Matthew Rocheleau v. Massachusetts Environmental Police (SPR 20191982)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 10, 2019 SPR19/1982 Julia O'Leary, Esq. Associate Counsel Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900 Boston, MA 02114 Dear Attorney O'Leary: I have received the petition of Matthew Rocheleau of the Boston Globe appealing the response of the Massachusetts Environmental Police (MEP) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 50 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Mr. Rocheleau requested "[t] the most current version of any/all employee directories for the Massachusetts Environmental Police, including any/all employee contact information." MEP's Response In its September 26, 2019 response, MEP states that it has "determined that this office does not have possession, custody or control of any public records responsive to your request as MEP does not currently maintain an official employee directory for its staff." Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Rocheleau states "[t]he agency's response defies logic. It undoubtedly has one or more list(s) of its employees as well as information about how to contact · each of them - email addresses, phone numbers, etc." The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian ofrecords at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(ii) (written response must "identify any public records or categories of public records sought that are within the possession, custody, or control of the agency"). In accordance with the Public Records Law, custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5)(b). 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

Julia O'Leary, Esq. SPR19/1982 Page 2 October 10, 2019 No Duty to Create a Record,· Database Extraction Under the Public Records Law, the Commission is not required to create a list of records or any record in response to a public records request. However, please note that under the Public Records Law Access Regulations, "furnishing a segregable portion of a public record shall not be deemed to be creation of a new record. This applies to a responsive record in the form of an extract of existing data, as such data exists at the time of the request and is segregable from nonresponsive and exempt data." 950 C.M.R. 32.07(1)(f). In light of Mr. Rocheleau's claims, the MEP must clarify whether or not it possesses any responsive records and provide such response in compliance with the Public Records Law and its Regulations. This office encourages the parties to communicate further to identify potentially responsive documents. Conclusion Accordingly the MEP is ordered to provide a response to Mr. Rocheleau consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Access Regulations within ten (10) business days. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Matthew Rocheleau, Boston Globe