The Mystic River Watershed Association, along with the Friends of the Malden River, Conservation Law Foundation and the Cities of Everett, Malden and Medford continue to push for public access on National Grid’s property along the Malden River. National Grid has spent the past five years fighting a requirement from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MA-DEP) to provide a pathway for the public to access the shoreline.
In urban areas like Everett, greenspace is precious. In fact, access to the waterfront areas are even more precious. This section of waterfront on National Grid property is centered in the Malden River Vision plan—that will result in 3.5 miles of continuous paths along this river that has until recently been largely ignored.
Residents in Everett, Malden and Medford have a right to access the shoreline. This right is afforded by the Chapter 91 regulations that requires property owners to provide public access if their land is ‘filled tideland’.
It was back on August 10, 2018 the DEP issued a Chapter 91 license condition that National Grid build and maintain a 10-foot wide half-mile waterfront path along its property within two years. This condition followed a public hearing held in fall 2016 in which dozens of city and elected officials, non-profit organizations and residents spoke up in support of public access along the Malden River at the National Grid site.
National Grid promptly appealed DEP’s Written Determination in 2018 initiating adjudicatory proceedings before the Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution (“OADR”). The appeal was subsequently stayed for about one year at the request of all parties. During the stay, National Grid agreed to pay for an engineering and concept design study to understand the capital cost as well as technical feasibility of the path project. This study concluded that there were no security or technical concerns that would impede the construction of this path. In a recent move, National Grid asked to withdraw its public license application. The issues presented are now before the Commissioner of MA-DEP.
Since its original siting on the Malden River, National Grid has never provided any access consistent with the Chapter 91 program despite millions of dollars of investment to upgrade infrastructure on the site. It is an especially egregious affront as National Grid is non-water dependent use.
Access the waterfront is long overdue to the residents of these cities. National Grid is a member of this community - and yet, when presented with the opportunity of something they can do for the community - they’ve decided to fight it. National Grid: do the right thing, construct a path on the river, and build a bridge with your community.
Read the recent article in the Boston Globe by Jon Chesto on May 22, 2022.
Read MyRWA’s letter to Department of Environment Protection (DEP).
