2021 Massachusetts General Laws
Part I - Administration of the Government
Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth
Chapter 21 - Department of Environmental Management
Section 67 - System Interruption Devices Required for Newly Installed or Renovated Irrigation Systems to Override and Suspend Programmed Operation of Irrigation System During Periods of Sufficient Moisture; Regulations; Inapplicable to Systems Operating on Agricultural Lands
Section 67. (a) For the purposes of this section, ''irrigation system'' shall mean any assemblage of components, materials or special equipment, which are constructed and installed underground or on the surface, for controlled dispersion of water from any safe and suitable source for the purpose of irrigating landscape vegetation or the control of dust and erosion on landscaped areas and shall include integral pumping systems and required wiring within that system and connections to a public or private water supply system; provided, however, that an irrigation system shall not include plumbing, as defined in section 1 of chapter 142, or a plumbing system.
(b) The department of environmental protection shall promulgate regulations that require system interruption devices for newly installed or renovated irrigation systems to override and suspend the programmed operation of the irrigation system during periods of sufficient moisture. The department shall specify the criteria for the system interruption devices. The regulations shall: (i) be in accordance with generally accepted standards of irrigation practice; (ii) include a requirement that system interruption devices be inspected at least every 3 years by an irrigation contractor certified and in good standing with a nationally recognized association; and (iii) require each irrigation contractor to complete and submit documentation, along with a reasonable fee, which shall reflect the costs of accepting and processing such documentation, to the municipality for each newly installed or renovated irrigation system within the municipality. The department may impose reasonable fines on an irrigation contractor for a violation of the regulations promulgated under this section.
(c) This section shall not apply to systems operating on agricultural lands.
