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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.

A Fossil-Forward U.S. Energy Policy Begins to Take Shape under Trump
Blog January 23, 2025
President Trump began his second term by issuing a barrage of executive orders, memoranda, and other directives, many of which targeted U.S. energy policy and the federal employees who implement it…
Wondering How States Will Respond to West Virginia v. EPA?  Massachusetts Provides An Early Answer
Blog July 05, 2022
Those wondering what states can do to at least partially ameliorate the impacts of West Virginia v. EPA need look no farther than Massachusetts, which issued its Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2025 and 2030 the same day that the Supreme Court extended its crusade against the modern world by limiting EPA's authority to regulate in the absence of a clear delegation by Congress. First…
EPA Proposes A Section 401 "Improvement Rule" - Now That's a Low Bar
Blog June 06, 2022
Last week, EPA released its proposed “Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification Improvement Rule”.  The proposed rule would make a number of significant changes to the rule promulgated by EPA in 2020. I'm going to focus on one in particular, because it could be a good test of just how far the current Supreme Court is willing to go to limit the authority of the executive branch…
Massachusetts Starts 2021 With a Bang on Climate
Blog January 04, 2021
Over the past four years, while the Trump Administration did everything possible to ignore climate change, optimists continued to find progress at the state level.  And while President-elect Biden has put together an A-team on climate, Massachusetts, at least, seems determined to show that the states will continue to lead – even if they now have a partner at the federal level. Two weeks ago…
Massachusetts Releases Its 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap - It's Going to Be Quite a Trip
Blog December 31, 2020
Yesterday, Massachusetts released its “2050 Decarbonization Roadmap.”  I'm tempted to call it a tour de force.  At the very least, it's jam-packed with important issues.  One of the most valuable aspects of the Roadmap is its discussion of the potential tradeoffs among the different paths towards a decarbonized economy.  Acknowledging that the Roadmap contains much more good stuff than can be summarized in a single post…
It's Not Going to Be Easy to Be Green
Blog December 10, 2019
The New York Citizens Budget Commission has released a report regarding the state's ability to meet its ambitious GHG reduction targets.  It's sobering reading.  The CBC states that it is “uncertain” whether New York can meet those goals.  It identifies four reasons: Immense scaling up of renewable generation capacity is necessary and is likely infeasible by 2030. The focus on building renewable resources…
More on the Green New Deal:  Nukes, Hydro, and a Carbon Tax Arent Dead Yet.
Blog February 07, 2019
Yesterday, Ed Markey and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released a proposed congressional resolution providing a framework for the so-called Green New Deal.  I am pleased to note that it would not exclude use of nuclear power or large-scale hydropower.  Neither would it preclude use of market-based approaches towards regulating carbon.  Of course, it also doesn't advocate for putting a price on carbon. I realize that this is simply a resolution and not proposed legislation…
The Green New Deal  Everything Thats Wrong With Environmentalists?
Blog February 06, 2019
A few weeks ago, a coalition of 626 groups sent a letter to Congress, setting forth some principles concerning what should and should not be part of a Green New Deal.  Among the policies that apparently should not be part of a Green New Deal are nuclear power, large-scale hydropower and –wait for it – any use of market-based mechanisms…
Deadlines For Permit Issuance Are Double-Edged Swords
Blog January 28, 2019
On Friday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that applicants for licenses under the Federal Power Act may not reach private agreements with states to circumvent the FPA requirement that states act on water quality certification requests under § 401 of the Clean Water Act within one year. The facts are important here and somewhat convoluted.  The short version is that PacifiCorp operates a number of dams on the Klamath River…
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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.