reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21c - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Management Act › Section 20 - Subrogation and Contribution Rights of Insolvency Fund

Section 20. (1) Any person receiving payment of a covered claim or potential covered claim under this chapter shall be deemed to have assigned the rights to, and any causes of action relating to the covered claim or potential covered claim to the insolvency fund to the extent of the benefits received under this chapter. The insolvency fund may require an assignment to it of such rights and cause of action by any payee as a condition precedent to the receipt of any right or benefits conferred upon such person. The insolvency fund shall be subrogated to the rights and cause of action of any such payee against the assets of the insolvent licensee.
(2) The subrogation and contribution rights of the insolvency fund under this subsection shall have the same priority against the assets of the impaired or insolvent licensee as that possessed by the person entitled to receive said benefits.
(3) In addition to paragraphs (1) and (2), the insolvency fund shall have all common law and statutory rights of subrogation, contribution and any other equitable or legal remedy which would have been available to the impaired or insolvent licensee or claimant with respect to such claim.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21c - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Management Act › Section 21 - Powers of Insolvency Fund

Section 21. (1) The insolvency fund, subject to the supervisory authority of the commissioner and as provided in the plan of operation, may:
(a) enter into such contracts as are necessary or proper to carry out the provisions and purposes of this chapter;
(b) sue or be sued, including taking any legal actions necessary or proper for recovery of any unpaid assessments;
(c) borrow money to effect the purposes of sections fifteen to thirty, inclusive;
(d) employ or retain such persons as are necessary to handle the financial transactions of the insolvency fund and to perform such other functions as become necessary or proper;
(e) take such legal action as may be necessary to avoid payment of improper claims.
(2) The insolvency fund may join an organization of one or more other state funds or associations of similar purposes, to further the purposes and administer the powers and duties of the insolvency fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21c - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Management Act › Section 23 - Plan of Operation of Insolvency Fund

Section 23. (1) The insolvency fund shall submit to the commissioner a plan of operation and any amendments thereto necessary or suitable to assure the fair, reasonable and equitable administration of the insolvency fund. The plan of operation and any amendments thereto shall become effective upon approval by the commissioner.
(2) If the insolvency fund fails to submit a plan of operation acceptable to the commissioner within one hundred and eighty days after the organization of the board of directors, or if at any time thereafter the insolvency fund fails to submit acceptable amendments to the plan, the commissioner shall, after notice and hearing, adopt and promulgate such reasonable rules necessary to effectuate the provisions of sections fifteen to thirty, inclusive. Such rules shall continue in force until modified by the commissioner or superseded by a plan submitted by the insolvency fund and approved by the commissioner.
(a) All generators shall comply with the plan of operation.
(b) The plan of operation shall, in addition to requirements enumerated elsewhere:
(1) establish procedures for handling the assets of the insolvency fund,
(2) establish the amount, if any, and method of reimbursing members of the board of directors under section seventeen,
(3) establish regular places and times for meetings of the board of directors,
(4) establish procedures for records to be kept of all financial transactions of the insolvency fund, its agents, and the board of directors,
(5) establish any additional procedures for assessments under section twenty-one,
(6) contain additional provisions necessary or proper for the execution of the powers and duties of the insolvency fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21c - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Management Act › Section 24 - Appeals; Judicial Review

Section 24. Any action of the board of directors or the insolvency fund may be appealed to the commissioner by any generator or any person adversely affected thereby, if such appeal is taken within thirty days of the action being appealed. If a generator is appealing an assessment, the amount assessed shall be paid to the insolvency fund and available to meet insolvency fund obligations during the pendency of an appeal. If the appeal on the assessment is upheld, the amount paid in error or excess shall be returned to the generator. Any final action or order of the commissioner shall be subject to judicial review, pursuant to chapter thirty A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21c - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Management Act › Section 25 - Detection and Prevention of Licensee Insolvencies or Impairments

