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Law and the Environment

Our blog provides perspective on developments in environmental law and policy - which developments may matter to you, and how and why they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, this blog offers commentary on current issues that are important to your business.

Can the Administration Persuade States Not to Bring Climate Litigation?
Blog January 30, 2026
Last year, the United States sued the State of Michigan, seeking a preemptive court order preventing Michigan from filing suit against firms in the “fossil fuel industry”…
The Prospects For Climate Change Litigation Against the United States Government Continue to Dim
Blog October 21, 2025
Last year, when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a mandamus petition and ordered that the complaint in Juliana v. United States be dismissed for the second time, I acknowledged that I had become more skeptical about the prospects for citizens’ climate litigation…
The Funding Games: America’s Clean Energy and Infrastructure Funding Under the Trump Administration
Blog February 14, 2025
As we warned in a January 29 client alert, President Trump’s Executive Orders and the subsequent Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum ordering federal agencies to “temporarily pause” any and all activities related to funding disbursements and obligations were “just the beginning…
Montana Protects a Constitutional Right to a Stable Climate:  Will Any Other States Follow Suit?
Blog December 19, 2024
The Montana Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling in favor of plaintiffs in a climate case based on certain provisions of the Montana constitution…
Supreme Court Decision Limits Ability to Curb Ozone and Other Air Emissions
Blog June 28, 2024
The Supreme Court has released its opinion in Ohio v. EPA, a case involving whether the federal government’s “good neighbor” ozone regulations were properly promulgated. This decision impacts the authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state regulators, and those who breathe air in non-attainment areas…
Another NEPA Obstacle To Coal Mining
Blog February 17, 2023
Last week, Judge Donald Malloy vacated the Environmental Assessment for the Bull Mountains Mine No. 1 in central Montana.  Judge Malloy had already vacated the EA once; when the 9th Circuit affirmed Judge Malloy's decision that the EA violated NEPA, it remanded the case for new findings as to whether vacatur would be appropriate.  The default rule is that when agency action has been struck down…
Our Environmental Statutes Are Broken
Blog November 30, 2022
Last week, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a writ of mandamus to the Center for Biological Diversity, imposing a deadline on EPA to issue an “effects determination” concerning the potential impacts of the pesticide cyantraniliprole. This effects determination was supposed to be issued before EPA registered the pesticide.  Unfortunately, EPA did not do so.  Moreover, EPA acknowledged that it routinely registered pesticides without performing the required effects determination…
NEPA Is Still Going to Pose an Obstacle to Leasing Public Lands for Fossil Fuel Extraction
Blog August 12, 2022
Earlier this month, Chief Judge Brian Morris made clear that NEPA remains a powerful weapon against the leasing of public lands for fossil fuel extraction.  It's déjà vu all over again for the projects at issue.  In 2018, Judge Morris ruled that two resource management plans (RMPs) prepared by the Bureau of Land Management concerning potential expansions of coal mines in Wyoming and Montana violated NEPA for a variety of reasons…
Sometimes the Law Really Is Unambiguous - Clean Water Act Edition
Blog May 03, 2022
Last week, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a person who enters into an administrative settlement with a state is immune from citizen suits seeking civil penalties, but not immune from suits for declaratory or injunctive relief.  I don't think that the decision would even have been newsworthy, if it hadn't required that the Court overrule its 1991 decision in North and South Rivers Watershed Ass'n v…
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ABOUT

In today’s fast changing world, almost all of us get our news – including our news about developments in environmental law and policy – electronically. This blog is not intended to be a substitute for the BNA™, or Greenwire™, or Google™, although we do hope that we will be able on occasion to let you know about issues that haven’t yet come to your attention.

What we really want to accomplish is to be able to provide some perspective on those developments. We’ll try to tell you which developments may matter to you. And why they matter. And how they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, whether you are a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, whether you are a municipality or public agency or university, we want to comment on current issues in a way that is useful to you in your business.

Frankly, this blog also provides us with the opportunity to introduce you to Foley Hoag’s Environmental Practice Group. Our practice has been New England’s preeminent environmental practice for the past twenty years. We have the depth and capacity to handle the wide array of environmental issues that can arise in the course of your business. We will work with you to resolve any environmental issues that must be addressed in order for you to achieve your business goals – from permitting new projects to cost-effective cleanup of urban Brownfields properties to implementation of cost-effective due diligence in the support of acquisitions to navigating the emerging world of climate change regulations.

We will also assist you in the defense and prosecution of environmental litigation. As a result of our service to our clients, we have attained a national reputation in environmental matters. Our lawyers have built an impressive record resolving environmental disputes at the negotiating table and in the courtroom, and a number of our cases have produced precedents of national importance.

The scope of this blog will be commensurate with the scope of our practice. We’ll cover climate change, renewable energy, hazardous and solid waste, clean air and water, sustainability and green design. You name it, if it’s got an acronym attached to it, we’ll cover it.

As the headline indicates, we want to inform, update, comment, and discuss. In other words, while we’re going to enjoy posting, we’ll enjoy the blog more – and its usefulness will increase – if we hear from you also. Please comment on the blog entries. Let us know about developments we missed or implications of our discussions that we did not consider.

We look forward to the conversation.