Massachusetts § 62J - Opportunities for public to assess impact of proposed projects; impact on environmental justice population; measures to improve public participation; meaning of designated geographic area

§ 62J. Opportunities for public to assess impact of proposed projects; impact on environmental justice population; measures to improve public participation; meaning of designated geographic area

Section 62J. To enable the public to assess the impact of proposed projects that affect their environment, health and safety through the project review process established under sections 61 through 62J, inclusive, the secretary shall provide opportunities for meaningful public involvement.

For any proposed project that requires the filing of an environmental notification form, the proponent of the project shall indicate on the document whether an environmental justice population that lacks English language proficiency within a designated geographical area is reasonably likely to be affected negatively by the project.

If a proposed project affects an environmental justice population, the secretary shall require additional measures to improve public participation by the environmental justice population. Such measures shall include, as appropriate: (i) making public notices, environmental notification forms, environmental impact reports, and other key documents related to the secretary's review and decisions of a project review available in English and any other language spoken by a significant number of the affected environmental justice population; (ii) providing translation services at public meetings for a significant portion of an affected environmental justice population that lacks English proficiency in the project's designated geographic area; (iii) requiring public meetings be held in accessible locations that are near public transportation; (iv) providing appropriate information about the project review procedure for the proposed project; and (v) where feasible, establishing a local repository for project review documents, notices and decisions.

The secretary of energy and environmental affairs may require such additional measures as appropriate for projects that do not require the filing of an environmental notification form pursuant to section 62A, or to improve participation opportunities for persons in an environmental justice population that lack English language proficiency and do not speak a dominant language spoken by such population.

As used in this section, the term designated geographic area shall mean an environmental justice population located within a distance of 1 mile of a project, unless the project affects air quality then the distance from such project shall be increased to within 5 miles of an environmental justice population.