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News and Annoucements

New ENF and NPC forms New ENF

The MEPA Office is please to present the new ENF and NPC forms, which reflect input received from MEPA staff, State Agency reviewers, and environmental organizations that regularly participate in the MEPA process. As of March 9, 2011, the new forms will be available for download on the MEPA Homepage for immediate use. The old forms will no longer be made available. If you have started to prepare an ENF or NPC using the old forms, they will be accepted for review for a limited time. The new forms incorporate questions that will be included in the electronic forms that will be introduced later this year, so it is strongly encouraged that all project proponents start using the new forms as soon as practicable.

In response to numerous inquiries regarding submission of MEPA documents on CDs in lieu of hard-copy documents, the MEPA Office is exploring updates to the MEPA regulations that will allow this. The MEPA Office already allows partial distribution via CD or electronic format where permission has been sought in advance from the MEPA Office. Please bear in mind, however, that a number of hard-copy versions of these documents should always be made available for members of the general public who do not own or have easy access to computers. While the MEPA Office has been receptive to the inclusion of technical appendices on CDs rather than hard-copy documents, it remains the case that hard copies must be provided to the MEPA Office and State Agency reviewers. However, in addition to those hard copies, we strongly encourage the submission of entire documents to this office on CD as well in order to facilitate their future inclusion in our electronic files.

When in doubt about the requirements for format and circulation of MEPA documents, please contact Rick Bourré, Assistant Director of the MEPA Office.

Permit Extension Act

The Permit Extension Act was created by Section 173 of Chapter 240 of the Acts of 2010 http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2010/Chapter240.The purpose of this act is to promote job growth and long-term economic recovery by establishing an automatic two-year extension to certain permits and licenses concerning the use or development of real property. With limited exceptions, the Act automatically extends, for two years beyond its otherwise applicable expiration date, any permit or approval that was "in effect or existence" during the qualifying period beginning on August 15, 2008 and extending through August 15, 2010.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questionsabout the Permit Extension Act have been prepared in consultation with all state permit issuing agencies. This document is intended to answer questions of permit holders and other interested parties as they relate to state permits.

MAY 5, 2010: Final Revised Greenhouse Gas Emissions Policy and Protocol

Based upon the input provided by stakeholders and taking into account the changes to MEPA’s enabling statute under the Global Warming Solutions Act, the MEPA Office has issued final revisions to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Policy and Protocolto clarify the requirements for review and analysis of GHG emissions and to fulfill MEPA’s statutory obligations.

Also available is a summary of the revisionsand a response to commentsreceived on the draft revisions, which were made available for public review.

Scanning of Archived MEPA Files

The Massachusetts State Archives office is currently in the process of scanning all files for projects that were subject to review under MEPA that are currently housed in the State Archives Building (projects with an assigned EEA # of less than 10140). The MEPA office has already received some of these files in CD and microfiche formats and they can be reviewed at the MEPA Office during office hours. Please contact Barbara Kehoe or Josie Wixon to find out if the project file you wish to review is available.

Public Notices

Public Notices will not be accepted for publication if they are submitted after the close of the deadline. Additionally, Public Notices must be submitted in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format. Microsoft Word documents will no longer be accepted. This policy will be strictly enforced.

Archived MEPA Files

Please note that, with some exceptions, the files for all projects that have undergone MEPA review with an EEA# less than 10140 are now housed in the State Archives Building. If you wish to view any of these files, a request must be made in writing or via e-mail to Josie Wixon, Administrative Assistant, of the MEPA Office. Josie's e-mail address is josephine.wixon@state.ma.us. Because deliveries are made only periodically, please allow up to one month in order to retrieve any requested files.

Notices of Project Change

Please note that the Environmental Monitor will now include scanned copies of Notices of Project Change (NPCs) in order to facilitate public review and comment. Although not specifically required by the MEPA regulations, we are now requesting that project proponents provide a separate copy of the NPC form (just as with the ENF) in order to facilitate scanning, as well as two copies of the full NPC submission.