Glen Ayers v. Department of Environmental Protection - Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup (SPR 20180132)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S Murray Supemisor of Records February 1,2018 SPR181132 Michael Dingle Office of General Counsel Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection One Winter Street Boston, MA 02108 Dear Mr. Dingle: I have received your petition on behalf of the Massachusetts Department for Environmental Protection (Department) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested record. G. L. c. 66, 3 10(c). As required by law, the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, 3 10(c), (d)(iv)(2). OnNovember 6,2017, Glen A. Ayers requested a copy of, or an online website link to: 1. The Department's comments to the ENRA Colnmittee concerning "An Act Ensuring Safe Drinking Water at schools and early childhood programs (Senate Bill No. 456); 2. The Department's comments, if any, regarding House Bill No. 2130, "An Act Relative to Public Water Supply Records;" and 3. The Department's comments, if any, regarding House Bill No. 2422, "An Act Relative to Local Oversight of Non-Municipal Public Water Supply Systems." The requested records were the subject of two previous appeals. Supervisor of Records Determinations SPR1711644; SPR1711770. Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; 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

Michael Dingle Page 2 February 1,2018 (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Conclusion In response to the Supervisor's determination in SPR1711770, the Department submitted this petition requesting "an extension of two business days, until Wednesday January 3 1,2018, to respond." On January 30,201 8, the Department sent a response to the Supervisor's order via email. A member of the Public Records Division staff contacted the Department and the Department confirmed they no longer require additional time to respond to the order. Accordingly, I find in light of the Department's January 30" email, it is unnecessary to opine on the Department's petition at this time. Sincerelv. Supervisor of Records cc: Glen A. Ayers