Gas leaks policies and data - Middlesex County (Somerville City Clerk)

Beryl Lipton filed this request with the Somerville City Clerk of Somerville, MA.
Status
Completed

Communications

From: Beryl Lipton

To Whom It May Concern:

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

Any and all directive materials and data regarding the location and repair of gas leaks within this municipality.

Please include any ordinances, policies, procedures, or related materials regarding:

• the necessity of gas companies to report existing gas leaks to municipal officials
• the necessity of gas companies to survey areas for the existence of gas leaks
• the necessity of gas companies to repair known gas leaks

Please also include any data, statistics, maps, and other materials detailing the location and severity of known gas leaks in the areas under the jurisdiction of this municipality. Please include any data acquired from the Department of Public Utilities regarding gas leaks within this municipality.

Please include all requests from gas companies for construction and digging related to gas leaks.

Please include all requests for repair made by this municipality to companies regarding gas leaks. Please also provide all responses.

Please provide all data, statistics, maps, and other materials regarding the decay or destruction of trees and other foliage in relation to the presence of gas leaks.

If further clarification is necessary, please contact the MuckRock office at 617-299-1832.

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 there are fees, 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,

Beryl Lipton

From: Jason Grossfield

Dear Ms. Lipton:

This e-mail acknowledges receipt of your below public records request. Your request has been forwarded to this department for response. On behalf of the Record Custodians, after review of your request, I am writing to respond to your multi-part request as follows:

No responsive records are maintained as to your request, except for the portion of your request for “all requests from gas companies for construction and digging related to gas leaks”. As to this part of your request, the Record Custodian maintains an excel spreadsheet of road opening permits relating to gas leaks. Please let me know if you would like to obtain a copy of this portion of the spreadsheet and/or the road opening permit itself, and if this is intended to cover a specific time period.

Sincerely,

Jason D. Grossfield
Assistant City Solicitor
City of Somerville
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
Phone: (617) 625-6600, ext. 4408
Fax: (617) 776-8847
E-Mail: jgrossfield@somervillema.gov<mailto:jgrossfield@somervillema.gov>
This message and any attached documents contain information which may be confidential, subject to privilege or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. However, when responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that most email is public record and therefore cannot be kept confidential. These materials are intended only for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission, you are hereby notified that any distribution, disclosure, printing, copying, storage, modification or the taking of any action in reliance upon this transmission is strictly prohibited. Delivery of this message to any person other than the intended recipient shall not compromise or waive such confidentiality, privilege or exemption from disclosure as to this communication. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender and delete the message from your system. Thank you.

From: Beryl Lipton

Hello Mr. Grossfield,

I would be very interested to receive the spreadsheet; I can follow up on individual permits after that. What period does the spreadsheet cover?

Thanks so much,
Beryl

From: Jason Grossfield

Dear Ms. Lipton: Thank you for your e-mail. The City maintains separate spreadsheets by year, each with months on tabs, dating back to 2013. Please advise as to what time period you seek.

Thank you,

Jason D. Grossfield
Assistant City Solicitor
City of Somerville
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
Phone: (617) 625-6600, ext. 4408
Fax: (617) 776-8847
E-Mail: jgrossfield@somervillema.gov<mailto:jgrossfield@somervillema.gov>
This message and any attached documents contain information which may be confidential, subject to privilege or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. However, when responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that most email is public record and therefore cannot be kept confidential. These materials are intended only for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission, you are hereby notified that any distribution, disclosure, printing, copying, storage, modification or the taking of any action in reliance upon this transmission is strictly prohibited. Delivery of this message to any person other than the intended recipient shall not compromise or waive such confidentiality, privilege or exemption from disclosure as to this communication. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender and delete the message from your system. Thank you.

From: Beryl Lipton

Hello Mr. Grossfield,

Would it be possible to simply receive the information dating back to January 1, 2013?

Thanks so much,
Beryl

From: Jason Grossfield

Dear Ms. Lipton: In response to your request below, the records custodian has commenced processing the records relative to gas leaks, and anticipates completing the work by early next week. Thank you.

Jason D. Grossfield
Assistant City Solicitor
City of Somerville
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
Phone: (617) 625-6600, ext. 4408
Fax: (617) 776-8847
E-Mail: jgrossfield@somervillema.gov<mailto:jgrossfield@somervillema.gov>
This message and any attached documents contain information which may be confidential, subject to privilege or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. However, when responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that most email is public record and therefore cannot be kept confidential. These materials are intended only for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission, you are hereby notified that any distribution, disclosure, printing, copying, storage, modification or the taking of any action in reliance upon this transmission is strictly prohibited. Delivery of this message to any person other than the intended recipient shall not compromise or waive such confidentiality, privilege or exemption from disclosure as to this communication. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender and delete the message from your system. Thank you.

From: Jason Grossfield

Dear Ms. Lipton: Attached is the requested record. This completes the City’s response to your request.

Respectfully,

Jason D. Grossfield
Assistant City Solicitor
City of Somerville
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
Phone: (617) 625-6600, ext. 4408
Fax: (617) 776-8847
E-Mail: jgrossfield@somervillema.gov<mailto:jgrossfield@somervillema.gov>
This message and any attached documents contain information which may be confidential, subject to privilege or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. However, when responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that most email is public record and therefore cannot be kept confidential. These materials are intended only for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission, you are hereby notified that any distribution, disclosure, printing, copying, storage, modification or the taking of any action in reliance upon this transmission is strictly prohibited. Delivery of this message to any person other than the intended recipient shall not compromise or waive such confidentiality, privilege or exemption from disclosure as to this communication. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender and delete the message from your system. Thank you.

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