulations and charge such reasonable rates for the use of such structures and equipment as it may from time to time deem wise.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 8 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 8 - Acquisition of Apple Island and Shore Lands

Section 8. The department shall take all proper measures to obtain from Boston, without expense to the commonwealth, a conveyance of all the present right, title and interest of said city in and to Apple Island, and the flats appurtenant thereto, and in and to any other flats and rights of said city on the easterly side of East Boston, which the department deems are required for the development contemplated by section four, and said Boston may make such conveyance, and in furtherance of the development of the port make conveyance to the department or others, but only for maritime or commercial improvement, of any shore lands owned by it elsewhere, acquired either by purchase or taking.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 9 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 9 - Utilization Plans for Acquired Property

Section 9. The department shall make, and, so far as practicable, put into execution, comprehensive plans providing, on the lands now owned or hereafter acquired by the commonwealth in Boston harbor, adequate piers, capable of accommodating the largest vessels, and in connection with such piers suitable highways, waterways, railroad connections and storage yards, and sites for warehouses and industrial establishments.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 10 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 10 - Powers and Duties Relative to Harbors, Etc.

Section 10. The department shall have general care and supervision of the harbors and tide waters within the commonwealth, of the flats and lands flowed thereby, of the waters and banks of the Connecticut river and the banks and waters of the non-tidal portion of the Merrimack river and of all structures therein, in order to prevent and remove unauthorized encroachments and causes of every kind which may injure said Connecticut river or said part of Merrimack river or interfere with the navigation of such harbors, injure their channels or cause a reduction of their tide waters, and to protect and develop the rights and property of the commonwealth in such waters, flats and lands; and it may make such surveys, examinations and observations as it deems necessary therefor. The department of environmental protection shall protect the interests of the commonwealth in areas described herein in issuing any license and permit authorized pursuant to this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 10a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 10a - Temporary Moorings of Floats or Rafts; Permits, Issuance or Refusal; Review; Public Nuisances

Section 10A. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, the harbormaster of a city or town or whomsoever is so empowered by said city or town may authorize by permit the mooring on a temporary basis of floats or rafts held by anchors or bottom moorings within the territorial jurisdiction of such city or town upon such terms, conditions and restrictions as he shall deem necessary. He shall act on applications for such permits within a period of fifteen days from receipt thereof.  A reasonable fee for such mooring permit, proportionate to the city or town's cost of overseeing mooring permits, may be imposed by the city or town or whoever is so authorized by the city or town, but no mooring fee shall discriminate on the basis of residence. Any mooring fee collected shall be deposited into and used in accordance with the purposes of a municipal waterways improvement and maintenance fund established pursuant to section 5G of chapter 40.  Any person aggrieved by a refusal to permit such temporary mooring, or by any condition or restriction imposed relative to such mooring, may appeal to the division of waterways of the department within thirty days after receiving notice of such refusal or of the imposition of such condition or restriction.  Said division shall review the circumstances resulting in such appeal and shall render a ruling either confirming the action of a harbormaster, setting such action aside, or amending such action and imposing its own conditions and restrictions as deemed necessary.  Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the placement of floats or rafts and appurtenant anchors or bottom moorings on private flats of other than the applicant if objected to by the owner or owners thereof.  Actions by a harbormaster and/or the division under this section shall be subject to applicable laws administered by the division of motor boats, the division of marine fisheries, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Corps of Engineers.  Floats or rafts held by anchors or bottom moorings installed without permission from a harbormaster and/or said division shall be considered a public nuisance and may be removed by the harbormaster at the expense of the owner in the event he fails to remove same after notice in writing from the harbormaster.  For the purpose of this section, temporary shall mean for no longer than to the end of any given calendar year.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 10c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 10c - Docking of Commercial Vessels; Permits; Applications; Appeal

Section 10C. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, the harbormaster of a city or town or whomsoever is so empowered by said city or town may authorize by written permit the stationing of commercial vessels to a public commercial dock, pier, wharf, float, raft or mooring, fixed or otherwise, within the territorial jurisdiction of such city or town upon such terms, conditions and restrictions as he shall deem necessary. He shall act on application for such permits within a period of seven days from his receipt thereof.  Such application may be left at the office of the city or town clerk by the master of such commercial vessel.  If the harbormaster or whomever is so empowered fails to act within such period, such permit shall then be deemed to have been granted. Any refusal to grant such permits within such period shall be in writing by the harbormaster or whomever is so empowered by said city or town and shall include the reasons for such refusal.  Any person aggrieved by the decision of the harbormaster of said city or town or whomever is so empowered by said city or town relative to such stationing may appeal to the division of waterways of the department within thirty days of such decision.  Said division shall review the circumstances resulting in such appeal and shall render a ruling either confirming the decision, setting such decision aside, or amending such decision and imposing conditions and restrictions deemed necessary by said office.  Actions by a harbormaster or said division of waterways under the provisions of this section shall be subject to applicable laws administered by the division of motor boats, the division of marine fisheries, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Corps of Engineers.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 10d (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 10d - Scuba Divers and Skin Divers; Access to Commonwealth Tidelands

Section 10D. No person shall be denied access during daylight hours to commonwealth tidelands across any land available to the public for swimming or recreation which is owned or controlled by the commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions for the purpose of scuba diving or skin diving which activities are hereby declared to be water dependent uses; provided, however, that if such tidelands are at any time closed to access by the general public, such access by such scuba diver or skin diver shall not be permitted.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 11 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 11 - Improvement and Preservation of Rivers, Streams, Harbors, Etc.

