Blog

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.

Massachusetts AGO Rejects Yet Another Municipal Solar and Battery Storage Moratorium
Blog March 13, 2026
On March 11, 2026, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”) disapproved a proposed temporary zoning moratorium on large-scale solar installations and battery energy storage systems (“BESS”) in the Town of Blandford…
How MassDEP’s Proposed Noise Policy Update Could Affect Renewable Energy Developers
Blog March 04, 2026
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is poised to revise its Noise Policy for the first time since the Policy’s adoption in 1990…
RGGI Third Program Review Concludes: New Model Rule and Strengthened Emission Caps Unveiled Amid Federal Scrutiny
Blog July 22, 2025
Earlier this month, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) announced the completion of the RGGI Third Program Review, which resulted in several major changes to the RGGI Model Rule that will shape the program through 2037…
Massachusetts Statewide Large Building Energy Reporting Rules Now in Effect
Blog June 12, 2025
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has finalized the regulations implementing the Commonwealth’s Large Building Energy Reporting (LBER) policy, codified at M.G.L. c. 25A, § 20 and detailed in 225 CMR 27.00…
2024 Clean Energy Bill Addresses Massachusetts Natural Gas Policies
Blog January 09, 2025
The new law addresses natural gas through several different avenues, with some changes intended to limit the expansion of natural gas distribution systems in the Commonwealth…
2024 Clean Energy Bill Introduces Embodied Carbon Reduction Plan
Blog January 07, 2025
Embodied carbon, also known as “embedded emissions” or “embodied emissions,” refers to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production, extraction, transport, and manufacturing of a product, particularly building and infrastructure materials…
Massachusetts Legislature Finalizes Permit Extension Language – Get those permits now!
Blog November 15, 2024
In some good news for the development community, the Massachusetts legislature has finalized language that would extend the validity of most municipal and state permits related to land development or the environment for a period of two years…
Statewide Large Building Energy Reporting Now on the Horizon in Massachusetts
Blog September 24, 2024
As we posted previously, a lesser-known provision of the Massachusetts legislature’s 2022 An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind created M.G.L. ch.25A §20, which requires the reporting of energy usage data for buildings over 20,000 square feet statewide. The law went into effect this summer, and the first reporting deadline is fast approaching—energy use for calendar year 2024 will be required to be reported by June 30th, 2025…
Massachusetts Launches Cumulative Impact Analysis Regulations for Air Quality Permits Near Environmental Justice Populations
Blog April 05, 2024
Massachusetts has become the first state to require analysis of cumulative impacts for certain air quality permits in or near communities with environmental justice populations. On March 29, 2024, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection released highly anticipated amendments to its air pollution regulations as required by the environmental justice provisions of the 2021 Climate Roadmap Act…
1 of 15

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.