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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.

In the Void Left by Congress's Failure to Address Plastic Pollution, More Litigation Such as This Is Inevitable
Blog November 04, 2024
Last November, I posted about litigation filed by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, asserting public nuisance and other claims against PepsiCo with respect to contamination of the Buffalo River. At the time, I questioned whether litigation was really the appropriate way to solve the problem of plastic pollution…
It's Past Time to Replace Lead Pipes!  It's Time to Figure Out What to Replace Them With
Blog October 21, 2024
According to a story in Inside EPA last week, EPA’s promulgation on October 8, 2024, of its “2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements” has already led to disputes among stakeholders regarding what should replace lead pipes…
More Litigation Concerning Plastic Pollution:  Can Claims Be Both Novel and Traditional at the Same Time?
Blog December 20, 2023
Last month, I advised plastics manufacturers to prepare for more litigation.  Although I am generally loath to speculate, it already looks as though this prediction is coming true.  Earlier this month, PennEnvironment and Three Rivers Waterkeeper filed suit against BVPV Styrenics and its parent company.  BVPV manufactures expandable polystyrene at its facility in Monaca, Pennsylvania.  The complaint alleges a number of violations of the Clean Water Act…
Is Litigation the Solution to Plastic Pollution?
Blog November 17, 2023
Earlier this week, New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed suit against PepsiCo.  At the core of the case are allegations that PepsiCo.'s widespread use of single-use plastics has created or contributed to a public nuisance in the Buffalo River.  I don't doubt that plastic-related conditions in the Buffalo River constitute a public nuisance.  Without diving into the facts, it seems totally plausible…
Bloomberg Targets Petrochemicals - How About Investing in Their Replacements?
Blog September 23, 2022
I've written previously about the urgency associated with the problems caused by waste plastic.  However, there's a big difference between me blogging about it and Michael Bloomberg opening his wallet to try to do something about it.  And the news this week was that Michael Bloomberg is putting $85 million into a new “Beyond Petrochemicals” campaign.  What's really interesting is that Bloomberg has taken a substantially different tack than most of those who have been trying to address the……
Is Momentum Building To Change the Way We Manage Plastic?
Blog July 12, 2022
There has been a reasonable amount of recent activity related to management (or lack thereof) of plastic waste.  Two more developments this month have me wondering whether we might be near the proverbial tipping point in our approach to managing plastics. First, California enacted a fairly sweeping statute, S.B. 54, that will impose extended producer responsibility requirements on producers of plastics.  The statute has at least three significant pieces:  (1) a requirement to increase the……
California AG Launches Investigation into Fossil Fuel and Petrochemical Industries for Plastic Pollution
Blog May 27, 2022
On April 28, 2022, the California Attorney General launched an investigation into the “fossil fuel and petrochemical industries for their role in causing and exacerbating the global plastics pollution crisis.”  As a first step, the CA AG issued a subpoena to ExxonMobil, “a major source of global plastic pollution, seeking information relating to the company's role in deceiving the public.”  The stated purpose of the investigation is to “target companies that have caused and exacerbated the……
Foley Hoag Attorneys Contribute to French-U.S. Plastic Pollution Pro-Bono Project
Blog March 24, 2022
In September 2021, Foley Hoag partnered with the Global Council for Science and the Environment (GCSE) and the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL) on a collaborative research effort designed to compare French and U.S. legal frameworks for regulating plastic pollution. Over the last six months, a team of international environmental lawyers analyzed the existing policies, regulations, and legislation in France and the U.S. that directly and indirectly regulate plastic pollution…

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.