Section 25. To aid in the detection and prevention of licensee insolvencies or impairments:
(1) The commissioner may seek the advice and recommendations of the board of directors concerning any matter affecting his duties and responsibilities regarding the financial condition of licensees.
(2) The board of directors may, upon majority vote, make reports and recommendations to the commissioner upon any matter germane to the solvency, liquidation, rehabilitation or conservation of any licensee. Such reports and recommendations shall not be subject to public examination or copying under chapter sixty-six.
(3) It shall be the duty of the board of directors, upon majority vote, to notify the commissioner of any information indicating any licensee may be an impaired or insolvent licensee.
(4) The board of directors may, upon majority vote, request that the commissioner order an examination of any licensee which the board in good faith believes may be an impaired or insolvent licensee. Within thirty days of the receipt of such request, the commissioner shall begin such examination. The examination may be conducted by such persons as the commissioner designates. The licensee shall provide complete access to all its books and records to the commissioner or his designee for purposes of said examination. The cost of such examination shall be paid by the insolvency fund. In no event shall the examination report be released to the public or to the board of directors without the consent of the licensee. The commissioner shall notify the board of directors when the examination is completed. The request for an examination and any examination report shall be kept on file by the commissioner, but it and the examination report shall not be open to public inspection without the consent of the licensee.
(5) The board of directors may, upon majority vote, make recommendations to the commissioner for the detection and prevention of licensee insolvencies.
(6) The board of directors shall, promptly after payment of any covered claims by the association, prepare a report to the commissioner containing such information as it may have in its possession bearing on the history and causes of the licensee's insolvency.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21c - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Management Act › Section 26 - Records of Negotiations and Meetings; Insolvency Fund as Creditor

Section 26. (1) Records shall be kept of all negotiations and meetings in which the insolvency fund or its representatives are involved to discuss the activities of the insolvency fund in carrying out its powers and duties. Records of such negotiations or meetings shall be made public only upon the termination of a bankruptcy, liquidation, rehabilitation, or conservation proceeding involving the impaired or insolvent licensee, upon the termination of the impairment or insolvency of the licensee, or upon the order of a court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in this section shall limit the duty of the insolvency fund to render a report of its activities under section twenty-seven.
(2) For the purposes of this chapter, the insolvency fund shall be deemed to be a creditor of the impaired or insolvent licensee to the extent of any amounts to which the association is entitled as subrogee. Assets of the impaired or insolvent licensee, wherever located, shall be used to pay all covered claims against the impaired or insolvent licensee as required.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21c - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Management Act › Section 27 - Examination and Regulation of Insolvency Fund; Reports

Section 27. The insolvency fund shall be subject to examination and regulation by the commissioner. The board of directors shall submit to the commissioner each year, not later than one hundred and twenty days after the end of the insolvency fund's fiscal year, a report of its activities during the preceding fiscal year, and for any year in which it expended, received or held any funds, in which it incurred any financial obligations or in or before which it received a notice of any potential covered claim, a financial report in a form approved by the commissioner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21c - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Management Act › Section 29 - Assessment of Licensees

Section 29. Until such time as the insolvency fund ceases to exist, the commissioner of the department of environmental protection is hereby authorized to make an annual assessment against each licensee in an amount determined and certified by said commissioner as necessary to cover the costs incurred by the department and the division of insurance in carrying out their responsibilities relative to the administration of the insolvency fund pursuant to sections fifteen to thirty, inclusive. Said estimated assessment shall be allocated among all such licensees in a proportion deemed by the commissioner of said department to represent each licensee's pro rata share of the total amount of hazardous waste collection, treatment, disposal and storage within the commonwealth. Said assessment shall be paid to said commissioner of said department within thirty days of the date of the notice from said commissioner of such assessment. Failure without just cause to pay such assessment shall constitute a violation of this chapter. Prior to any such assessment the commissioner of insurance shall determine and certify to the commissioner of the department of environmental protection the costs incurred by the division of insurance in carrying out its responsibilities relative to the administration of the insolvency fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21c - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Management Act › Section 30 - Insufficient Funds; Liability of Commonwealth

Section 30. In the event that the monies in the insolvency fund are insufficient to provide for the purposes set forth in section eighteen, no claimant or any other person shall have any right to require the payment of funds or to compel any other action with respect to such occurrence by the commonwealth or by any agency thereof. Neither the commonwealth nor any agency thereof shall be liable for civil damages arising from any action taken in accordance with the provisions of sections fifteen to thirty, inclusive.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21d - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Act › Section 6 - Information or Records Confidential

