SENATE, No. 7

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.

AN ACT RELATING TO THE RAILTOAD DEPOT CONTAMINATION REMEDIATION AND REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN THE CITY OF NEW BEDFORD

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. The General Court hereby finds and declares that there exists in the city of New Bedford a contaminated, unused, underused and underdeveloped site that comprises the 32 acres, more or less, known as the so-called New Bedford Railroad Depot, and that the city, together with certain other parties, has been named a responsible party by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the contamination at said Railroad Depot Site; that the Railroad Depot site and its contamination constitutes an environmental and economic liability to the city and constitutes a menace, injurious and inimical to the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the city and the commonwealth; that the Railroad Depot site substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of the city and retards the economic and environmental well-being of the commonwealth; that the Railroad Depot site decreases the value of private investments in the city and threatens the sources of the city’s public revenue derived from such site; that the remediation and redevelopment of the Railroad Depot site in accordance with locally approved community, economic and environmental development, capital improvement or other plans for the elimination of such conditions and the prevention of their recurrence is necessary to retain human health, safety or welfare and the environment of the city, attract new commercial or industrial development and promote the sound and orderly growth of the city; that the menace and existence of such contaminated, unused, underused, undeveloped or underdeveloped Railroad Depot site makes persons unwilling or unable to do business at such site in the city and must be dealt with effectively; that the contamination remediation and redevelopment of the Railroad Depot site will result in significant positive economic and environmental and physical impacts in the city; that to prevent a recurrence of such conditions at the Railroad Depot site, the remediation of the contamination at such site, the improvement of such site for commercial or industrial uses or for necessary public facilities at such site, the disposition of property for redevelopment incidental to the foregoing, the exercise of the powers of the city, the New Bedford Redevelopment Authority and the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission, or any other public or private body in connection therewith, are public uses and purposes for which public money may be expended; and that the remediation, acquisition, development, rehabilitation, planning, construction, clearance, and rebuilding of such unused, underused, contaminated, substandard and undeveloped areas for commercial, industrial, institutional or public facility purposes by the city, the New Bedford Redevelopment Authority and the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission, are public benefits for which public funds may be expended for the good and welfare of the city and the commonwealth.

SECTION 2. In furtherance of the public purposes enumerated in section 1 of this act, the city and the New Bedford Redevelopment Authority are each hereby authorized to construct an engineered environmental barrier at the Railroad Depot site, construct a railyard at such site, reconstruct mainline tracks, turn-around tracks, lead tracks and industrial tracks at such site, work in partnership with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and to construct a rail spur to transport dewatered sediments from the New Bedford Harbor across such site; the city and the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission are each hereby authorized to construct a ferry terminal in the vicinity of said site and parking lot at said site; and the city, the New Bedford Redevelopment Authority and the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission are each hereby authorized to redevelop any portion of such site into one or more other transportation facilities, into other necessary public facilities or into commercial or industrial uses; all such components collectively referred to as the Railroad Depot project.  In order to carry out the portions of the Railroad Depot project which they are authorized to carry out, the city, the New Bedford Redevelopment Authority and the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission are hereby empowered to:

(1) develop, construct, improve, enlarge, reconstruct, alter, demolish and remediate any portion of such project site and facilities;
(2) sell, convey, acquire, mortgage, lease, transfer, exchange or otherwise dispose of, any property, both real and personal, or any interest therein, necessary or desirable for such project;
(3) operate and maintain any portion of such project;
(4) enter into any agreements necessary or desirable to carry out such project; and
(5) do all acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes enumerated in this act.  All agreements entered into by the city, the New Bedford Redevelopment Authority or the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission to carry out any portion of the Railroad Depot project authorized pursuant to this section and all costs incurred or paid in connection with such project, are hereby ratified, validated and confirmed in all respects.  All actions taken by the New Bedford Redevelopment Authority and by the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission to carry out the Railroad Depot project following the effective date of this act shall be subject to the approval of the mayor of the city and the mayor of the city may require, in his or her sole discretion, that the New Bedford Redevelopment Authority or the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission transfer control of and responsibility for all or any portion of the Railroad Depot project to the city, assign any agreements related thereto to the city, provide all records related thereto to the city and otherwise cooperate with the city in connection with any such transfers of control and responsibility.

SECTION 3. The city of New Bedford is authorized to borrow from time to time such sums of money as may be necessary, not to exceed the aggregate amount of $12,470,000, for the purpose of paying the costs of all or any portion of the Railroad Depot project authorized pursuant to section 2 of this act incurred by the city, the New Bedford Redevelopment Authority or the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission, or to reimburse the city for the payment of any such costs incurred prior to the effective date of this act, and for issuance costs and other expenses necessary or incidental thereto.  Bonds or notes issued under this act may be issued as qualified bonds or notes under chapter 44A without the need for approval by the municipal finance oversight board, shall be issued for a term not to exceed 30 years from their date of issue, and the maturities of any bonds issued by the city under this act either shall be arranged so that for each issue the annual combined payments of principal and interest payable in each year, commencing with the first year in which a principal payment is required, shall be as nearly equal as practicable in the opinion of the city treasurer, or shall be arranged in accordance with a schedule providing for a more rapid amortization of principal.  Bonds or notes issued under this act shall be outside the limit of indebtedness prescribed in section 10 of chapter 44, and, except as otherwise provided in this act, shall be subject to the applicable provisions of said chapter 44.

SECTION 4. The order of the New Bedford city council approved by the mayor on March 17, 2003, as amended by the orders of the city council approved by the mayor on June 25, 2004 and June 22, 2006, authorizing the city to issue bonds and notes for the costs of the Railroad Depot project authorized pursuant to section 2 of this act is hereby ratified, validated and confirmed in all respects.

SECTION 5. The New Bedford Harbor Development Commission shall reimburse the city of New Bedford for any costs of the Railroad Depot project incurred by the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission and paid by the city that are authorized pursuant to section 2 of this act in an aggregate amount not exceeding $600,000 from any net income of said Commission to the same extent and in the same manner as provided in section 6 of chapter 762 of the acts of 1957, as amended, with respect to debt service on bonds or notes of the city issued under said act; provided, however, that the amount of such costs so reimbursed by said Commission shall not exceed the sum of $60,000 in any fiscal year of said Commission.

SECTION 6. The city of New Bedford is authorized to initiate actions to recover any and all costs associated with the Railroad Depot project authorized pursuant to this act from any other party or parties responsible for the contamination of such project, and, at the request of any other public or quasi-public entities responsible for such contamination, the City is authorized to act as the agent of any such entity in any such actions.  The recovery of such costs pursuant to this act from said potentially responsible parties shall not foreclose the city or any such other public or quasi-public entity from any other actions allowed by law against such responsible partiesNothing in this act shall affect the rights and powers of the Commonwealth or the department of environmental protection under the provisions of chapter 21E in connection with the Railroad Depot project.

SECTION 7. This act shall take effect upon its passage.