Massachusetts Government Agencies

• Massachusetts Water Resources Authority responsible for the sewer and
  waterworks system of the MDC. It is also the agency primarily responsible for the Boston Harbor cleanup.
• Department of Conservation and Recreation The Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Water Supply Protection, Watershed Management section (formerly the MDC Division of Watershed Management) manages and protects the drinking water supply watersheds for nearly 2.2 million residents of Massachusetts, primarily in Greater Boston. The source waters of this watershed system, which provides water to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) for distribution, are the Quabbin Reservoir, Ware River, and Wachusett Reservoir and their contributing watersheds. The Division also manages and protects the Sudbury Reservoir system, which is Greater Boston’s reserve drinking water supply.
• Executive Office of Environmental Affairs is the state agency primarily responsible for protecting and conserving natural resources in Massachusetts.
• Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection administers the Commonwealth’s environmental regulatory programs for the protection of water, air, and land resources.
• Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife is the state agency charged with stewardship of all wild amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and freshwater and diadromous fishes in the state, as well as endangered, threatened and special concern species, including native wild plants and invertebrates.
• Division of Wetlands and Waterways Program is responsible for the protection of inland and coastal wetlands, tidelands, great ponds, rivers and floodplains. Administers and enforces the Wetlands Protection Act (Chapter 131 s 40); the Public Waterfront Act (Chapter 91), the Inland and Coastal Wetlands Restrictions Acts; and the 401 Water Quality Certification Program.
• The Massachusetts Historical Commission is the state resources.historic preservation office authorized to identify, evaluate, and protect the Commonwealth’s important historic and archaeological resources.
• The Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program is responsible for the conservation and protection of thousands of species of wildlife and wild plants that are not hunted, fished, trapped or commercially harvested in the state, including those listed as endangered, threatened or of special concern.