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FERC Proposes to Implement Expanded Transmission Siting Authority
On December 15, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in which the Commission proposes to implement its newly clarified authority under the 2021...
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MassDEP Proposes Cumulative Impact Analysis Regulations — It’s About to Get...
After more than a year of work, MassDEP has proposed regulations that would require applicants to perform cumulative impact analysis prior to issuance of certain air emissions permits. The regulations...
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Does Environmental Review of Projects Needed for a Net-Zero Economy Lead to a...
Earlier this week, the decision in Bartell Ranch v. McCullough generally supported the Bureau of Land Management’s review under NEPA and related statutes of a lithium mine near Thacker Pass, Nevada....
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BLM Approves the TransWest Express Transmission Project; This Is Good News...
Yesterday, the Bureau of Land Management announced that it has given final approval to the TransWest Express transmission line, a 732-mile project that will move electricity from a large wind farm in...
View ArticleBiden-Harris Administration Publishes Priorities for Permitting Reform to...
Yesterday, the Biden-Harris administration outlined in a fact sheet its priorities for permitting reform to accelerate the build-out of America’s energy infrastructure “faster, safer, and cleaner.” The...
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The Wharf District Council “District Protection & Resiliency Plan”: There’s a...
The Wharf District Council recently released its “District Protection and Resiliency Plan.” My immediate reaction is just a quiet OMG regarding the size of the task. Of course, that’s no excuse for...
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Does EPA Have Authority to Include Narrative Criteria in NPDES Permits? Yes,...
Earlier this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed EPA’s NPDES permit issued to San Francisco’s Oceanside sewer system. San Francisco had challenged the permit on the ground that EPA does...
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Proposed NEPA Rules Address Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and...
On July 28, 2023, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations governing how federal agencies review the environmental effects...
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Biden Expands Consideration of Social Cost of Carbon by Federal Agencies
On September 21, 2023, the Biden administration outlined plans to expand federal agencies’ consideration of the social cost of carbon—a metric for the economic cost of each additional ton of carbon...
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More Litigation Concerning Plastic Pollution: Can Claims Be Both Novel and...
Last month, I advised plastics manufacturers to prepare for more litigation. Although I am generally loath to speculate, it already looks as though this prediction is coming true. Earlier this month,...
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The SJC Provides New Guidance to Litigants in Anti-SLAPP Cases; I’m not...
Last week, in Bristol Asphalt v. Rochester Bituminous Products, the SJC jettisoned two prior decisions and revised its directions to lower courts regarding how to handle “special motions to dismiss”...
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Massachusetts Launches Cumulative Impact Analysis Regulations for Air Quality...
Massachusetts has become the first state to require analysis of cumulative impacts for certain air quality permits in or near communities with environmental justice (EJ) populations. On March 29,...
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