Section 11. The department shall undertake such construction and work for the improvement, development, maintenance and protection of tidal and non-tidal rivers and streams, great ponds, harbors, tide waters, foreshores and shores along a public beach as it deems reasonable and proper, and for this purpose shall have the same powers conferred upon it by section thirty-one. The department, in pursuance of the work authorized, may construct, reconstruct, alter and repair bridges, culverts, conduits, pipes, walls and dams, and may do such other incidental work as may be deemed necessary for the improvement and safety of waterways. In selecting the places to do such work, the department shall consider the general public advantage of the proposed work, the local interest therein as manifested by municipal or other contributions therefor, the importance of the industrial or commercial and other interests to be especially served thereby, and any other material considerations affecting the feasibility, necessity or advantage of the proposed work or the expenditure therefor. No work authorized by this section shall be begun until after a public hearing has been held and a survey and an estimate of the cost has been made.  The department is hereby authorized to enter into agreements with the Soil Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture for the performance of work necessary on resource conservation and development projects approved for the commonwealth. Said agreements shall be limited to those for which the Soil Conservation Service is authorized to share in the installation cost, including flood prevention measures, agricultural water management, erosion and sediment control measures, fish and wildlife measures and recreation development.  In any project undertaken under the authority of this section, the department is authorized to pay the commonwealth's share of funds to the federal government if the Soil Conservation Service is the contracting agency for the project.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 11a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 11a - Resource Protection, Navigational Safety and Development Projects; Work Agreements With Local Authorities

Section 11A. The department is hereby authorized to enter into agreements with municipalities, local commissions or local authorities for performance of work necessary for resource protection, navigational safety and protection and development projects approved by the department. Said agreements shall be limited to those for which the department is authorized under sections nine A, ten, ten A.5, eleven, twenty-nine, twenty-nine A, thirty-one, thirty-eight, and thirty-nine of chapter ninety-one. The department may make application to the government of the United States for reimbursement of any amounts expended under any provisions of this section.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 12 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 12 - License for Structures in Connecticut, Westfield and Merrimack Rivers

Section 12. The department may license and prescribe the terms for the construction or extension of a dam, road, bridge, or other structure, or the filling of land, the driving of piles, or the making of excavations, in, over, or upon the waters below high water mark of the Connecticut river or of that part of the Westfield river, in the towns of West Springfield and Agawam, lying between the confluence of said river with the Connecticut river and the bridge across said river at Suffield street in the said town of Agawam, and in, over and upon the waters of the non-tidal part of the Merrimack river below high water mark; and the provisions of this chapter shall apply to all such licenses. Every erection made, and all work done on or within the banks of the Connecticut river, of said part of the Westfield river or of said part of the Merrimack river, below high water mark, not authorized by the general court or by the department, or made or done in a manner not sanctioned by the department, without a license as hereinbefore provided, shall be considered a public nuisance. The attorney general and the district attorneys within their respective districts shall, at the request of the department, institute proceedings to enjoin or abate any such nuisance. This section and any such license shall not impair the legal rights or remedies of any person.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 12a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 12a - License for Structures in Rivers or Streams Where Expenditures for Channel Improvement and Flood Control Already Made

Section 12A. The department may license and prescribe the terms for the construction or extension of a dam, road, bridge or other structure, or the filling of land, the driving of piles, or the making of excavations, in, over or upon the waters below high water mark of any river or stream within the commonwealth with respect to which expenditures from federal, state or municipal funds have been made for stream clearance, channel improvement or any form of flood control or prevention work, and the provisions of this chapter shall apply to all such licenses. Section twenty shall apply to any person authorized by the general court to build structures or do other work in said rivers and streams. Every erection made, and all work done on or within the banks of said rivers and streams, below high water mark, not authorized by the general court or by the department, or made or done in a manner not sanctioned by the department, without a license as hereinbefore provided, shall be considered a public nuisance. The attorney general and the district attorneys within their respective districts shall, at the request of the department, institute proceedings to enjoin or abate any such nuisance. This section and any such license shall not impair the legal rights or remedies of any person.
MA Gen L ch 91 § 13 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIV - Public Ways and Works|Chapter 91 - Waterways|Section 13 - Licenses for Booms in Connecticut River and Structures in Great Ponds

Section 13. The department may license any person to construct and maintain booms in or across the Connecticut river, for periods of not more than five years, in such locations and upon such terms as it prescribes, or to build and extend a wharf, pier or shore wall below high water mark in said river, or to build or extend a wharf, pier, dam, wall, road, bridge or other structure, or to drive piles, fill land or excavate in or over the waters of any great pond below natural high water mark, or at or upon any outlet thereof, upon such terms as the department prescribes; but such license shall not validate acts beyond the line of riparian ownership or affecting the level of the waters in such pond, unless approved by the governor and council.