Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 313 CMR - DIVISION OF WATER SUPPLY PROTECTION › Title 313 CMR 4.00 - Interbasin Transfer › Section 4.10 - Approval of an Action to Increase the Present Rate of Interbasin Transfer Due to the Expansion of the Service Area of a Regional Water Supply System

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
The following procedure is available for a Regional Water
				Supply System seeking to increase its Present Rate of Interbasin Transfer of
				water by expanding its service area to multiple potential municipalities or
				public water systems. The Commission may allow such a system to file an
				application that allows the Commission to evaluate and approve criteria
				applicable to the Donor Basin separately from criteria applicable to the
				Receiving Area. The Regional Water Supply System must have control over the
				water supply sources in the Donor Basin, but may not have control over existing
				water supply management actions in the Receiving Area. Any request from any
				Receiving Area applicant, regardless of the amount, will be evaluated according
				to the Receiving Area criteria contained in 313 CMR 4.10.
(1)
Procedures for Approval of an
			 Increase over the Present Rate of Interbasin Transfer Due to the Expansion of
			 the Service Area of a Regional Water Supply System
.
(a) The provisions of 313 CMR 4.10 shall
			 apply only to a Regional Water Supply System, as defined in
			 313 CMR
			 4.02;
(b) A Person proposing an action to increase
			 the Present Rate of Interbasin Transfer shall complete the application and
			 submit it to the Executive Director, Water Resources Commission, Executive
			 Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900,
			 Boston, MA 02114. In addition, at least two bound copies, and an electronic
			 copy must be submitted to WRC Staff, Department of Conservation and Recreation
			 Office of Water Resources, 251 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02114, and a copy
			 must be placed at the public library(ies) of each of the affected
			 communities;
(c) The Commission
			 shall publish notice of the receipt of an application for a proposed Interbasin
			 Transfer in the
Environmental Monitor
and send a copy to the
			 municipalities directly affected;
(d) The Commission may require such
			 additional information from the Person proposing an action to increase the
			 Present Rate of Interbasin Transfer or any other appropriate Persons or
			 agencies as it deems necessary to conduct this review;
(e) For the Donor Basin, the Commission
			 shall:
1. within 60 days of accepting the
			 Donor Basin application as complete, or within 60 days after MEPA Compliance if
			 it is required, whichever is later, conduct a public hearing in the Donor Basin
			 community; and
2. within 60 days of
			 completing said hearing shall complete its review and issue a Decision on the
			 Donor Basin portion of the application;
(f) For the Receiving Area, the Commission
			 shall:
1. within 60 days of accepting the
			 Receiving Area application as complete, or within 60 days after MEPA Compliance
			 if it is required, whichever is later, conduct a public hearing in the
			 Receiving Area community; and
2.
			 within 60 days of completing said hearing shall complete its review and issue a
			 Decision on the requested action to increase the Present Rate of Interbasin
			 Transfer;
(g) During the
			 period prior to the Commission's Decision on the proposed Interbasin Transfer,
			 the Person proposing an action to increase the Present Rate of Interbasin
			 Transfer, and participating agencies which have jurisdiction by law shall make
			 themselves available at such reasonable times and places designated by the
			 Commission so that the Commission may consult with both the Person and
			 Commission staff;
(h) The review
			 may be extended by written consent of the Commission and the Person proposing
			 an action to increase the Present Rate of Interbasin Transfer for a mutually
			 agreed upon period;
(i) The Donor
			 Basin portion of the application may be submitted to the Commission for a
			 Decision prior to the Receiving Area portion(s) of the application. A Decision
			 for one portion of the application does not assure that the other portion(s) of
			 the application will be approved;
(j) Following the Commission's Decision to
			 approve the Donor Basin portion of the application, the Regional Water Supply
			 System must provide an annual report to the Commission listing the Receiving
			 Areas which have joined its system, by date, and the amounts of water (both
			 average day and maximum day) that it is contractually obligated to supply to
			 each of these Receiving Areas until the amount of water described in the
			 approved Donor Basin portion of the application has been fully
			 allocated;
(k) Receiving Area
			 portions of the application may be reviewed concurrently or after the
			 Commission determines that the Donor Basin portion of the application meets the
			 applicable criteria listed in
			 313 CMR
			 4.00. The Donor Basin applicant need not have
			 identified all of the potential Receiving Areas of the Interbasin Transfer;
(l) Receiving Area portions of the
			 application may be submitted to the Commission separately and non-concurrently
			 from each other;
(m)
Ten-year Review
.
1.
			 Ten years after the Decision to approve the Donor Basin portion of the
			 application, if the Regional Water Supplier has not allocated all of the
			 approved Increase over the Present Rate of Interbasin Transfer, the supplier
			 shall file a report, with the Commission, describing any changes pertinent to
			 Donor Basin criteria that may have occurred since the original Decision. The
			 Commission shall provide notice in the
Environmental Monitor
that the report has been received. The Commission will review the report and
			 provide a determination within six months of receipt. If, in its opinion,
			 conditions in the donor basin have not changed materially within the ten-year
			 period, the original approval shall continue under its existing terms;
			 and
2. If the Commission
			 determines, based on the submitted report or any other available information,
			 that conditions in the Donor Basin have significantly changed or that the Donor
			 Basin criteria could no longer be met by the project as proposed, after
			 conducting a public hearing in the Donor Basin as described in 313 CMR 4.11(1)
			 and (2), the Commission shall revise the approval of the Donor Basin portion of
			 the application for the unallocated portion of water, provide it in writing to
			 the Donor Basin applicant and file the revised approval in accordance with 313
			 CMR 4.11(3).
(n) In the
			 event that 20 years after the Decision to approve the Donor Basin portion of
			 the application, the Water Resources Commission has not approved the allocation
			 of the entire amount of the water originally approved under the Donor Basin
			 application or does not have a pending application from a Receiving Area for
			 approval, the approval of any unallocated water, excluding the amount requested
			 in a pending application, shall expire. Once the Commission has made a
			 Decision(s) on any pending Receiving Area application(s), the availability of
			 any remaining unallocated amount of the water associated with the Donor Basin
			 application shall also expire.