Robert Bettencourt v. Brookline, Town of - Public Health Department (SPR 20170175)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofE .ecords February 10, 2017 SPR17/175 Patrick J. Maloney, MPAH, CHO, RS Public Health Department Town of Brookline 11 Pierce Street Brookline, MA 02445 Dear Mr. Maloney, I have received the petition of Robert Bettencourt appealing the response of the Town of Brookline- Public Health Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Bettencourt requested documents pertaining to "an EPA finding at 191 Clyde Street." Mr. Bettencourt is appealing the substantive nature of the Department's September 7, 2016 response, believing that he has not received all responsive records. No Duty to Create Records Under the Public Records Law, the Department is not required to create a list of records or any record in response to a public records request. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d ); 32 Op. Atty Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). The duty to comply with requests for information extends only to those records that exist and are in the custody of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(ii). Subsequent to intervention by a member of my staff, I learned that the Department has ih provided Mr. Bettencourt with all responsive records in their possession in their September response. Additionally, the Department notified Mr. Bettencourt that, should he seek any further documentation regarding his request, he should contact the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) directly, as the DEP only provided the Department with those records that were issued to Mr. Bettencourt. For Mr. Bettencourt's convenience, below is the contact information for the DEP that was included in the Department's response: One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre• pre@sec.state.ma.us

Mr. Patrick Maloney SPRl 7/175 Page 2 February 10, 2017 Ida Babroudi, Environmental Engineer Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup MassDEP, Northeast Regional Office 205B Lowell Street Wilmington, MA 01887 978-694-3386 Release Tracking Number (Regarding this Issue): (RTN)3-33455 Whereas this matter was opened on the basis of the Department's failure to provide a complete written response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Bettencourt may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety (90) days. See C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Robert Bettencourt