2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21g - Massachusetts Water Management Act › Section 9 - Processing Permit Applications; Notice of Proposed Withdrawal

Section 9. All applications for permits shall be submitted to the department in conformance with the rules and on the forms adopted under sections seven and eight for the processing of permit applications. A copy of the application shall be filed in the office of the water resources management official of the city or town in which the withdrawal is proposed. Thereafter, an applicant shall cause a notice of the proposed withdrawal to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town in which the withdrawal is proposed, and in other cities and towns where the same water source is located. Such a notice shall state the location of the water source from which the withdrawal is to be made, and the volume of water to be withdrawn, and shall state further that a copy of the application is available for inspection at the office of the water resources management official of the city or town in which the withdrawal is proposed, and that any party wishing to comment on the grant of the withdrawal permit may file a written statement with the water resources management official within thirty days of the date of publication of the notice. The applicant shall send copies of the notice, return receipt requested, to the owners of record of all properties abutting the property on which the withdrawal is proposed and all properties abutting such properties. The applicant shall file with the department an affidavit that copies of the notice were sent in accordance with this section.
Upon receipt of such an affidavit, the department shall send copies of the notice to all persons making withdrawals, pursuant to a registration statement or permit, from the water source from which the proposed withdrawal is to be made.
The applicant may file with the department, in support of the application, certificates from the water resources management official that:— (1) the proposed withdrawal is not inconsistent with the local water resources management plan; and (2) no statement of opposition has been received within thirty days of the date of publication of the notice of the proposed withdrawal. The department shall rule on any completed withdrawal application, for which the requirements of sections sixty-one to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty and the regulations adopted thereunder have been met within thirty days of the time such certificates are filed. If such certificates are not filed by the applicant, or if the secretary of environmental affairs issues a certificate, pursuant to section sixty-two A of said chapter thirty stating that an environmental impact report is required for the permit application, the department shall rule on any completed withdrawal application within ninety days of the completion of compliance with the requirements of sections sixty-one to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty and the regulations adopted thereunder.
In order for an application to be considered completed the department may require additional information to be submitted before ruling on the permit application. No application shall be deemed completed unless it contains all information required by regulation or requested by the department.
The deadlines established in this section for ruling on withdrawal applications may be extended for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed nine months, by the department in individual cases upon a finding that additional time is necessary to give proper consideration to an application.
Failure by the department to rule on a completed application within the time specified in this section or within the time specified in any extension made pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be an approval of the application.