Blog Posts: Environmental and Energy Law Update
Visit the Full BlogThe Environmental and Energy Law Update blog provides an analysis and discussion of the most critical and timely legal issues and announcements environmental, natural resource, and energy sectors.
Understanding 91’s Amnesty Program
Chapter 91 of the Massachusetts General Laws, otherwise known as the Public Waterfront Act, is the primary law protecting the public’s rights to use and access the coastal tidelands of the Commonwealth. First adopted in 1866, the law has roots extending back to ancient Rome, where the Justinian code...
MassDEP Proposes Updates to Stormwater Management Standards
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...
MassDEP Proposes New Coastal Floodplain Standards to Improve Climate Resiliency
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...
A Toolkit for Evaluating Climate Change Impacts to Chapter 21E Sites Under the Amendments to the Massachusetts Contingency Plan
On September 1, 2023, MassDEP issued final amendments to the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (“MCP”), the regulations governing the cleanup of releases of hazardous material and oil spills at contaminated properties. The MCP amendments, which will take effect on March 1, 2024, will now require the consideration of foreseeable climate...
The Basics of Stormwater Permitting in Massachusetts
After a summer of historic rainfall and flooding in Massachusetts, stormwater is on our minds. Stormwater is a major source of water pollution in the Commonwealth, and it is crucial that owners and operators of commercial and industrial facilities, land developers, and construction contractors understand the legal framework governing...
Montana Court Upholds Constitutional Right to Safe Climate
Last week, in Held v. State of Montana , the First Judicial District Court of Lewis and Clark County issued a groundbreaking decision in favor of sixteen youth plaintiffs who challenged a Montana environmental review law that prohibited state agencies from considering greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts during...
Supreme Court Ignores Dictionary, Limits Clean Water Act
The United States Supreme Court decided last week in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency that a word does not mean what the dictionary, Congress, or two federal agencies have for 45 years understood it to mean. The word in question is “adjacent,” and the context is when an “adjacent...
