EPA and Corps Release Clean Water Rule in Attempt to Clarify Jurisdictional Waters for 404 Permits
The EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today released a new rule attempting to clarify the scope of jurisdictional "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act. Work that takes place in waters of the United States can require a dredge and fill permit under...
When is Enough, Enough? – EPA Seeks Comment on Post-Closure Care for Hazardous Waste Disposal Facilities Under RCRA
In 1980, as part of the implementation of statutes governing hazardous waste, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) required that owners and operators of disposal facilities containing hazardous waste provide active monitoring of their sites for 30 years following closure. At that time the 30-year duration likely seemed...
News Flash: Wind Power Reduces Carbon, Other Harmful Emissions
A report released this week finds that wind power plays a significant role in reducing carbon and other harmful emissions in the state of Maine by displacing energy generation from traditional power plants. The study, conducted by Massachusetts-based consulting firm Sustainable Energy Advantage , examined the environmental impacts of...
Bruce Williamson Nominated to Maine Public Utilities Commission
Governor LePage announced today that he has nominated Bruce Williamson to the Maine Public Utilities Commission. If confirmed, Dr. Williamson will be the third LePage appointee to the Commission, joining Mark Vannoy, Chair and Carlise McLean, Commissioner. According to the Governor's press release , Dr. Williamson is an economist...
Energy Infrastructure Gets Regional, National and Global Attention
Energy infrastructure is all the rage these days. Earlier this week the White House released its inaugural Quadrennial Energy Review , which "examines how to modernize our nation's energy infrastructure to promote economic competitiveness, energy security and environmental responsibility." Not surprisingly, the report calls for major investments to upgrade...
Halleluja: The Clean, Green Renewable Future Is Upon Us!!!
The American Wind Energy Association released its annual market report for 2014 today. As expected, most of the report's findings are quite positive, with "more wind power capacity under construction at the end of 2014 than at the end of any other year." Over 100 U.S. wind power projects...
New Misguided Opponent of Renewables: Famous Novelist Jonathan Franzen
Author Jonathan Franzen In a lapse of fact checking and logic, the normally rigorous New Yorker magazine published a lengthy essay by noted novelist and bird watcher Jonathan Franzen that, among other things, called wind and solar power “blights on the landscape” that should be abandoned in favor of...
New Misguided Opponent of Renewables: Famous Novelist Jonathan Franzen
In a lapse of fact checking and logic, the normally rigorous New Yorker magazine published a lengthy essay by noted novelist and bird watcher Jonathan Franzen that, among other things, called wind and solar power "blights on the landscape" that should be abandoned in favor of bird sanctuaries because...
USFWS Lists Northern Long Eared Bat as Threatened Species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it will publish a final rule in today's Federal Register designating the northern long eared bat as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The listing will become effective May 4, 2015, at which time an interim 4(d) incidental take rule will...
USFWS Lists Northern Long Eared Bat as Threatened Species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that it will publish a final rule in the April 2, 2015 Federal Register designating the northern long eared bat as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The listing will become effective May 4, 2015, at which time an interim 4(d...
Maine High Court to Litigious Saco RV Park Owner: Let There Be Frisbee Golf
To the delight of Frisbee golfers across southern Maine, the Maine Supreme Court has affirmed the Saco Planning Board’s approval of a Frisbee golf course in Fitanides v. City of Saco Fred Fitanides, who owns an RV park that abuts the Frisbee golf course, opposed the development and claimed...
BOEM Reviews Lease Request for Floating Wind Turbines off Hawaii
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is in the process of reviewing a lease request submitted by AW Hawaii Wind, LLC for two proposed 408 MW offshore wind power facilities, each consisting of 51 floating 8 MW turbines. AW Hawaii Wind is a subsidiary of Denmark-based Alpha Wind...
D.C. District Court Sides with USFWS on Indiana Bat ITP Issued to Ohio Everpower Project
The U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. granted summary judgment on Wednesday to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a suit challenging the issuance of an incidental take permit to an Ohio wind power project for impacts to the endangered Indiana bat. USFWS had issued the ITP to...
Far-Reaching Decision: Appeals Court Finds Carbon Offsets Ensure Integrity
In a recent decision by a California Appeals court, the appellant, (Our Children’s Earth Foundation; (Appellant)), challenged the State Air Resources Board’s (Board) use of carbon offsets within its Cap-and-Trade program and more specifically, its method for establishing that the offsets achieve the requirement of “additionality.” That’s a loaded...
USFWS, Congress Explore Incidental Take Exemption Under MBTA
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reportedly planning to issue a notice of intent to create an incidental take permitting regime under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The permitting scheme would theoretically allow otherwise lawful activities to go forward with greater regulatory certainty, while allowing USFWS to require...
