Environmental and Energy Law Update
62 FOLLOWERS
Environmental and Energy Law Update blog is intended as a source of news and analysis relevant to the envioronment and world of energy law: major court or regulatory orders affecting our clients and others, conference or seminar announcements, breaking news in the world of renewable energy, and novel legal issues.
Environmental and Energy Law Update
6d ago
The state’s highest court has affirmed the Legislature’s power to force towns to adopt denser, transit-friendly zoning. In 2021, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Communities Act (G. L. c. 40A, § 3A) amended the Zoning Act to require that 177 communities near public transit allow multi-family development as of right. (See my earlier blogs ..read more
Environmental and Energy Law Update
3w ago
Beginning in May of 2026,[1] owners of brands selling packaged products and importers of foreign-produced packaged products sold in Maine will be required to adhere to Maine’s Stewardship Program for Packaging.[2] Beginning six months after the program launch, fees will be due, and six months after that, the sale of products in Maine that are ..read more
Environmental and Energy Law Update
1M ago
On December 5, 2024, Governor Janet Mills announced her intent to nominate former state senator and representative Heather Sanborn to serve as the next Public Advocate of the State of Maine. Sanborn, of Portland, is the co-founder and director of Business Operations at Rising Tide Brewing in Portland, which brewery is slated to be acquired ..read more
Environmental and Energy Law Update
1M ago
On November 20, 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed the Massachusetts Leads Act, engrossing House Bill 5100 (the “MA Leads Act”), which, among many funding provisions, contains two changes that will significantly benefit project developers. Not to be outdone, on November 21, the Governor signed Senate Bill 2967, An Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, Advancing ..read more
Environmental and Energy Law Update
2M ago
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) often uses civil penalties to punish environmental violators. The EPA can either pursue a penalty through its internal administrative process or have the Justice Department file suit to have a court impose a penalty.[1] Congress has authorized the EPA to pursue this type of civil enforcement in almost ..read more
Environmental and Energy Law Update
5M ago
While the SCOTUS’s Loper Bright Enterprises et al. (Loper) decision reversing Chevron was a win for those seeking to rein in the administrative state at the federal level, it does not sound the death knell for Massachusetts state administrative agency decisions or environmental protections. Because the majority premised Loper on its interpretation of the federal ..read more
Environmental and Energy Law Update
5M ago
When working with my colleagues on real estate and corporate business transactions, I feel like I can be a nay-sayer, bringing up the considerations of potential liability for PFAS-related releases during environmental due diligence. However, with the unsettled possibility of acquiring PFAS liability and the increase in class action lawsuits to address PFAS contamination, the ..read more
Environmental and Energy Law Update
5M ago
In addition to amending the Wetlands Protection Regulations to add performance standards for the Land Subject to Coastal Storm Flowage wetland resource area, MassDEP wants to update the Massachusetts Stormwater Management Standards as part of its efforts to promote climate resiliency. The Stormwater Management Standards are contained in Chapter 1 of Volume 1 of the ..read more
Environmental and Energy Law Update
5M ago
There has been a joke for some time now that whenever MassDEP proposes new regulations, they must have finally developed the performance standard for Land Subject to Coastal Storm Flowage (“LSCSF”). Well, the joke’s on us, folks: they’ve gone and done it. The long-awaited LSCSF performance standard is just one of several proposed revisions to ..read more
Environmental and Energy Law Update
5M ago
An important understanding of any transaction, particularly in Massachusetts, is that the environmental laws generally impose status liability for releases of hazardous substances. Thus, by virtue of being an owner or operator at a property, regulators will use that “status” to impose cleanup obligations on the owner or operator as a “Responsible Party.” Even though ..read more