{"data":{"id":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-253-2","jurisdiction":"us-ma","citation":"Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 253, § 2","heading":"Dams; injury to existing mill; prohibition","body":"Section 2. Such dam shall not be erected to the injury of a mill lawfully existing above or below it on the same stream, nor to the injury of a mill site on the same stream on which a mill or mill dam has been lawfully erected and used, unless the right to maintain a mill on such last mentioned site has been lost by abandonment or otherwise; nor shall a mill dam be erected or raised to the injury of any such mill site which has been occupied as such by the owner thereof, if, within a reasonable time after commencing such occupation, he completes and puts in operation a mill for the working of which the water of such stream is applied; nor shall a mill or dam be placed on the land of any person without such grant, conveyance or authority from the owner as would be necessary to convey land.","path":["Part III","Title IV","Chapter 253"],"source_url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleIV/Chapter253/Section2","current_through":"amendments passed before May 31, 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-17T05:25:02Z","sha256":"47e41d4c054a9944dd3c84e3939acacfdd4ad64098331fb901ffffd6ec6553cb","source_id":"us-ma","stale":false,"prev":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-253-1","next":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-253-3"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}