DOE Says 35% of U.S. Electricity Can Be Generated by Wind Power by 2050
The U.S. Department of Energy released an in-depth analysis today entitled Wind Vision: A New Era for Wind Power in the United States . The report models various scenarios of wind power penetration into the U.S. energy market and concludes that under "an ambitious but credible scenario" 35 percent...
USFWS, Congress Explore Incidental Take Exemption Under MBTA
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reportedly planning to issue a notice of intent to create an incidental take permitting regime under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The permitting scheme would theoretically allow otherwise lawful activities to go forward with greater regulatory certainty, while allowing USFWS to require...
“Arctic Caucus” called for by Sens. King and Murkowski
On Thursday of last week, the first-ever hearing dedicated to the Arctic region as a whole was held in the U.S. Senate. The hearing signaled the launch of the “Arctic Caucus” (Caucus), a body assembled by Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to explore issues facing the...
First U.S. Offshore Wind Power Project Will Likely Be Deepwater Wind's Block Island Facility
Providence, Rhode Island-based Deepwater Wind announced this week that it has secured $290 million in financing needed to construct its five-turbine, 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm. Deepwater expects to begin placing turbines in the water this summer with commercial operations projected to start at the end of 2016. The...
High Water Everywhere: Northeast Waters Warmin’ and A Risin’
Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Arizona recently released findings from tidal data collected over a two year period (2009-2010). The central conclusion of the data is this: New England sea levels are rising more rapidly than anticipated. Although the study most...
EPA Considers Portion of Hackensack River for National Priorities List
This article was written with the assistance of Nora Lawrence, Associate. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced plans to evaluate whether a 17-mile stretch of the Hackensack River in New Jersey should be added to Superfund’s National Priorities List (NPL). The assessment comes as a response to a...
U.S. District Court Grants Summary Judgment to SunEdison's Oakfield Wind Power Project on All Counts
In an order issued Friday in Protect Our Lakes v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , No. 1:13-cv-402 (D. Me. Feb. 20, 2015), U.S. District Court Judge Jon Levy rejected claims that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a Clean Water Act Section 404 wetlands permit to...
Environmental, Health, and Safety Professionals: OSHA Amended its Reporting Rules
Here’s a post for all you Environmental, Health, and Safety professionals following this blog. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration or Agency) has changed its reporting requirements for certain types of businesses with relatively low rates of occupational illness or injury. The list is based on the North American...
U.S. District Court Grants Summary Judgment to SunEdison's Oakfield Wind Power Project on All Counts
In an order issued Friday in Protect Our Lakes v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , No. 1:13-cv-402 (D. Me. Feb. 20, 2015), U.S. District Court Judge Jon Levy rejected claims that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of a Clean Water Act Section 404 wetlands permit to...
Two Federal Leases Secured for Offshore Wind Projects
Two energy companies recently secured leases for offshore wind projects in the Massachusetts Wind Energy Area located 12 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced the winners of the leases totaling 354,409 acres. RES Americas Development LLC (a RES Group holding...
DEP Proposes—or Re-Proposes—Two Chemicals for Priority List
Earlier this month, Maine DEP (Department) announced it would be proposing—or more accurately, re-proposing —the addition of two chemical to its list of “Priority” chemicals. The Department announced that it would be drafting rules to include formaldehyde and phthalates to its list of “Priority” chemicals. By way of background...
USFWS Proposes Take Exemptions If Northern Long-Eared Bat is Listed as Threatened under ESA
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has proposed a rule that would exempt certain activities in certain locations from the prohibitions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) if the northern long-eared bat (NLEB) is listed as a threatened species. In areas affected by white-nose syndrome (WNS), the proposed...
EPA Releases 2014 Enforcement Statistics
At the close of last month, EPA released its annual enforcement numbers for 2014. As the Agency had been saying all year, the data reflects its focus on high-visibility enforcement complete with stiffer penalties and greater environmental benefits. In sum: Bigger Fish with smaller budgets. The website is truly...
USFWS Enforces MBTA Against Wind Power For Second Time
A pair of Wyoming wind power projects has pleaded guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and agreed to pay fines that add up to $2.5 million. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Department of Justice enforced the MBTA against Portland, Oregon-based PacifiCorp Energy...
Governor Nominates Carlisle McLean to Be MPUC Commissioner
Yesterday, Governor LePage nominated Carlisle McLean of Cumberland, Maine, to serve as Commissioner of the Maine Public Utilities Commission to fill a vacancy created by the recent resignation of Thomas Welch. If confirmed, Ms. McLean would fill the remaining two years of Welch's six-year term. Since 2013, Carlisle McLean...
Page 6 of 7