Section 6. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, any information, record, or particular part thereof, obtained by the department pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall, upon request, be kept confidential and not be considered to be a public record when it is deemed by the commissioner that such information, record or report relates to secret processes, methods of manufacture or production, or that such information, record or report, if made public, would divulge a trade secret. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or to deny the power of the department to use such information, record or report as part of aggregated statistics and computations in its statewide environmental impact report including, but not limited to, the capacity shortfall of hazardous waste facilities.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21d - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Act › Section 8 - Briefing Sessions

Section 8. The department shall conduct briefing sessions for the purposes of insuring the participation of interested persons in the hazardous waste facility siting process pursuant to this chapter and of informing the public about every proposal which the hazardous waste facility siting council has determined to be feasible and deserving of state assistance. The department shall establish whatever schedule of briefing sessions it deems appropriate to achieve these purposes, holding said sessions in such a manner, place, and at such times as in its sole discretion are best calculated to achieve these purposes. The department shall conduct its first briefing session on a proposal within thirty days after it has completed its dissemination of the determination of the council that the proposed project is feasible and deserving of state support pursuant to section seven of this chapter. The department shall give a reasonable opportunity to persons attending the hearing to discuss, comment upon, or criticize all or any part of the proposal and may ask questions of the developer, the department, or any other agencies represented at said briefing session.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21d - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Act › Section 12 - Siting Agreements; Contents

Section 12. No facility shall be constructed, maintained or operated unless a siting agreement shall have been established by the developer and the local assessment committee of a host community pursuant to sections twelve and thirteen and said agreement has been declared to be operative and in full force and effect by the council. After said declaration by the council, a siting agreement shall be a nonassignable contract binding upon the developer and the host community, and enforceable against the parties in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The siting agreement shall specify the terms, conditions and provisions under which the facility shall be constructed, maintained and operated if the developer chooses to construct, maintain and operate a facility on said site, including, but not limited to the following terms, conditions and provisions:
(1) facility construction and maintenance procedures;
(2) operating procedures and practices, the design of the facility and its associated activities;
(3) monitoring procedures, practices and standards necessary to assure and continue to demonstrate that the facility will be operated safely;
(4) the services to be provided the developer by the host community;
(5) the compensation, services, and special benefits that will be provided to the host community by the developer, and the timing and conditions of their provision;
(6) the services and benefits to be provided to the host community by agencies of state government, and the timing and condition of their provision;
(7) any provisions for tax prepayments or accelerated payments, or for payments in lieu of taxes;
(8) provisions for renegotiation of any of the term, conditions of provisions of the siting agreement, or of the entire agreement;
(9) provisions for resolving any disagreements in the construction and interpretation of the siting agreement that may arise between the parties; and
(10) appendices of the compensation to be paid abutting communities established pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen.
The siting agreement may also include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(1) provisions for direct monetary payments from the developer to the host community in addition to payments for taxes and special services and compensation for demonstrable adverse impacts;
(2) provisions to assure the health, safety, comfort, convenience, and social and economic security of the host community and its citizens;
(3) provisions to assure the continuing economic viability of the project; and
(4) provisions to assure the protection of the environment and natural resources.
Any financial benefits received by host communities or abutting communities, other than taxes on real or personal property, shall not be deducted from any amounts of state assistance, reimbursements or distributions provided by general and special laws or under the Local Aid Fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21d - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Act › Section 13 - Siting Agreements; Negotiations

Section 13. A siting agreement may be established by the signature of the chief executive officer of a host community who has been directed by a majority vote of the local assessment committee of said host community to sign and the signature of any officer of the developer expressly authorized by the developer to sign said agreement, or by arbitration pursuant to section fifteen.
All state agencies shall endeavor to assist in facilitating negotiations between local assessment committees, the chief executive officer of abutting communities, and the developer. The council shall be available during such negotiations to assist in the exchange of information and to encourage and facilitate access to opinions, reports, documents and other materials relevant to the siting agreement including, but not limited to, all public records produced as part of the hazardous waste facility siting process established by this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21d - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Act › Section 16 - Licenses and Permits; Time for Granting or Denial

Section 16. No license or permit granted by a city or town shall be required for a hazardous waste facility which was not required on or before the effective date of this chapter by said city or town. All permits and licenses required for a hazardous waste facility in a city or town shall be granted or denied within sixty days after application for said permits and licenses by the developer, or twenty-one days after the establishment of a siting agreement pursuant to sections twelve and thirteen, whichever is the later.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21d - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Act › Section 17 - Petition for and Exercise of Eminent Domain Authority; Leases

