Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 301 CMR - EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS › Title 301 CMR 11.00 - Mepa Regulations › Section 11.01 - General Provisions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Authority and Purpose
.
(a)
General
.
			 301 CMR
			 11.00 is promulgated to create a uniform system for
			 compliance with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, M.G.L. c. 30,
			 §§ 61 through 62L (MEPA). The purpose of MEPA and
			 301 CMR
			 11.00 is to provide meaningful opportunities for
			 public review of the potential environmental impacts of Projects for which
			 Agency Action is required, and to assist each Agency in using (in addition to
			 applying any other applicable statutory and regulatory standards and
			 requirements) all feasible means to avoid Damage to the Environment or, to the
			 extent Damage to the Environment cannot be avoided, to minimize and mitigate
			 Damage to the Environment to the maximum extent practicable.
(b)
MEPA Review
.
			 MEPA review is an informal administrative process that is intended to involve
			 any interested Agency or Person as well as the Proponent and each Participating
			 Agency. The Secretary conducts MEPA review in response to one or more review
			 documents prepared and filed by a Proponent. The Secretary's decision that a
			 review document is adequate or that there has been other due compliance with
			 MEPA and
			 301 CMR
			 11.00 means that the Proponent has adequately
			 described and analyzed the Project and its alternatives, and assessed its
			 potential environmental impacts and mitigation measures. A Participating Agency
			 retains authority to fulfill its statutory and regulatory obligations in
			 permitting or reviewing a Project that is subject to MEPA review, which does
			 not itself result in any formal adjudicative decision approving or disapproving
			 a Project. Consistent with M.G.L. c. 30, § 62K, the Secretary and all EEA
			 agencies must consider Environmental Justice Principles in implementing MEPA
			 review. Accordingly, MEPA review shall be conducted in a manner that provides
			 sufficient disclosures to allow for a full consideration of Environmental
			 Justice Principles in order to reduce the potential for unfair or inequitable
			 effects upon Environmental Justice Populations.
(c)
MEPA and Agency
			 Actions
. MEPA review is intended to inform the Proponent and each
			 Participating Agency, to maximize consistency between Agency Actions, and to
			 facilitate coordination of all environmental and development review and
			 permitting processes of the Commonwealth. It provides an opportunity in one or
			 more review documents for the Proponent to identify required Agency Actions and
			 describe and analyze how the Project complies with applicable regulatory
			 standards and requirements. Each Participating Agency shall review the MEPA
			 submittals and specify any aspects of the Project or issues regarding its
			 Agency Action that require additional description or analysis (beyond that
			 already provided in the review documents or any application for a Permit,
			 Financial Assistance, or a Land Transfer) to enable it to take Agency Action on
			 the Project or fulfill its obligations in accordance with M.G.L. c. 30, §
			 61 and M.G.L. c. 30, § 62K. The Secretary may specify in the certificate
			 on a review document any appropriate consultation by and between the Proponent
			 and each Participating Agency and may hold informational meetings prior to or
			 during MEPA review to ensure appropriate consultation.
(d)
MEPA and Environmental
			 Planning
. MEPA review is intended to facilitate environmental
			 planning for Projects requiring Agency Action, including an Agency's programs,
			 regulations, or policies. It enables the Proponent and each Participating
			 Agency to consider the positive and negative, short-term and long-term
			 potential environmental and public health impacts for all phases of a Project,
			 and the cumulative impacts of the Project and any other Project or other work
			 or activity in the immediate surroundings and region. It also enables an Agency
			 to consider the cumulative impacts of Projects requiring individual Agency
			 Actions taken in accordance with each of its programs, regulations and policies
			 that may not otherwise be subject to adequate MEPA review or that may have
			 similar environmental impacts such that a common assessment may be necessary or
			 appropriate. MEPA review can influence the planning and design of a program,
			 regulations, policy, or other Project to enable an Agency to achieve these
			 goals, provided that MEPA review is initiated sufficiently early and in any
			 event prior to the Proponent finalizing or otherwise irreversibly committing to
			 the program, regulations, policy, or other Project.