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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.

Massachusetts Statewide Large Building Energy Reporting Rules Now in Effect
Blog June 12, 2025
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has finalized the regulations implementing the Commonwealth’s Large Building Energy Reporting (LBER) policy, codified at M.G.L. c. 25A, § 20 and detailed in 225 CMR 27.00…
Statewide Large Building Energy Reporting Now on the Horizon in Massachusetts
Blog September 24, 2024
As we posted previously, a lesser-known provision of the Massachusetts legislature’s 2022 An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind created M.G.L. ch.25A §20, which requires the reporting of energy usage data for buildings over 20,000 square feet statewide. The law went into effect this summer, and the first reporting deadline is fast approaching—energy use for calendar year 2024 will be required to be reported by June 30th, 2025…
The Energy Policy and Conservation Act  Still  Preempts Berkeleys Ban on New Natural Gas Connections
Blog January 09, 2024
Last week, the 9th Circuit voted against rehearing en banc its decision from last April finding the City of Berkeley's ban on natural gas connections in new construction to be preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.  Judge Friedland, joined by seven other judges (and three senior judges!) dissented from the denial, writing a lengthy opinion fairly explicitly directed at judges from other Courts of Appeal that might hear cases addressing similar bans…
Boston Bans Fossil Fuels in New and Renovated City Buildings
Blog August 03, 2023
On July 31, 2023, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signed an executive order ending the use of fossil fuels in new construction and major renovations of city-owned buildings. Although city buildings comprise a small percentage of overall carbon emissions in Boston, the new executive order aligns with larger efforts to decarbonize both publicly and privately owned buildings throughout Boston. The executive order covers both new city buildings and renovation projects affecting 75% or more of a city……
City of Cambridge Passes Ambitious Net Zero Building Ordinance
Blog July 10, 2023
On June 26, 2023, the Cambridge City Council voted to amend the city's Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) to require large non-residential buildings to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 and mid-size non-residential buildings to do so by 2050. The BEUDO amendment sets one of the most ambitious municipal net zero building targets in the country and establishes a new benchmark for climate-focused cities—yet questions remain as to whether these goals can actually……
Next Up for Massachusetts Building Emissions Reductions:  Tackling the Clean Heat Challenge
Blog December 05, 2022
This week, the Massachusetts Commission on Clean Heat released its final report.  The report seeks to establish a framework for a long-term reduction in emissions from heating fuels, to align with the Commonwealth's emissions reduction target of net zero by 2050 and the 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap. According to the 2050 Roadmap, on-site combustion of fossil fuels in the residential and commercial building sectors presently accounts for about 27% of statewide greenhouse gas emissions…

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.