Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. It is hereby found that:

(1) The waterfront property known as East Boston Piers 1 through 5 is a component of the port properties owned and operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority pursuant to chapter four hundred and sixty-five of the acts of nineteen hundred and fifty-six.

(2) Title to the piers was vested in the authority in February 1959, at which time the authority assumed responsibility for the operation and maintenance of said facility.

(3) The piers are currently underutilized and require extensive repair before a more productive use can be implemented.

(4) The piers are a potentially valuable resource to the Boston harbor community, the East Boston community, and the commonwealth to facilitate commerce in East Boston, including public access to the harborfront.

(5) Absent public investment, the private sector will be unable to stimulate economic activity sufficient to provide appropriate redevelopment of the piers and abutting land consistent with community and regional needs, to fully utilize potential resources of the piers and harborfront, to prevent further deterioration of the piers, and to be able to do so in a financially self-sustaining manner.

(6) The lobster fishing industry is in need of a permanent facility in Boston harbor in order to continue operation; the East Boston harborfront, including portions of the piers, can accommodate uses for a lobster facility and water front park, which uses are determined to be in furtherance of the interests of the citizens of the commonwealth in accordance with the provisions herein and are further determined to be consistent with the ongoing examination and implementation by the authority of alternate uses for the remaining portions of the piers.

(7) Other sites within the Boston Harbor area may also be suitable for development of lobster pier facilities.

SECTION 2. The following words as used in this act shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-

"Authority", the Massachusetts Port Authority.

"Board", the advisor board, established by section five of this act.

"Commissioner", the commissioner of the department of the metropolitan district commission.

"Department", the department of the metropolitan district commission.

"Division", the division of capital planning and operations.

"East Boston", the East Boston section of the city of Boston.

"PAC", the East Boston Project Advisory Committee, Incorporated established in accordance with an agreement between the authority and the Boston Redevelopment Authority to provide community based advisory assistance to planning activities for revitalization of the piers.

"Piers", Piers 1 through 5 located in the East Boston section of the city of Boston which constitute a part of the port properties as defined in chapter 465 of the acts of 1956 as amended.

"Plan", the plan involving a certain segment of the piers and entitled "Land in the East Boston section of the city of Boston to be developed by the department of the metropolitan district commission and Massachusetts Port Authority for use as a lobster pier and terminal and as a waterfront park", which plan is on file at the authority and the department of environmental management and which, on the effective date of this act, shall be on file at the department of the metropolitan district commission, and which may be amended from time to time by an agreement between the authority and the department.

SECTION 3. The division, on behalf of the commonwealth and in consultation with the department, is hereby authorized and empowered:

(a) to enter into an agreement or agreements with the authority concerning the lease, planning, design, construction, use, operation and maintenance of a lobster facility and park at the piers in general accordance with the plan; and setting out the financial responsibilities of both the department, and the authority relative to these facilities and consistent with the purposes and provisions of this act, provided however that any such agreement shall require that the authority reimburse the commonwealth in the amount of any state funds expended for the planning, design and construction of a lobster facility located at the piers prior to conveying title to said piers or facility to any other party.

(b) to lease for a term which may not exceed twenty-five years, develop, improve, maintain, and operate the lobster pier facilities, including associated facilities, at the piers but only to the extent set forth in the agreement between the division and the authority and subject to the provisions of section seven;

(c) to fix and revise from time to time and to charge and collect such fees, rentals or other charges for the use of said lobster facilities, but only to the extent allowed pursuant to the agreement between the division and the authority; and provided, however, that any such fees, rentals or other charges collected hereunder shall be applied as required under section ten; and provided, further, that any lobster pier facilities constructed in accordance with the provisions of this act shall be available to prospective users of the facilities, upon payment of a reasonable fee, in a nondiscriminatory manner;

(d) to lease for a term which may exceed ten years, acquire upon completion of construction, develop, improve, maintain, and operate the waterfront park, at the piers, including associated buildings and facilities and improvements thereon, as a public park for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public and to the extent set forth in the agreement between the division and the authority and subject to the provisions of section seven;

(e) to apply for and receive funds from any source, public or private, by gift, grant, bequest, or otherwise, and to expend the same on behalf of the department to provide for the design, construction and operation of a lobster pier and associated structures, facilities, and improvements thereon, and a waterfront park, pursuant to and in accordance with the plan and agreement between the division and the authority;

(f) to enter into any other agreements with any person or entity or to otherwise act in order to effectuate the development of lobster facilities at any site other that the piers deemed suitable by the division and located in the Boston harbor area. The division shall have the same powers relative to such a site as those granted under clauses (b), (c) and (e) of this section but without the limitations that apply to agreements with the authority with respect to the piers; and

(g) to do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers conferred by this act; provided, however, that acquisition of any interest in real property pursuant to this act shall be made in accordance with the provisions of sections forty F to forty H, inclusive, of chapter seven of the General Laws and the purposes described in Article XCVII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth; and provided, further, that the deputy commissioner of the division may delegate any authority conferred upon him by this act to the commissioner of the department so long as said delegation conforms with section forty E of said chapter seven.

