Washington Post on Electric Vehicles: Coal Generates Electricity
Last week the Washington Post exposed electric cars’ dirty secret: they use electricity! The piece makes the astute point an electric vehicle (EV) is only as clean as the electricity that is used to power it. It is true that in many parts of the world that still heavily...
Coming Soon—Reporting Requirements: Phthalates and Formaldehyde
Attention distributors, manufacturers, and some retailers of children’s products sold into the State of Maine. The December 18, 2015 deadline to report the intentional use of formaldehyde and certain phthalates in children’s products sold into the State is less than a month away. The Department of Environmental Protection has...
SolarCity's Antitrust Case Survives Motion to Dismiss
When the Salt River Project utility in Arizona decided to impose new charges for its customers with rooftop solar installations in February , it opened another front in the solar war being waged across the country. Normally, these fights play out before state administrative agencies tasked with setting utilities&rsquo...
Count ME In
Count Maine “in” as one of the 18 states filing a motion to intervene to defend the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA” or “Agency”) Clean Power Plan (“Rule”). A coalition including 24 states wasted little time filing suit against the much-anticipated final Rule after it was posted in the...
U.S. Court of Appeals Invalidates Ballast Water Treatment Regulations & Vessel General Permit
On October 5, in the case of Natural Resources Defense Council v. U.S. EPA , the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit invalidated the process USEPA used in promulgating its 2013 Vessel General Permit that sets that agency’s standards for discharges from merchant vessels under the...
Maine DEP Proposed Rule Changes
The Maine DEP is proposing changes to the rules affecting permitting of Site Law projects. The changes primarily involve requirements related to demonstrating adequate financial capacity to construct and operate the development. Additional changes are proposed that affect phased financing, long-term (generally more than ten years) construction projects, and...
EPA and States Locked in Funhouse Litigation over WOTUS Rule
Eighteen states that are suing the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to block the regulation attempting to identify jurisdictional waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit...
Welcome to the Club: Formaldehyde and Phthalates Now Priority Chemicals
Two new rules recently adopted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (“Maine DEP” or “the Department”) added formaldehyde and phthalates to the State’s list of Priority Chemicals. As of July 26, 2015, the Department now has the legal authority to regulate formaldehyde and four phthalates when they are...
Bold Words from World Leaders Boost EPA Clean Power Plan
The buzz word coming out of this week’s Group of Seven Summit (G7; formerly the G8, now sans Russia) in Germany was “decarbonisation.” (Yes, across the Pond they swap the “z” for an “s”.) In the first announcement of its type, leaders from the G7 nations agreed to a...
Three Bat Species Listed Under Maine Endangered Species Act
Upon recommendation from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Governor Paul LePage signed a bill into law today listing three bat species under the Maine Endangered Species Act. The little brown bat and northern long-eared bat were listed as endangered, and the eastern small-footed bat was listed...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
“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...
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...
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...
New Massachusetts Regulation – Limit on Commercial Organic Material
Anaerobic digestion converts organic waste into a biogas to supply heat and power. Photo courtesy the Univeristy of Alberta. Next month, the disposal of food wastes and vegetative materials in Massachusetts will change significantly. New regulations take effect on October 1 limiting the disposal of commercial organic material to...
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