{"AmendmentNumber":"174","ParentBillNumber":"S3064","Bill":null,"Sponsor":{"Id":"JRT1","Name":"Jeffrey Rosario Turco","Type":1,"Details":"https://malegislature.gov/api/GeneralCourts/194/LegislativeMembers/JRT1","ResponseDate":"2026-06-16T14:29:34.3"},"Category":null,"Action":"Consolidated","RollCall":[],"Title":"Updated language","Branch":"House","RedraftNumber":null,"IsFurther":false,"GeneralCourtNumber":194,"Text":"Mr. Turco of Winthrop moves to amend the bill by striking section 33 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-\r\n\r\nSECTION 33. Chapter 91 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 18C the following 2 sections:-\r\nSection 18D. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department may issue a general license and general permit authorizing dredging, fill and structures associated with certain activities and projects, as specified by the department, in tidelands, great ponds, rivers and streams, otherwise subject to individual licensing under sections 12, 12A, 13, 14, 18 and 19, including, but not limited to: (i) marsh restoration and other ecosystem creation or restoration activities, such as vegetative plantings and streambed alteration that could include wads, and pedestrian bridge crossings; (ii) nature based solutions projects; (iii) culvert replacements, including but not limited to those associated with bridges; (iv) great pond drawdowns; (v) dredging and placement of benthic barriers for invasive vegetation removal/harvesting; (vi) aquaculture not eligible for a permit or license under section 10A; (vii) dredging associated with activities not subject to licensing or permitting; (viii) temporary navigational and access impacts that last less than 1 year and are associated with activities not subject to licensing or permitting; (ix) pipelines, cables, conduits, sewers and similar structures installed under flowed tidelands or great ponds that are entirely embedded in the soil and that are installed by horizontal directional drilling or micro tunneling methods; (x) placement of cultch; and (xi) any other activities and projects that the department determines through regulations to be subject to a general license or permit.\r\n(b) Projects beyond any established harbor line shall not be eligible for coverage under a general license or permit under this section unless said project is specifically authorized by law, or, if not so authorized, is limited to dredging activities or a structure or fill that is entirely embedded in the soil and does not in any part occupy or project into such tidewater beyond the harbor line, provided also that the department may at any time require any structure or fill to be removed or relocated if channel changes or alteration demands the same, as required by section 14; and provided that this subsection shall not affect the eligibility of projects in areas without established harbor lines.\r\n(c)\tThe department may consider the cumulative impacts of activities in a geographic area in determining whether a particular project is appropriate for coverage under a general license or permit.\r\n(d)\tThe licensee or permittee shall comply with all general license or permit standards to be issued as regulations by the department and any specific conditions prescribed by the department pursuant to the general license or permit.\r\n\r\n(e)\tA proponent of a project eligible for coverage under a general license or permit under this section shall certify compliance with its terms and conditions to the department and shall pay all applicable fees required by this chapter before beginning construction. The department may perform annual audits to monitor compliance with the general license or permit requirements of this section.\r\n(f)\t(1) Upon or prior to applying for coverage under a general license or permit pursuant to this section, the project proponent shall: (i) submit to the planning board of a city or town where the work is to be performed and to the clerk of said city or town a statement of the proposed use, the location, dimensions and limits and mode of work to be performed; (ii) provide notice to the selectmen of the town or the mayor of the city and the conservation commission of the town or city where the work is to be performed; and (iii) provide public notice in a manner specified by the department by regulation.\r\n(2)\tThe project proponent shall specify by metes, bounds and otherwise the location, dimensions and limits and mode of performing the work and shall submit a plan of the work or structure in its application to the department for coverage under the general license or permit.\r\n(3)\tA department proponent self-certification for the general license for a project shall be void unless, within 60 days after certification, the department proponent self-and the accompanying plan are recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or district in which the work is to be performed. Work or change in use shall not commence until the proponent’s department general license self-certification is recorded and the department has received notification of said recordation. Such recording requirement shall not apply to a certification to the general permit.\r\n(4)\tAssessments for tidewater displacement and occupation of commonwealth tidelands shall be paid by the project proponent in its application for coverage to the department.\r\n(g) Any substantial change in use or substantial structural alteration of a licensed or permitted structure or fill shall require a new application to the department and, for projects seeking new coverage under a general license or general permit, compliance with the requirements of subsection (f). Any unauthorized substantial change in use or unauthorized substantial structural alteration shall render coverage under the general license or permit void. Coverage under the general license or permit granted by the department pursuant to this chapter shall be revocable by the department for noncompliance with the conditions set forth therein. The department shall not revoke coverage under any general license or permit until it has given written notice of the alleged noncompliance to the licensee or permittee and those persons who have filed a written request for such notice with the department and afforded them a reasonable opportunity to correct said noncompliance.\r\n\r\n"}