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The Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution
The Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution is responsible for receiving all adjudicatory appeals of the Department’s permitting and enforcement decisions, and administers an initial Prescreening Program for these appeals. Prescreening is performed by a Presiding Officer and involves an initial review of appeals for procedural and substantive sufficiency. After that review, the Presiding Officer may order the parties to attend a conference to explore the possibility of settlement and discuss the potential use of alternative dispute resolution methods with the parties. The Presiding Officer may also order the parties make more definite statements in support of their positions and decide certain preliminary motions to define or resolve issues in an appeal, or dismiss a claim for mootness, lack of jurisdiction, lack of prosecution. Prescreening is designed to take no longer than ninety days after the appeal is filed. Unresolved cases after Prescreening is completed are transferred to the Division of Administrative Law Appeals within the Executive Office of Administration and Finance for further proceedings pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A.
The Office also leads the Department’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program and ADR Committee, coordinating dispute resolution services for adjudicatory appeal cases and other matters for the agency. Through the agency’s ADR Committee, the Office provides outreach and training for department staff to increase the agency’s capacity to use various dispute resolution tools, including mediation, fact-finding and negotiation. |
from the commissioner
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