On January 14, 2025, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) issued a new Maine Construction General Permit (“MCGP”). The new permit replaces the prior 2006 MCGP, which expired and had been administratively...more
On January 22, 2025, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced that it would begin accepting applications to fund coastal sand dune restoration and protection projects. Last year, the Legislature...more
Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently published a proposed rule prescribing procedures and criteria for determining Currently Unavoidable Uses (CUU) of intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl...more
While still a newly minted lawyer early in 1977, I had the good fortune to land a job with the then brand-new Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. This coincided with the 1976 election of Jimmy Carter as...more
On February 14, Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Joy Campbell filed a civil lawsuit against Holtec Decommissioning International LLC and its affiliate Holtec Pilgrim LLC (Holtec), alleging the improper handling of...more
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has proposed sweeping and substantive changes to its Chapter 2 rules, which govern permit applications, appeals, permit modifications and suspensions, and other...more
On December 7, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) voted to post to public comment amendments to two Department of Environmental (DEP) sets of rules. The first proposes changes to Chapter 200, Metallic Mineral...more
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is gearing up for a massive regulatory effort aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the residential heating sector and the commercial and industrial...more
The Healey Administration has followed a well-traveled path in appointing Bonnie Heiple, a respected environmental and energy attorney from a large Boston law firm (WilmerHale), as Commissioner of MassDEP. The Patrick...more
On June 6, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officially published the highly-anticipated proposed implementing rules of the state’s Environmental Justice Law, N.J.S.A. 13:1D-157. The statute requires...more
On 11 March 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released for public comment a draft updated Environmental Justice Policy (Draft EJ Policy), which would significantly expand the scope of DEP’s...more
In a process that began under the LePage Administration, and then continued after revisions from the Mills Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally granted a petition from the Maine Department of...more
After commencing a regulatory review effort in February 2021, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has issued proposed amended Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) regulations...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and KB Trading, Inc. (“KB”) entered into a Consent Agreement and Final Order (“CAFO”) addressing an alleged violation of the Clean Air Act regulations addressing: ....more
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation are a major focus of the recently issued Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap (the Roadmap) and the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan (CECP) for 2030. ...more
Environmental justice has received greater attention in 2020, both because it is an election year, but also because of the increased focus on racial inequality since the killing of George Floyd in May 2020. Many states are...more
As discussed previously in Pierce Atwood’s Energy Infrastructure Blog, on June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection...more
Last week’s discussion of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury’s report on alleged failures in enforcement of hydraulic fracturing is worthy of a follow-up. Here, combined into one document, is the Grand Jury’s report, the Department...more
On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the construction of a new compressor station proposed by...more
On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and remanded the matter to the agency for further analysis. The...more
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s latest action creates several statewide environmental standards for three PFAS contaminants: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and...more
On April 24, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) adopted a temporary rule modification that grants extensions to certain site remediation timeframes under the Administrative Requirements for the...more
On April 21, 2020, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued two Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Alerts providing guidance to DEP-regulated entities that may be experiencing compliance...more
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published its final rule on April 6, 2020 approving Category One status for 600 of the 749 miles of New Jersey streams and lakes that it had originally proposed for...more
Environmental agencies have begun considering the impact of COVID-19 on various investigation, site fieldwork and remediation activities. Current examples include guidance issued by the United States Environmental...more