On January 22, 2025, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced that it would begin accepting applications to fund coastal sand dune restoration and protection projects.
Last year, the Legislature...more
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has proposed sweeping and substantive changes to its Chapter 2 rules, which govern permit applications, appeals, permit modifications and suspensions, and other...more
EPA has announced its first ever National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) proposal for six PFAS substances in drinking water. Importantly, EPA is proposing legally enforceable national standards, called Maximum...more
On December 30, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced a joint final rule for the revised definition of the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The new rule...more
1/10/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Final Rules ,
Jurisdictional Determination (JD) ,
Navigable Waters ,
Navigable Waters Protection Rule ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
In a process that began under the LePage Administration, and then continued after revisions from the Mills Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally granted a petition from the Maine Department of...more
On September 28, 2021, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection approved a new policy on remote attendance at its meetings. The new policy, titled Policy Regarding Remote Participation in Board Proceedings, allows board...more
The EPA promulgated, by publication in the Federal Register, the Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule that updates and clarifies the substantive and procedural requirements for water quality certification under...more
Businesses and others that suspended environmental monitoring and reporting during the Coronavirus pandemic should plan to resume those activities as of September 1, 2020. ...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered many restrictions on travel and personnel, leading many businesses and industry groups to wonder whether companies will face enforcement actions if they fail to comply with environmental...more
On August 8, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule to update regulations implementing Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The rule was proposed in response to President Trump’s...more
8/13/2019
/ Certifications ,
Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Deregulation ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Native American Issues ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Tribal Governments ,
Trump Administration
Pierce Atwood’s Environmental and Land Use Practice Groups are pleased to provide a summary of key environmental legislation from the 129th Maine Legislature’s First Regular Session, which adjourned sine die, on June 20,...more
7/1/2019
/ Administrative Authority ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fishing Industry ,
Groundwater ,
Groundwater Management Plan ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Recycling ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Solid Waste ,
State and Local Government ,
Subdivision
The Army Corps of Engineers recently issued a Regulatory Guidance Letter (RGL) that sets out factors that should be considered by district engineers when determining the amount of mitigation credits that may be allowed for...more
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently proposed extensive changes to its Visible Emissions Regulation (Chapter 101) that may impact a facility’s ability to remain in compliance....more
On June 27, 2018, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) posted for public comment a draft petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to remove most of the state from the Ozone Transport Region...more
On May 17, 2018, after a lengthy and tortuous rulemaking that included substantive review and authorization by the Legislature, but only if certain changes were made, the Board of Environmental Protection adopted several...more
Despite Maine’s attainment of the ozone standards, Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) control requirements keep coming. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has proposed a new regulation, Chapter 166, that...more
5/17/2018
/ Clean Air Act ,
Department of Environmental Protection ,
Environmental Policies ,
Exemptions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Industrial Discharges ,
Industrial Products ,
Public Hearing ,
Solvents ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
A new policy memorandum from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt will impact one of the most common, complex, and fundamental questions regarding air permitting: Will my proposed project be...more
On January 25, 2018, EPA announced that it was withdrawing its “once in, always in” policy for the classification of major sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act. Under its new...more
You think maintaining compliance with opacity standards is a challenge now – just wait. As anyone who has started a campfire knows, opacity (the density of the smoke) tends to be high when starting and ending fuel burning,...more
1/18/2017
/ Air Pollution ,
Biomass ,
Boilers ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Internal Communications ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
State Implementation Plans (SIPs)
On December 14, 2016, EPA signed its proposed Kraft Pulp Residual Risk and Technology Review rule covering 40 C.F.R. Part 63, Subpart MM (a.k.a. “MACT II”) for recovery furnaces, lime kilns and smelt dissolving tanks at kraft...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that, at this time, no additional regulations are needed to address stormwater discharges from forest roads under Section 402(p)(6) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The...more
On October 1, 2015, EPA announced that the new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone would be 70 ppb, a 6.7% reduction of the current 75 ppb standard.
On November 25, 2014, EPA had proposed to...more
On April 2, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Fish & Wildlife) issued a final rule listing the Northern Long-Eared Bat (NLEB) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This listing took effect...more
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court (the Law Court) recently issued an important decision that confirms the broad authority of the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) to review decisions of the Commissioner of the...more
Since the mid-1990s, Maine has had an EPA-approved waiver from the ozone nonattainment new source review (NNSR) requirements for NOx covering, at a minimum, areas of the state that attain the ozone standard. The NOx waiver...more