Section 17. If all permits and licenses required by law have been issued to the developer and a siting agreement has been established pursuant to sections twelve and thirteen, the developer may petition the department to exercise its eminent domain authority pursuant to the provisions of chapter seventy-nine as authorized by section nineteen of chapter sixteen. Upon a showing by the developer, after due notice and a hearing thereon, that he has been unsuccessful in a good faith attempt to acquire all or a portion of the site by purchase or lease, the department shall exercise its eminent domain authority to make said acquisition, subject to approval by a majority vote of the city council, board of aldermen, or board of selectmen pursuant to the provisions of section nineteen of chapter sixteen. The department shall lease any land acquired under this section for a hazardous waste facility for the treatment, processing or disposal of hazardous waste to the developer for the purpose of construction, maintaining, and operating a privately owned hazardous waste facility. Any land acquired under this section may be disposed of by the department upon termination of a hazardous waste facility or completion of use of a site, with the concurrence of the department of environmental protection, in the best interest of the commonwealth and for a use compatible with local zoning by-laws or ordinances; provided, however, that in no event shall such land be so disposed of unless said department, with the concurrence of the department of environmental protection, first offers, in writing, to convey it to the city or town wherein such land lies for an amount of money not less than the fair market value of the land as determined by an independent appraisal which the department has caused to be made, and such offer is not accepted within two months after being made or is refused by the chief executive officer of the city or town wherein such land lies.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21d - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Act › Section 18 - Application of Chapter

Section 18. This chapter shall not apply to any hazardous waste facility exempt from the licensing requirements of chapter twenty-one C which was lawfully organized and in existence on May first, nineteen hundred and eighty, or to any hazardous waste facility which was licensed as such by any division of the department of environmental protection as of May first, nineteen hundred and eighty. If any facility has its license revoked and reapplies for a license after May first, nineteen hundred and eighty, the provisions of this chapter shall apply to said reapplication; provided, however, that the provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any facility, or the operation of any facility under receivership by a federal or state agency or by a judicially appointed and supervised receiver of any court of competent jurisdiction where the license of the facility has been suspended or revoked and said receivership has been imposed.
Chapter twenty-one D shall not apply to any generator who stores, treats, processes or disposes of hazardous waste produced exclusively on-site; provided, however, that chapter twenty-one D shall apply to any such generator who disposes of hazardous waste into or on the land. For purposes of this section, ''on-site'' shall be defined to mean the same or geographically contiguous property which may be divided by public or private right-of-way, provided that the entrance and exit between the properties is at a crossroads intersection, and access is by crossing as opposed to going along the right-of-way; as well as non-contiguous properties owned by the same person but connected by a right-of-way which he controls and to which the public does not have access.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21d - Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Act › Section 19 - Application of Chapter to Increase of Capacity

Section 19. Notwithstanding the first paragraph of section eighteen, chapter twenty-one D shall apply to the increase of capacity to store, treat, or dispose of any particular type of hazardous waste, unless an existing siting agreement established pursuant to the requirements of chapter twenty-one D provides for the conditions under which such increase of capacity shall be permitted.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21e - Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act › Section 7 - Notice of Release or Threat of Release

Section 7. Any owner or operator of a site or vessel, and any person otherwise described in paragraph (a) of section 5, and any fiduciary, city, town, redevelopment authority, redevelopment agency, community development corporation, economic development and industrial corporation or secured lender who holds title to or possession of a site or vessel and any eligible tenant who acquires occupancy or possession of a site or a portion thereof, as soon as he has knowledge of a release or threat of release of oil or hazardous material, shall immediately notify the department thereof. Such notice shall not be required hereunder for any release which conforms to the terms of a currently valid permit or license issued by the department. Such notice shall not be required hereunder for the application of a pesticide product registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 7 USC Sec. 136 et seq., and under the provisions of chapter one hundred and thirty-two B, or to the handling and storage of such a pesticide product by an agricultural producer.
By no later than July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three, the department shall promulgate in accordance with section two of chapter thirty A, and shall submit to the state secretary for publication in the Massachusetts Register in accordance with sections five and six of chapter thirty A, regulations establishing thresholds below which notification shall not be required by this section, and procedures for giving notification required pursuant to this section. By no later than January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three, the department shall submit to the state secretary for publication in the Massachusetts Register, and the state secretary shall publish in the Massachusetts Register, in accordance with sections five and six of chapter thirty A, the notice required by section two of chapter thirty A and a draft of the regulations described in the preceding sentence. After the initial promulgation of regulations required by this section, the department may amend or repeal them, or adopt additional ones, in accordance with all applicable requirements of chapter thirty A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21e - Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act › Section 9 - Orders to Conduct Assessment, Containment or Removal

