Massachusetts’ status as one of only four states not in control of the Clean Water Act program within its boundaries may change as the state begins the process of applying to U.S. EPA for delegation of that program. ...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
Appeals of major development projects of 25 or more dwelling units or 25,000 square feet or more of gross floor area cannot go to the Massachusetts Housing Court, as jurisdiction for these projects is exclusively with the...more
Seeking 80 percent of remedial costs from each of two potentially responsible parties and “inflexibility” in pre-litigation negotiations are sufficiently unreasonable to trigger attorneys’ fees under the Massachusetts cleanup...more
The Massachusetts Appeals Court has again upheld the validity of a local conservation commission’s ruling under a local wetlands bylaw notwithstanding that the commission’s partial reliance on the State Wetland Protection Act...more
The battle over phosphorous in the Charles River and its resultant toxic algae blooms is heating up again, with EPA finalizing its MS4 permit targeting municipalities and their stormwater runoff into the river and...more
In two companion decisions released in October, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit, considered the extent to which federal preemption of state and local laws applies to railroad operations involving the...more
In a recent ruling sure to embolden municipalities seeking to block affordable housing projects, the Massachusetts Appeals Court revoked the approval of a Comprehensive Permit issued under the Anti-Snob Zoning Act, G.L....more
The combined efforts of Massachusetts’ highest court, its legislature, and the Governor’s office are clarifying and modernizing Massachusetts public records law, which is considered by some to be one of the weakest in the...more
Municipalities long unable to achieve ten percent affordable housing are now turning more frequently to a different Safe Harbor to block development of low and moderate income housing – compliance with the “General Land Area...more
Dividing up the “traditional New England family compound” has a host of societal implications and land use complications that were on display in the Supreme Judicial Court’s recent decision in Palitz v. Zoning Board of...more
Just a week after being sworn in, Governor Charlie Baker imposed a “regulatory pause” on new state regulations with certain exceptions. The temporary ban will last through March 31. ...more
Closing another loophole in law of nonconforming structures and uses, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has held that no zoning relief is required to tear down and reconstruct a nonconforming use that is dimensionally...more
EPA Region 1 has extended the deadline for the submission of comments to February 21, 2015 in response to the Draft General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems in Massachusetts...more
Boston Colleges Take Brownfields Tax Credit Fight to Court -
Three Boston-area colleges sued the Massachusetts Department of Revenue in August claiming that “clarifying” changes made to the Massachusetts Brownfields Tax...more
6/20/2014
/ Brownfield Properties ,
Cleanup Doctrine ,
Combustible Dust ,
Department of Environmental Protection ,
Endangered Species ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
NEPA ,
OSHA ,
Permits ,
Tax Credits ,
Variances ,
Water Resources Development Act