David Stoff v. Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (SPR 20240724)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 21, 2024 SPR24/0724 Laurie Allen Record Access Officer Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Deer Island 33 Tafts Avenue Boston, MA 02128 Dear Ms. Allen: I have received the petition of David Stoff appealing the response of Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 16, 2024, Mr. Stoff requested: 1. Documents, including email communications and relevant meeting notes, regarding the decision to hire [Beveridge and Diamond PC] as special counsel to coordinate the response from member sewer communities to the Draft NPDES Permit for DITP; 2. Invoices from [Beveridge and Diamond PC] for services, including drafting the documents included in Public Records Request 571-23; 3. Records of payments from MWRA and/or the Advisory Board to [Beveridge and Diamond PC]; [and] 4. An estimate of the value of the staff time necessary for MWRA to coordinate the response of member communities, and the oversight of special counsel’s efforts. The MWRA responded on February 16, 2024. Unsatisfied with the MWRA’s response, Mr. Stoff petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/0724, was opened as a result. Subsequently, I learned that the MWRA provided Mr. Stoff with supplemental responses on March 8, 2024 and March 11, 2024. Further, an additional supplemental response was provided by the MWRA Advisory Board on March 19, 2024. Where this appeal was opened as a result of the MWRA’s February 16, 2024 response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Stoff may appeal the substantive nature of the MWRA’s March 8th and March 11th responses or the MWRA Advisory Board’s March 19th response within ninety (90) days. See 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

Laurie Allen SPR24/0724 Page 2 March 21, 2024 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: David Stoff