Earlier this week, the Council on Environmental Quality promulgated its Phase I rule amending the NEPA regulations. The final rule largely implements the proposed rule, though with some minor changes. Since the final rule...more
Take my predictions with a grain of salt, because I still remember saying that Ronald Reagan would never fool enough voters to get elected, but it seems very likely at this point that Maura Healey will be the next Governor of...more
4/21/2022
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Governors ,
Green Transportation ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Net Zero ,
Offshore Wind ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
State and Local Government ,
State Elections
Two developments this week got me thinking about how our government deals – or fails to deal – with risk. First, EPA proposed to ban the manufacture (including import) of chrysotile asbestos...more
Earlier this month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. As all IPCC reports are, it’s a serious piece of work and not easily summarized at blog length...more
Last week, the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee formally transmitted its recommendations to EPA Administrator Regan regarding the PM2.5 NAAQS. Consistent with trade press reporting over the past few months, the...more
The Boston Air Pollution Control Commission has formally adopted its “Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance Phase 1 Regulations.” The Phase 1 regulations are really all about the “disclosure” side of BERDO. ...more
Last week, AIG significantly restricted its underwriting of and investment in fossil fuel projects. Specifically, it announced the following actions:
With immediate effect, committed to no longer invest in or provide...more
Last week, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals again rejected a FERC NEPA review for failure to assess the climate impacts resulting from the downstream use of natural gas supplied by a gas pipeline upgrade project...more
The Fifth Circuit has stayed an order blocking Biden administration use of the “Interim Estimates” of the social cost of greenhouse gases. The Court did not leave much doubt that the administration will prevail on the...more
EPA has now formally restored its waiver under § 209(b) of the Clean Air Act that allows California’s greenhouse gas emissions standards and Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, notwithstanding the preemption of state vehicle...more
The Boston Globe reported yesterday that the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board approved investment guidelines that would have the Board vote against directors of companies in which the Board invests...more
An article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (login required) has documented the devastating impact caused by the use of leaded gasoline. The study estimates that more than half of Americans alive in...more
In January, I noted that Ameren Missouri had surrendered in its defense of the NSR enforcement action brought by DOJ with respect to the Rush Island generating facility. Ameren Missouri submitted to the Court a proposal to...more
Last week, AIG significantly restricted its underwriting of and investment in fossil fuel projects. Specifically, it announced the following actions:
With immediate effect, committed to no longer invest in or provide...more
Earlier this week, the United National Environmental Programme (doesn’t everything just look better with British spelling!) announced that 175 nations had approved a resolution titled “End plastic pollution: Towards an...more
The Boston Globe reported yesterday that the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board approved investment guidelines that would have the Board vote against directors of companies in which the Board invests...more
For those of you who don’t think that worrying about climate change is enough to keep you busy, you might want to take a look at this study commissioned by the WWF, Impacts of Plastic Pollution in the Oceans on Marine...more
In the first appellate decision to decide the issue since the Supreme Court decision in BP P.L.C. v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, the 10th Circuit ruled this week that climate damage claims brought by several Colorado...more
2/10/2022
/ Appeals ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Municipalities ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
State and Local Government
EPA has proposed to revoke the Trump administration finding in 2020 that it is not appropriate and necessary to regulate emissions of air toxics from coal- and oil-fired electric generating units. Instead, EPA proposes to...more
As everyone knows, the Supreme Court has teed up West Virginia v. EPA, which challenges EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases, and Sackett v. EPA, which challenges EPA’s authority to define what constitutes a water of...more
Believing in the importance of aggressive action to address climate change is something of a recipe for bipolar disorder. Trump – depression. Biden first 90 days – elation. News today from ClimateWire (subscription...more
Jerry Anderson of Drake University Law School recently did an interesting post regarding environmental enforcement. I recommend the full post, but I particularly wanted to bring my readers’ attention to a figure Jerry...more
According to Inside EPA (subscription required), the Department of Justice (and the Sierra Club) have opposed Ameren’s Missouri’s motion to allow it to close its Rush Island generating facility early, rather than install...more
On Monday, Boston released a draft of the first phase of regulations intended to implement the amended BERDO ordinance signed by then-Mayor Janey in October.
The first phase of the regulations is focused only on reporting...more
I’ve written a lot about how the developing science around particulate exposure supports making the PM2.5 NAAQS more stringent. So it won’t come as a surprise that a new study published in the Proceedings of the National...more