Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 82A, § 2

Each city, town or public agency shall designate 1 board or officer to issue permits for the excavation of trenches on privately owned land and for the excavation of a public way of a city or town. The permits, when issued, shall include a summary of sections 40 to 40D, inclusive, of chapter 82 and a summary of regulations promulgated by the office of public safety and inspections of the division of occupational licensure relative to chapter 146. No person shall, except in an emergency, contract for the making of or make a trench, in any public way, public property, or privately owned land until a permit is obtained from the appropriately designated person within the city, town, or public agency that is authorized to issue the permit. The person shall notify the local permitting authority of the exact location of the trench. A person making application for a trench excavation permit shall produce a certificate of insurance with general liability coverage of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per claim or provide evidence of self-insurance in equal amounts. The local permitting authority may charge a reasonable fee to cover the administrative costs of the trench excavation permitting process incurred by the municipality in connection with the review and processing of the permits; but, a gas company, as defined in section 1 of chapter 164, or any corporation that is subject to the provisions of chapter 165, 166 or 166A which has already paid a fee in order to attain a permit to excavate a public way of a city or town shall not be responsible for paying an additional fee for the same excavation.