Environmental

Underground storage tanks (USTs) containing petroleum products are regulated in Massachusetts primarily because of the risk of:

AFire and explosion only

BSoil and groundwater contamination from leaks✓ Correct

CStructural damage to nearby foundations

DAir pollution from vapors

Explanation

Leaking underground storage tanks can contaminate soil and groundwater, posing serious environmental and human health risks. Massachusetts has strict UST regulations and requires cleanup of contaminated sites.

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Zoning

Local government regulations that control land use by dividing areas into zones specifying permitted uses, building sizes, and densities.

Variance

Official permission to use land in a way that does not conform to the applicable zoning ordinance, granted by a zoning board when strict enforcement would cause undue hardship.

Eminent Domain

The power of government to take private property for public use, with the requirement to pay the owner just compensation.

Adverse Possession

A doctrine by which a person can gain legal title to another's land by openly, continuously, and adversely occupying it for a statutory period.