Section 9. Whenever it has reason to believe that oil or hazardous material has been released or that there is a threat of release of oil or hazardous material, the department may issue to any person described in paragraph (a) of section five an order requiring such person to conduct an assessment of such release or threat of release. Releases and threats of release for which the department orders such assessment shall be determined by reference to the Massachusetts contingency plan.
Whenever in the opinion of the department a release or threat of release poses a significant danger to the public health, safety, welfare, or the environment, the department may issue to any person described in paragraph (a) of section five an order requiring such person to conduct such containment and removal actions, consistent with the Massachusetts Contingency Plan, as the department reasonably deems necessary.
Whenever there is a violation of this chapter, the department may issue to such person causing or contributing to such violation an order requiring the production or analysis of samples and the production of records, or imposing such restraints of or requiring such action by said persons.
Issuance of an order under this section shall not preclude, and shall not be deemed an election to forego, any action authorized by section four or any action to recover damages, costs, or to seek civil penalties, criminal fines and sanctions, or injunctive relief.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21e - Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act › Section 11 - Violations; Penalties; Actions to Recover Costs

Section 11. Any violation of this chapter, or of any regulation adopted or order issued thereunder, shall be presumed to constitute irreparable harm to the public health, safety, welfare or the environment. Such presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of evidence.
In addition to liability for costs incurred by the commonwealth for the investigation, assessment, containment and removal of a release or a threat of a release of oil or hazardous material, any person who violates any provision of this chapter, or any order or regulation issued or adopted thereunder: (a) shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $50,000 for each such violation; or (b) shall be punished by a fine of not more than $50,000, or by imprisonment for not more than two years in a house of correction, or both, for each such violation; or (c) a person violating any provision of section seven shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than twenty years or in a jail or house of correction for not more than two and one-half years, or both, for each such violation. Each day such violation occurs or continues shall be considered a separate violation.
The superior court department of the trial court shall have jurisdiction to enjoin violations of, or grant such additional relief as it deems necessary or appropriate to secure compliance with, the provisions of this chapter, or any order or regulation issued or adopted thereunder upon the petition of the attorney general or the commissioner. Upon request of the commissioner, the attorney general may bring an action to recover all costs incurred by the commonwealth in the assessment, containment and removal of any release or threat of release of oil or hazardous material.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21e - Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act › Section 12 - Confidentiality of Information, Records or Reports

Section 12. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, any information, record, or particular part thereof, obtained by the department, its personnel or contractors pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, upon request shall be confidential and shall not be considered to be a public record when it is determined by the commissioner that such information, record or report relates to secret processes, methods of manufacture, or production, or that such information, record or report, if made public, would divulge a trade secret. This section shall not prevent disclosure of any information necessary for an enforcement or cost recovery action or to comply with CERCLA or FWPCA.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21e - Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act › Section 15 - Citizen Enforcement

Section 15. In any suit by Massachusetts residents to enforce the requirements of this chapter, or to abate a hazard related to oil or hazardous materials in the environment, the court may award costs, including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees, to any party other than the commonwealth who advances the purposes of this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21e - Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act › Section 16 - Response Action Contractor Liability

Section 16. (a) A response action contractor with respect to any release or threatened release of oil or hazardous material shall not be strictly liable under this chapter nor under any other state law to any person for injuries, costs, damages, expenses or other liability including but not limited to claims for indemnification or contribution and claims by third parties for death, personal injury, illness or loss of or damage to real or personal property or economic loss which results from such release or threatened release.
(b) The limitation of liability provided under subsection (a) shall apply only to response action contractor liability arising out of a release or threatened release of oil or hazardous material resulting from response actions conducted by the response action contractor.
(c) Any response action contractor who is otherwise liable under subsection (a) of section five for a release or threatened release of oil or hazardous material at a site shall not be entitled to any limitation of liability under this section by virtue of becoming a response action contractor at that site.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21e - Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act › Section 18 - Regulations

