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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.

There's No Such Thing as "Cost" analysis or "Benefit" analysis; There's Only Cost-Benefit Analysis
Blog January 14, 2026
There's No Such Thing as "Cost" Analysis or "Benefit" Analysis; There's Only Cost-Benefit Analysis
Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration plans to stop assigning dollar values to the human health benefits resulting from the imposition of national ambient air quality standards…
Does Loper-Bright Mean the End of Deference to Agency Expertise?
Blog July 31, 2024
Does Loper-Bright Mean the End of Deference to Agency Expertise?
Greenwire had an article yesterday with the breathless headline “Post-Chevron era tests courts’ readiness to tackle science.” The article noted that, in the recent Supreme Court decision in Ohio v. EPA, Justice Gorsuch’s majority opinion confused nitrous oxide with nitrogen oxides, using the justice’s confusion to question whether, post-Chevron, judges have the scientific chops to wade into the complicated scientific waters that will be necessary in a post-Chevron world…
Guidance Is Still Not the Same as Regulation
Blog August 18, 2023
Guidance Is Still Not the Same as Regulation
Earlier this week, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated EPA's disapproval of Wyomings regional haze plan for the PacifiCorp's Wyodak power plant.  The basis for the disapproval was an issue near and dear to my heart.  In rejecting Wyomings SIP, EPA repeatedly pointed to Wyomings failure to comply with EPA's guidelines for determining Best Available Retrofit Technology, even though the guidelines were not enforceable regulations…
The EJ Movement Wants to Tighten the NAAQS. Will It Happen?
Blog August 01, 2023
The EJ Movement Wants to Tighten the NAAQS. Will It Happen?
The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council recently weighed in on EPA's decision whether to lower the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5 and ozone.  Specifically, with respect to PM2.5, WHEJAC recommended that the annual primary standard be lowered to 8.0 ug/m3 and the annual daily standard be lowered to 25.0 ug/m3.  Both recommendations are lower than what EPA has proposed. With respect to the ozone NAAQS…
What Happens When the EPA Technical Staff Disagrees with the Clean Air Science Advisory Committee?
Blog June 16, 2023
What Happens When the EPA Technical Staff Disagrees with the Clean Air Science Advisory Committee?
Last week, the EPA Clean Air Science Advisory Committee provided EPA its review of EPA's Policy Assessment for the Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone.  As expected, CASAC has disagreed with the recommendation of EPA technical staff to retain the current 70 ppb standard.  Instead, CASAC recommends a significantly lower ozone NAAQS of 55-60 ppb.  This seems to be coming down to a fight between EPA's reliance on controlled human exposure (CHE) studies and……
Deja Vu One More Time? What Will Happen If EPA Ignores CASAC Regarding the Ozone NAAQS?
Blog April 03, 2023
Deja Vu One More Time? What Will Happen If EPA Ignores CASAC Regarding the Ozone NAAQS?
Last week, Inside EPA (subscription required) reported that the Clean Air Science Advisory Committee has pretty much agreed that the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone must be made more stringent.  Apparently, the panel is looking at recommending that the primary standard be reduced from 70 ppb to a range of 55-60 ppb.  CASAC is also recommending a reduction in the secondary standard.  I've blogged numerous times about the role that CASAC recommendations play in judicial……
The Internal Combustion Engine Is Bad For Your Health - What Should We Do About It?
Blog December 20, 2021
The Internal Combustion Engine Is Bad For Your Health - What Should We Do About It?
I've written a lot about how the developing science around particulate exposure supports making the PM2.5 NAAQS more stringent.  So it won't come as a surprise that a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that the benefits of on-road emissions reductions from 2008 to 2017 could be measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars and almost 10,000 fewer deaths…
EPA Will Reconsider the Ozone NAAQS - What Is An Adequate Margin of Safety, Anyway?
Blog November 01, 2021
EPA Will Reconsider the Ozone NAAQS - What Is An Adequate Margin of Safety, Anyway?
On Friday, EPA announced that it was reconsidering its 2020 decision to leave the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone unchanged.  The reconsideration will be based on the existing record.  The notice does not identify any specific perceived flaws in the 2020 decision.  However, EPA stated that it: will reconsider the decision to retain the ozone NAAQS in a manner that adheres to rigorous standards of scientific integrity…
EPA's Ozone NAAQS Decision - Perhaps the Statute Itself Deserves Some of the Blame
Blog December 24, 2020
EPA's Ozone NAAQS Decision - Perhaps the Statute Itself Deserves Some of the Blame
Yesterday, EPA formalized its decision to leave the ozone NAAQS unchanged, at 70 ppb.  I don't think that this decision is in the same category of egregiousness as EPA's recent decision not to reduce the PM2.5 NAAQS.  After all, only one decision can be the single worst environmental policy of an entire administration. I'm not that close to the science on the ozone NAAQS…
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Blog Editors

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.

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