On September 4, 2018, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued an opinion in New England Power Generators Association v. Department of Environmental Protection (Case number SJC-12477; --- N.E.3d ---, 2018 WL...more
On August 21, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule to establish guidelines for states to develop plans to address greenhouse gas emissions from certain existing...more
Q2 was a busy one for carbon markets. On the international front, talks to develop the Paris Rulebook advanced, but progress was slower than hoped. Ontario announced withdrawal from the Western Climate Initiative, while...more
Commercial-scale offshore wind power may soon become a reality in New England. On May 23, Massachusetts electric distribution companies selected Vineyard Wind, a subsidiary of Avangrid Renewables, LLC, as the preferred...more
The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (“LCFS”) Regulation has been embroiled in controversy since its inception. Despite the California Air Resources Board’s (“CARB’s”) continuing difficulty following California Environmental Quality...more
If it isn’t already, water should be on your mind this year. The excitement of Scituate storm surge and coastal flooding aside, the region – and the U.S. as a whole – is facing a slew of legal developments that may change...more
On March 13, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released a guidance memorandum announcing a new policy designed to clarify when a proposed project will trigger New Source Review (“NSR”) under the Clean...more
The first quarter of 2018 has been a busy one for efforts to put a price on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, both in the United States and abroad. In February, the European Union (EU) approved reforms to the EU Emissions...more
Yesterday, a California federal district court dealt a serious blow to two California cities’ climate change lawsuits against several major oil and gas companies. Judge William Alsup issued an order denying the plaintiffs’...more
The Massachusetts Superior Court has ruled that a municipality lacks standing to challenge a special permit issued by a neighboring town when the alleged harm is “too speculative and remote to qualify them as ‘aggrieved...more
Massachusetts could be the first state in the U.S. to enact an economy-wide carbon tax. In January 2017, two bills were proposed in the Massachusetts legislature that would establish a tax on fossil fuels in Massachusetts...more
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is embarking on several studies to better understand offshore resources and species. At the same time, fishing interests have sued BOEM to block an offshore wind lease,...more
The California Supreme Court yesterday refused to take up the appeal in California Chamber of Commerce v. CARB, ending litigation that would have struck down a key element of the California Cap-and-Trade program (the...more
President Trump announced on Thursday his intention to initiate a formal withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement, a global agreement designed to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (“GHG”)...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued its Draft Guidance on EPA’s Section 8(a) Information Gathering Rule on Nanomaterials in Commerce ( “Draft Guidance”) on May 16, 2017. See 82 Fed. Reg. 22452 (May 16,...more
On May 16, 2017, Virginia’s Governor Terry McAuliffe signed Executive Directive 11 (the “Directive”), which directs Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) to develop regulations to reduce greenhouse gas...more
Climate change regulation in California is in the midst of transformation. Last year, the Legislature voted to enact SB 32, extending California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, which were set to expire in 2020,...more
On Thursday, April 06, 2017, California’s Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District upheld California’s Cap-and-Trade Program, the cornerstone of California’s climate change policy, by a 2-1 vote.
In the case,...more
The renewable energy sector ended 2016 and began 2017 under assault. Nevada and other states rolled back net metering laws. Fishing interests brought a lawsuit to block an offshore wind lease and upend BOEM’s offshore wind...more
On March 28, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth” (EO). This latest EO aims to further incentivize domestic energy production, particularly coal, oil...more
On December 16, 2016, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“MassDEP”) released draft rules that would impose new greenhouse gas (“GHG”) requirements on the electric energy sector, gas distribution...more
Off to Court We Go: Petitioners Challenge EPA’s Small MS4 General Permit for Massachusetts -
The storm of debate and criticism over the terms and conditions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) General...more
10/25/2016
/ Best Management Practices ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Global Warming Solutions Act ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
MassDEP ,
NPDES ,
OSHA
Massachusetts has its first significant update of its Public Records Law since the 1970s with promises of swifter responses and real consequences including attorney’s fees for failures to comply.
In August 2015, we...more
More greenhouse gas regulation is on the horizon as a result of the Massachusetts’ top court’s decision in Kain v. MassDEP. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordered the Massachusetts Department of Environmental...more
April is turning into a busy month for solar energy policy in New England: Massachusetts and New Hampshire recently enacted new net metering legislation, while lawmakers in Maine debate a novel proposal that would revamp the...more