Section 18. Any agency of the commonwealth is authorized to promulgate regulations as it deems necessary for the implementation and administration of sections sixteen and seventeen subject to the approval of the executive office of administration and finance. Failure to promulgate such regulations shall not affect any agency's right to enter into indemnification agreements under said sections sixteen and seventeen nor the validity or enforceability of said sections or agreements.
Nothing in sections sixteen or seventeen shall affect the liability of any person under any warranty, nor the liability of an employer who is a response action contractor to any employee of such employer under any provision of law, including any provision relating to workers' compensation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21e - Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act › Section 20 - Distance of Lng Import Terminal From Certain Establishments

Section 20. A LNG import terminal shall have a minimum distance of 5,000 feet from the center of the LNG tank to the nearest residential home, elderly housing complexes, schools, hospitals, health care facilities, businesses or developments.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21e - Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act › Section 21 - Distance of Lng Tankers Traveling by Waterway From Certain Establishments

Section 21. A LNG tanker shall have a 1,500 foot clearance along the shore, as it travels any Massachusetts waterway, from the hull to the nearest residential home, elderly housing complexes, schools, hospitals, health care facilities, businesses or developments.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21e - Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act › Section 22 - Liability for Presence, Release or Threat of Release of Oil or Any Hazardous Material Related to a Dam

Section 22. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no municipality or public entity shall be liable under this chapter for, or related to, the presence, release or threat of release of oil or any hazardous material related to a dam, as defined in section 44 of chapter 253, that occurred prior to the date a dam was acquired by a municipality or public entity; provided, however, that an activity conducted by a municipality or public entity that involves the management or removal of oil or hazardous material in relation to the management, maintenance or removal of a dam shall be performed in accordance with applicable environmental laws and permits.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21f - Coastal Facilities Improvement › Section 1 - Purposes

Section 1. The purposes of this chapter are:
(a) to ensure that adequate and well-maintained public facilities exist to support the commonwealth's fishing, marine, tourist, and recreational industry in the coastal zone;
(b) to provide flexible and affordable financial programs for the commonwealth's coastal cities and towns so that they can plan for, construct, reconstruct, maintain and improve public coastal facilities;
(c) to improve planning for coastal facilities consistent with the policies of the executive office of environmental affairs;
(d) to encourage greater cost sharing between the public and users of public facilities financed with public funds.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21f - Coastal Facilities Improvement › Section 2 - Definitions

Section 2. As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:—
''Harbor facility'', any existing or proposed public dredged channel, spoil disposal area, bulkheads, ripraps, piers, wharves, fill, docks, floats, beaches or other structures used for fishing, marine industry, or commerce, marine recreations or public access purposes.
''Harbor plan'', a document which analyses existing harbor and waterfront land uses and delineates future uses. Future land uses may be described through zoning ordinances, capital improvement plans, and building design guidelines and other methods. Planning for the management of the competing uses of harbor waters may include mooring plans, facilities maintenance plans, shellfish management plans or dredging needs assessments.
''Waterfront facility'', public upland platforms, public buildings containing harbor related facilities or public spaces or structures used for fish or vessel and related equipment handling or storage, and parking facilities and walkways necessary for access to said waterfront facility.
''Public'', any structure or land owned and maintained by a coastal city or town or by the commonwealth.
''Improvements'', a project or undertaking involving the planning, engineering, repair, construction or reconstruction of harbor or waterfront facilities.
''Card program'', the state Commercial Area Revitalization District program established under chapter forty D.
''Substandard condition'', physical deterioration, faulty arrangement or design, overcrowding, lack of access, or other factors which cause the condition of a harbor or waterfront facility to be detrimental to the public safety, health, morals, welfare or sound growth of a coastal city or town.
''Designated port area'', any port area suitable for maritime-industrial uses and so designated in accordance with the procedures established by the department of environmental protection under chapter ninety-one.
''Special assistance development area'', an area identified by the Executive office of environmental affairs under chapter twenty-one A, having special development needs and significant resource areas which have development potential such as in ports, harbors and recreational areas.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21f - Coastal Facilities Improvement › Section 4 - Harbor or Waterfront Improvement or Plan; Application for Assistance

