MassDEP Penalizes Independence Wharf LLC $21,280
for Public Access Violations at Historic Boston Tea Party Site

Independence Wharf LLC has agreed to implement public access agreements as stipulated in the waterfront license for 470 Atlantic Avenue in Boston, a site of historic significance where early American settlers staged the Boston Tea Party in 1773. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) uncovered the violations in May of 2008 during an inspection of the property, which includes a 14-story structure and adjacent water sheet.

“The current property owners recognize they have a responsibility to provide and, in fact encourage, the general public to access this historic Boston site,” said MassDEP Assistant Commissioner Glenn Haas. “A renewed commitment on their part is necessary to open this site up to the general public, in a way that provides a public benefit for the city, its residents and our visitors.”

In 2001, Independence Wharf LLC obtained its current waterfront license under Chapter 91 of state law, which covers waterfront structures on filled tidelands. MassDEP found, however, that the licensee failed to implement all the required conditions, including: 

* A required ground floor space of 2,856 square feet that was to be devoted to a facility of public accommodation had not been established.
* The public space on the 14th floor of the structure – an exterior observation deck and an indoor viewing area – did not have any posted signage designating the spaces as public space, as required.
* Harborwalk signage outside the building encouraging public patronage, with posted hours, had not been installed.
* The $5,000 occupation fee which the owners had negotiated at license issuance to pay on an annual basis to the Commonwealth for 20 years had not been paid since 2001 resulting in $35,000 in missed license fees.
Under the terms of a consent order signed with MassDEP, Independence Wharf LLC has agreed to a penalty of $21,280 for the violations and to pay the entire missed license fees of $35,000.

In addition, the license holder also agreed to make the following changes to improve public access:
* Provide a publicly-accessible interior space on the 14th floor of the observation deck with signs posted directing the public to this area, and to do so within 30 days.
* Submit a plan within 90 days detailing how it will develop on the interior ground floor as stipulated in its 2001 license, a facility of public accommodation of 2,856 square feet. Such facility will be in operation within six months.

The general purpose of Chapter 91 originates from the Colonial Ordinances of 1641-47 and subsequent statutes and case law of Massachusetts, reading in part: "to protect and promote the public's interest in tidelands, Great Ponds and non-tidal rivers and streams in accordance with the public trust doctrine, as established by common law.”  
 
The two major principles of the public trust doctrine are: "the public had fundamental rights and interest in the natural resources such as the air, the sea, and the shore, and the state, as trustee of the public interest, has a duty to preserve and enhance these natural resources and the public's right to use them."

For more information on Chapter 91, visit www.mass.gov/dep/water/resources/faqs03.htm .

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