Laura Crimaldi v. Department of Public Utilities (SPR 20232030)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 1, 2023 SPR23/2030 Mathieu Cunha, Esq. Records Access Officer Department of Public Utilities One South Station Boston, MA 02110 Dear Attorney Cunha: On August 28, 2023, this Office received your petition on behalf of the Department of Public Utilities (Department) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. On August 14, 2023, Laura Crimaldi, of the Boston Globe, requested: [1] July 23, 2023: Trolley derailment at Riverside Yard; [2] August 1, 2023: High-rail truck derailment between Kendall and Central stations on the Red Line; [3] August 3, 2023: Injury of two signal maintainers at Quincy Center Station; [4] March 28, 2022: Electrocution of system repairer working near the third rail (Corrective Action Plan 8401); [5] July 25, 2022: Unintentional movement of Red Line train into Braintree station. Petition 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; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality 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

Mathieu Cunha, Esq. SPR23/2030 Page 2 September 1, 2023 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. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) must provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition In its August 28, 2023 petition, the Department states: The Department conducted a preliminary search and collected over 100 pages of records. Because the focus of the request touches on ongoing investigations into sensitive incidents, extensive review will be required. Safety and accident reports can include personal information, including intimate personnel or medical information relating to injuries sustained during an accident. Because of the MBTA’s nature as critical infrastructure with the capacity for catastrophic failure, and because these accident reports by their very nature relate to such failures, some documents may require redactions in order to protect public safety. The request calls for Corrective Action Plans which are still being reviewed by the Department, and are thus unreleased policy documents. Finally, the investigation for several of these incidents remain open and ongoing. Consequently, the Department may wish to limit information released to the public until it has properly vetted the results of the investigation. All information falling within these categories is exempt from disclosure pursuant to G.L. c. 4, § 7(c), (d), (f), or (n). The Department further asserts: [T]he Department has an obligation to ensure that proper procedures are maintained to prevent the dissemination of information which is protected from disclosure by law. This requires careful review and segregation of records before they are produced to a requester. Segregation and redaction of records often

Mathieu Cunha, Esq. SPR23/2030 Page 3 September 1, 2023 involves the application of multiple exemptions to the public records law to a single document, which may include several attachments. Some information is simultaneously protected by more than one exemption or different exemptions depending on context or the time of disclosure. This only adds to the time needed to properly redact these records. Pursuant to G.L. c. 66, § 10(c) and 950 CMR 32.06(4) the Department respectfully submits this petition for a one-time extension of 20 business days to produce a response to the requester. I find that in light of the capacity of the Department to produce the records without the extension, the Department has established good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). I hereby grant the Department an extension of 20 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Ms. Crimaldi’s request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). To the extent possible, the Department must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, I find the Department has established good cause for a time extension of 20 business days as described above. Please note, Ms. Crimaldi has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Laura Crimaldi