Section 4. Any coastal city or town, acting by and through its mayor in the case of a city, the town manager in a town having a town council form of government and the board of selectmen in any other town, may apply to the secretary of environmental affairs for assistance to undertake a harbor or waterfront improvement or a harbor plan. An application for assistance pursuant to this chapter shall represent no more than fifty per cent of the estimated total cost of the improvement and in no case shall exceed two million dollars for improvements in designated port areas and one million five hundred thousand dollars in all other areas. The commonwealth shall reimburse no more than three million dollars to communities with designated port areas and at least one project within these areas or two million dollars total to a city or town applying for funding for more than one harbor or waterfront project. The secretary of environmental affairs is hereby authorized to utilize seventy per cent of the funding provided for in this chapter, for public facilities used primarily for commercial purposes.
Said secretary of environmental affairs is hereby authorized to utilize ten per cent of the funding in this chapter for grants to prepare harbor plans. An application for assistance in the preparation of a harbor plan shall represent no more than fifty per cent of the total cost of said plan. The secretary of environmental affairs is hereby authorized to approve applications for improvements and plans for up to thirty-three per cent of the funding provided for this chapter in any one year.
Said applicant must provide a cash or inkind match with a value equal to at least fifty per cent of the total cost of the improvement which may originate from any source including grants, bequests, gifts, or contribution by the federal, state or municipal government or by an individual, corporation or association.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21f - Coastal Facilities Improvement › Section 5 - Qualifications for Assistance

Section 5. To qualify for assistance under this chapter, a city or town shall comply with the following conditions:
(a) the improvement will be public for the duration of any debt obligation incurred by the commonwealth relative to such assistance pursuant to regulations to be adopted pursuant to this chapter and shall be used principally for fishing, shellfishing, marine commerce or industry, or for marine recreation or public access purposes;
(b) the project site has been determined by the executive office of environmental affairs, to be in substandard conditions or is located within an approved Commercial Area Revitalization District or within a designated port area or an area designated as a special assistance development area by the Massachusetts coastal zone management program within the executive office of environmental affairs;
(c) that the city or town may seek to obtain reasonable fees from users of the improvement or related facilities, that this income will be committed to the operation, maintenance, management and, if required, the retirement of any debt incurred under the provisions of this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 21f - Coastal Facilities Improvement › Section 6 - Findings Required in Application

Section 6. In making applications for assistance under this chapter, the city or town shall follow the rules and procedures developed by the secretary of environmental affairs to implement this chapter which shall include, but not be limited to the following findings:
(a) the proposed improvement will serve the public interest and is consistent with community wide needs and priorities;
(b) the project will have a significant economic impact on the fishing, marine, commercial or industrial, recreation or tourist industry or provide significant public benefits;
(c) there is a clear need for the improvement;
(d) the improvement is consistent with the guidelines set by the executive office of environmental affairs and that all required local, state and federal permits, approvals and licenses, have been sought or obtained in the case of an improvement requiring such;
(e) the funds required to complete the total improvement are or will be secured;
(f) the application for assistance has been approved by the mayor in the case of a city, the town manager in a town having a town counsel form of government and the board of selectmen in any other town;
(g) funds shall not be used for dredging projects.
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 4 - Withdrawal Volume Threshold

Section 4. The withdrawal volume threshold to be applied pursuant to sections five and seven shall be one hundred thousand gallons per day. The department may, by regulation, raise or lower the threshold volume established in this section upon a finding that such different threshold is necessary and adequate to protect the public health, safety and welfare. The department shall not require any approval, other than that provided for in section thirty-nine C of chapter forty, for withdrawals less than such threshold volume.
The department may, by regulation, establish, for any particular water source, a lower threshold volume than that generally applicable in the commonwealth upon findings that such water source is in need of special protection because of the nature or volume of demands made upon it, and that the reduced threshold is therefore necessary and adequate to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
The department shall, no later than January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one, and no less than every five years thereafter, initiate rulemaking procedures in accordance with chapter thirty A, to review and reassess the necessity and adequacy of the volume threshold in effect.
For the purposes of determining whether a withdrawal is in excess of the threshold volume, any withdrawal of water for a nonconsumptive use, as defined by regulation adopted by the department, shall not be counted in the volume of water withdrawn; provided, however, that any person withdrawing or proposing to withdraw water for a nonconsumptive use shall file, in accordance with regulations adopted by the department, a notification stating the amount being or to be withdrawn and demonstrating that the use is or will be nonconsumptive.