Nstar Herbicide Spraying • MuckRock

18 Communications
18 Files

Communications

From: Nicole Bousquet

03/16/2015

Subject: None

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:

Documents created or modified by the Department of Agricultural Resources referencing Nstar’s Integrated Vegetation Management Program, as well as communications between the Department of Agricultural Resources and Nstar mentioning Nstar’s Integrated Vegetation Management Program, herbicides, or Garlon 4, between 2011 and 2015.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Nicole Bousquet

From: Szocik, Carol (AGR)

03/30/2015

Subject: None

Good Afternoon Ms. Bousquet,

The Department is in receipt of your public records request. I am working with our staff to gather the appropriate records and to provide an estimate as to the potential cost for your request. The records we have would include the Vegetation Management Plans, inspections reports done by MDAR, complaints, and many emails for time period of 2011 to 2015. Some of the information you are requesting is available on our website at this address: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/agr/pesticides/vegetation-management-and-yearly-operation-plans.html. There are the Yearly Operational Plans from 2011 to 2015 and one of the Vegetation Management Plans for the period of 2013-2017.

We are still working on how many inspections reports were done for this period and the number of emails. There is a potential for a high quantity of records involved. Inspection reports can range from 10 pages plus. The Vegetation Management Plan prior to 2013 is approximately 60 pages.

The cost for records is $0.20 per page plus the search and segregation time to look and review the records you are requesting which is billed at $17.92 per hour.

If you would like to narrow your request or would like to be more specific in your request, please let me know. We will get back to you once I have an estimate of the number of pages involved. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you for your assistance.

Carol A. Szocik
Paralegal
Department of Agricultural Resources
251 Causeway Street, Suite 500
Boston, MA 02114
617-626-1718 phone
617-626-1850 fax
carol.szocik@state.ma.us
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From: MuckRock.com

04/14/2015

Subject: None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 5, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: Szocik, Carol (AGR)

04/14/2015

Subject: None

Good Morning Ms. Bousquet,
Could you please give me a call regarding your request? My number is 617-626-1718. Thank you for your assistance.

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From: Szocik, Carol (AGR)

04/15/2015

Subject: None

Good Afternoon Ms. Bousquet,

Our Department is still gathering the records regarding your request. Can you tell me if you are looking for Nstar records regarding the Cape Cod area? Thank you for your assistance.

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From: Szocik, Carol (AGR)

04/21/2015

Subject: None

Good Afternoon Ms. Bousquet,
I am still waiting for staff to provide me with some of the records and the staff person is currently on vacation until the end of the month. Once I receive the records, I will need to review them. Since there us the potential for a lot of records, it may take a few more weeks. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Thank you for your assistance.

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From: Szocik, Carol (AGR)

04/27/2015

Subject: None

Good Afternoon Ms. Bousquet,

I have a question regarding your request for Nstar herbicide spraying. Could you tell me if you are looking for the Cape Cod area records only? Before I start reviewing the records, this could be a time saver if you have a particular area you are looking for records on.

Please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you for your assistance.

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From: Nicole Bousquet

04/29/2015

Subject: None

I am looking for records pertaining specifically to Cape Cod. Thank you for clarifying.

Nicole Bousquet

From: MuckRock.com

05/29/2015

Subject: None

To Whom It May Concern:

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

06/15/2015

Subject: None

To Whom It May Concern:

Thank you for your help.

From: Szocik, Carol (AGR)

06/15/2015

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request: Nstar Herbicide Spraying

Good Morning Ms. Bousquet,
I am in the process of reviewing the records and hope to have them ready soon. I cannot give you a specific time, as I am working on a lot of requests simultaneously. I would hope it would be within 2 weeks. Please let me know if you have any questions.

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From: MuckRock.com

06/30/2015

Subject: None

To Whom It May Concern:

Thank you for your help.

From: Szocik, Carol (AGR)

07/01/2015

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request: Nstar Herbicide Spraying

Good Morning Ms. Bousquet,
I am reviewing the records and hope to have them to you soon.

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From: MuckRock.com

07/16/2015

Subject: None

To Whom It May Concern:

Thank you for your help.

From: Szocik, Carol (AGR)

07/16/2015

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request: Nstar Herbicide Spraying

Good Morning Ms. Bousquet,

The Department is almost finished with your request and hope to have it to you soon.

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From: Szocik, Carol (AGR)

07/16/2015

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request: Nstar Herbicide Spraying

Good Afternoon Ms. Bousquet,

The Department has your records request ready. The records are available electronically and take up too much room to be able to send them through an email. We use an application on-line called “We Transfer”. Can I send them to you this way? You would get an email telling you the files are ready to be downloaded.

Please let me know if this method of transmission is acceptable. Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,