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Law and the Environment

Our blog provides perspective on developments in environmental law and policy - which developments may matter to you, and how and why they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, this blog offers commentary on current issues that are important to your business.

Supreme Court to Decide Case That Could Redefine Boundaries of Judicial and Environmental Review of Federal Permit Applications
Blog March 11, 2026
When a federal agency applies for a permit, has it made a “final” decision that courts can review, or is it just one step in a longer regulatory process?…
How Much Deference to Agency NEPA Decisions After Seven County? Definitely
Blog January 08, 2026
Judges inclined to support agency decision making would point to the deference given to agency decisions under the APA, while judges unsympathetic to the agency position would point to the limits on deference to the agencies…
SPEED Act Passes House: Streamlining NEPA, Tightening Timelines, and Reframing Litigation
Blog January 05, 2026
The House of Representatives has passed the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act (the “SPEED Act,” H.R. 4776), which now moves to the Senate…
Supreme Court Holds That Agencies Have “Substantial” Discretion to Omit Upstream and Downstream Projects from Environmental Reviews
Blog May 30, 2025
On May 29, 2025, a unanimous Supreme Court (voting 8-0, with Justice Gorsuch recused) held that federal agencies need not consider the environmental effects of “upstream” and “downstream” projects that are separate in time or place from the project under review…
If CEQ No Longer Implements NEPA, Is that Good or Bad for Project Developers?
Blog November 14, 2024
Earlier this week, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the National Environmental Policy Act does not authorize the Council on Environmental Quality to issue binding regulations governing how federal agencies must implement NEPA…
Biden Expands Consideration of Social Cost of Carbon by Federal Agencies
Blog September 22, 2023
On September 21, 2023, the Biden administration outlined plans to expand federal agencies' consideration of the social cost of carbon—a metric for the economic cost of each additional ton of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere. This announcement tilts the balance of cost-benefit analyses in favor of activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and it could have widespread effects for entities that receive federal funding or are subject to federal regulation…
The Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases Is Increasing  But Is Uncertainty Over the Measurement of Climate Impacts Artificially Depressing the Number?
Blog July 17, 2023
Yesterday, Climatewire (subscription required) released a peer review letter on EPA's Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (SC-GHG), which got a fair bit of press last year, because EPA's metric was $190/ton, even though the Biden administration was using the $51/ton figure originally developed by the Obama administration.  The peer reviewers' views can be distilled down to two major points: It's a really solid piece of work that provide a solid technical foundation for the SC-GHG…
Massachusetts’ New Attorney General – A Look Back and a Look at the Year Ahead
Blog May 11, 2023
Yesterday, the Biden-Harris administration outlined in a fact sheet its priorities for permitting reform to accelerate the build-out of America's energy infrastructure “faster, safer, and cleaner.” The fact sheet provides an endorsement of the Building American Energy Security Act of 2023, establishes several major objectives for permitting reform, provides several recommendations to streamline federal permitting processes, and urges Congress to include the objectives and recommendations……
Another NEPA Obstacle To Coal Mining
Blog February 17, 2023
Last week, Judge Donald Malloy vacated the Environmental Assessment for the Bull Mountains Mine No. 1 in central Montana.  Judge Malloy had already vacated the EA once; when the 9th Circuit affirmed Judge Malloy's decision that the EA violated NEPA, it remanded the case for new findings as to whether vacatur would be appropriate.  The default rule is that when agency action has been struck down…
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ABOUT

In today’s fast changing world, almost all of us get our news – including our news about developments in environmental law and policy – electronically. This blog is not intended to be a substitute for the BNA™, or Greenwire™, or Google™, although we do hope that we will be able on occasion to let you know about issues that haven’t yet come to your attention.

What we really want to accomplish is to be able to provide some perspective on those developments. We’ll try to tell you which developments may matter to you. And why they matter. And how they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, whether you are a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, whether you are a municipality or public agency or university, we want to comment on current issues in a way that is useful to you in your business.

Frankly, this blog also provides us with the opportunity to introduce you to Foley Hoag’s Environmental Practice Group. Our practice has been New England’s preeminent environmental practice for the past twenty years. We have the depth and capacity to handle the wide array of environmental issues that can arise in the course of your business. We will work with you to resolve any environmental issues that must be addressed in order for you to achieve your business goals – from permitting new projects to cost-effective cleanup of urban Brownfields properties to implementation of cost-effective due diligence in the support of acquisitions to navigating the emerging world of climate change regulations.

We will also assist you in the defense and prosecution of environmental litigation. As a result of our service to our clients, we have attained a national reputation in environmental matters. Our lawyers have built an impressive record resolving environmental disputes at the negotiating table and in the courtroom, and a number of our cases have produced precedents of national importance.

The scope of this blog will be commensurate with the scope of our practice. We’ll cover climate change, renewable energy, hazardous and solid waste, clean air and water, sustainability and green design. You name it, if it’s got an acronym attached to it, we’ll cover it.

As the headline indicates, we want to inform, update, comment, and discuss. In other words, while we’re going to enjoy posting, we’ll enjoy the blog more – and its usefulness will increase – if we hear from you also. Please comment on the blog entries. Let us know about developments we missed or implications of our discussions that we did not consider.

We look forward to the conversation.