SECTION 4. In addition to all powers otherwise granted to the authority in act or by law, the authority is hereby authorized and empowered:

(a) to enter into an agreement or agreements with the division concerning the planning, design, construction, use, operation and maintenance of the lobster facility and park at the piers and setting out the financial responsibilities of both the department and the authority relative to these facilities and consistent with the purposes and provisions of this act; provided, however, that any such agreement shall require that the authority reimburse the commonwealth in the amount of any state funds expended for the planning, design and construction of a lobster facility located at the piers prior to conveying title to said piers or facility to any other party;

(b) to lease for a term which may not exceed twenty-five years, design, construct, improve, maintain, and operate the lobster pier facilities, including associated facilities, at the piers, for the use and benefit of persons engaging in the lobstering industry pursuant to a license, lease, use agreement or any other type of authorization that the authority may grant in its discretion;

(c) to fix and revise from time to time and to charge and collect such fees, rentals, or other charges for the use of said piers or associated facilities under the authority's control, provided that any lobster pier facilities constructed in accordance with the provisions of this act shall be available to prospective users of the facilities, upon payment of a reasonable fee, in a nondiscriminatory manner;

(d) to design in consultation with and subject to review by the department, construct, improve, and maintain the waterfront park, including associated buildings, facilities and improvements thereon, at the piers, as a public park for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public;

(e) to apply for and receive funds from any source, public or private, by gift, grant, bequest, or otherwise, and to expend the same on behalf of the authority to provide for the design, construction and operation of a lobster pier and associated structures, facilities and improvements thereon, and a waterfront park, at the piers, pursuant to and in accordance with the plan;

(f) to convey or lease to the division for no consideration, upon completion of construction of the waterfront park, said park at the piers, including all associated buildings and facilities and improvements thereon, which shall be used by the department as a public park for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public. Any such conveyance or lease may be made upon such terms as may be agreed upon by the authority and division subject to the applicable provisions of sections forty F to forty H, inclusive, of chapter seven of the General Laws; and

(g) to do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers conferred by this act.

SECTION 5. (a) Any planning, acquisition, design, construction, demolition, repair or maintenance undertaken pursuant to this act shall be deemed a "building project" pursuant to the provisions of chapters seven and twenty-nine of the General Laws.

(b) To the extent consistent with agreements authorized by sections three and four of this act, the authority may accomplish such work, or a portion thereof, as lead administering agency so called, in consultation with the division and the department, and on any work undertaken by the authority as such lead administering agency, the department may be deemed the using agency, provided that the certifications required by sections twenty-six A and twenty-six B of chapter twenty-nine of the General Laws shall be the responsibility of the deputy commissioner of the division.

(c) The authority, in cooperation with the department, shall prepare a report on the development of the lobster facility and waterfront park pursuant to this act, and shall file said report with the general court for review. At least thirty days before filing said report, however, the authority, in cooperation with the department, shall submit said report to the Inspector General of the commonwealth, and shall annex the comments, if any, of the said inspector general to said report. Said report shall include, but not be limited to (1) a study or program pursuant to the provisions of section seven K of said chapter twenty-nine; (2) a feasibility study relative to the provision of such facilities as are necessary in order for the lobster fishing industry to continue operation in Boston Harbor; (3) a comparison of the suitability, costs, and benefits of alternative sites, if any, for permanent lobster facilities in Boston Harbor; (4) an inventory of any additional facilities which will continue to be necessary for the operation of the lobster industry in Boston harbor, together with cost and market study projections indicating the capacity of the lobster industry to obtain use of such facilities with public subsidy; (5) operation and major maintenance cost projections, for the first ten years of operation of facilities funded by this act; (6) a schedule of anticipated fees, rentals or other charges for the use of lobster facilities funded by this, act for the first ten years of operation, including market study projections demonstrating the capacity of the lobster industry to pay such amounts; (7) a review of all relevant public properties in Boston harbor as they relate to their current or potential marine industrial, commercial, and deep water use; (8) evidence that the development of the lobster terminal and waterfront park, as authorized in this act, will not preclude future maritime industrial or commercial activity; (9) certification that the requirements authorized pursuant to the provisions of sections sixty-one to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty, chapter ninety-one, and section forty of chapter one hundred and thirty-one of the General Laws and all other applicable general or special laws have been satisfied, (10) evidence that the authority has provided for the share of funding for which it is responsible under terms of the agreement authorized in clause (a) of section 4.

SECTION 6. The department and the authority shall continue to coordinate with the PAC and the Boston Redevelopment Authority for the purpose of obtaining the advisory input of the East Boston community and the city of Boston relative to design and environmental review as required under sections sixty-one to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty of the General Laws in the event final agency approval for the lobster facilities and waterfront park is sought at the piers.

