What are Advisory Rulings?
Pursuant to Section 5 of the Board’s regulations, a Licensed Site Professional or an attorney acting on his or her behalf may at any time request an Advisory Ruling interpreting one or more of the Board’s Rules of Professional Conduct at 309 CMR 4.00 et seq.
An Advisory Ruling rendered by the Board, until and unless amended or revoked, shall be a defense in a criminal action brought under M.G.L. c. 21A, § § 19 through 19J, and shall be binding on the Board in any subsequent proceedings concerning the LSP who requested the ruling and acted in good faith in reliance thereon, unless material facts were omitted or misstated in the request for the Advisory Ruling.
Advisory Rulings are issued at the Board’s discretion and only upon a written request. The Board may decline to issue an advisory ruling for any reason the Board deems proper. 309 CMR 5.01(3). Any LSP who wishes to file a request for an Advisory Ruling must follow the submission requirements set forth in the Board’s regulations at 309 CMR 5.02.
All Advisory Rulings issued by the Board are public documents and will be available for public inspection at the Board’s offices during normal working hours. In addition, the Board may otherwise publish or circulate Advisory Rulings as it deems proper. At this time, the Board is sending a copy of each Advisory Ruling to the Department of Environmental Protection and to the editor or the LSPA News.
When the Board publishes or circulates an Advisory Ruling, the name of the person requesting an Advisory Ruling and any other identifying information will not be included unless the person who requested the ruling consents to such inclusion in writing.
In response to some Advisory Ruling requests, the Board has declined to issue a formal Advisory Ruling but has responded to the requestor with a letter offering informal guidance.