The department and the authority shall convene and appoint an advisory board which shall consist of eight members, one of whom shall be the commissioner of the department or his designee, one of whom shall be the executive director of the authority or his designee, one of whom shall be the commissioner of the department of environmental quality engineering or his designee, one of whom shall be the director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority or his designee, one of whom shall be the president of the Boston Harbor Lobstermen's Cooperative or his designee, one of whom shall be a representative of the PAC and two of whom shall be residents of Marginal Street in East Boston and be designated by the PAC. The executive director of the authority or his designee shall serve as chairperson of the board. Upon completion of construction at the piers, the commissioner or his designee and the executive director of the authority or his designee shall serve as co-chairpersons of said board.

Said board shall assist in the planning, design, and construction of the lobster facilities and the waterfront park. Upon completion of construction at the piers said board shall provide consultation to the department and the authority in operating the lobster pier and waterfront park.

The members of said board shall serve without compensation. Said board shall meet from time to time to review the operation and maintenance of said facilities and waterfront park and may advise the department and the authority with the respect to their respective duties as provided in this act. Said board shall also advise the department and the authority concerning relationships between and among users of said pier and waterfront park, residents of the East Boston community, and other development projects on the East Boston Piers.

SECTION 7. The provisions of chapter ninety-one of the General Laws shall apply in full to any development undertaken on the piers, including the projects authorized hereunder. The provisions of sections sixty-one to sixty-two H, inclusive, of chapter thirty of the General Laws shall also apply for all projects proposed at the piers, including the lobster facility and waterfront park to the extent applicable to projects of the authority. For the purposes of compliance with said sections 61 through 62H, the authority shall be deemed to be lead agency project proponent.

SECTION 8. The department is hereby authorized to expend a sum not exceeding fifteen million dollars for the purpose of development of a waterfront park at the piers pursuant to and in accordance with the plan, and lobster pier facilities either at the piers pursuant to and in accordance with the plan or at any alternate site that the department may deem suitable; provided, however, that no funds authorized by this act shall be expended, except for the necessary costs related to the environmental review, preliminary design, and report required by section five unless notice of such expenditures, together with said report is filed with the clerks of the house and senate while the general court is in session and the general court has failed to pass a resolve disapproving of such proposed action and report within the next thirty days after such filing.

SECTION 9. To meet the expenditure necessary in carrying out the provisions of this act, the state treasurer shall, upon request of the governor, issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth, registered or with the interest coupons attached, as he may deem best, to an amount to be specified by the governor from time to time, but not exceeding, in the aggregate, the sum of fifteen million dollars. All bonds issued by the commonwealth, as aforesaid, shall be designated on their face, Boston Harbor Improvements Loan, Act of 1986, and shall be on the serial payment plan for such maximum term of years, not exceeding twenty-five years, as the governor may recommend to the general court pursuant to Section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, the maturities thereof shall be as nearly equal as in the opinion of the state treasurer it is practicable to make them. Said bonds shall bear interest semiannually at such rate or rates as the state treasurer, with the approval of the governor, shall fix. The initial maturity of such bonds shall be payable not later than one year from the date of issue thereof and the entire issue not later than June thirtieth, two thousand and eleven.

SECTION 10. The state treasurer may borrow from time to time on the credit of the commonwealth such sums of money as may be necessary for the purpose of meeting payments authorized by section eight and may issue and renew from time to time notes of the commonwealth therefore, bearing interest payable at such time and at such rates as shall be fixed by the state treasurer. Such notes shall be issued and may be renewed one or more times for such terms, not exceeding one year, as the governor may recommend to the general court in accordance with Section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, but the final maturities of such notes, whether original or renewal, shall not be later than June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and ninety-six.

Notes and interest thereon issued under the authority of this section, notwithstanding any other provisions of this act, shall be general obligations of the commonwealth.

SECTION 11. Any and all revenues received by the authority from the lobster facility and waterfront park at the piers from rentals, fees, or any other charge or source other than grants made for specific purposes relating to the lobster facility and park, shall be deposited with the authority and applied as required by any applicable indenture or indentures of trust to which the authority is subject. To the extent allowable under such trust indenture or indentures the authority shall make annual payments to the commonwealth by deposit to the fund established hereunder of all such revenues, which revenues shall in turn be applied toward the operating and maintenance expenses of the lobster facility and waterfront park and for the establishment of reserve accounts for working capital, maintenance and repairs. `t+1

There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the East Boston Piers Fund and which shall consist of all revenues received by the commonwealth from the authority relative to the lobster facility and waterfront park and all other monies credited or transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to the law. Said funds shall be expended by the department, subject to appropriation and the laws relating to state finances, for the operation, maintenance or other expenses relative to the lobster facility and waterfront park. `t+1

The commissioner shall file with the state treasurer and state auditor an annual report of the fund based upon the status of the fund on June thirtieth of the preceding fiscal year. The fund shall be subject to an annual audit by the state treasurer.