Areas of Practice
Environmental and energy policies are converging. Massachusetts is one of the leaders in reorganization of the agencies under one umbrella, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA). EOEEA and its Division of Energy Resources (DER) implement six seminal laws enacted 2008.
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[Dated: April 4, 2023]
The Office of the Coastal Zone Management (OCZM) within EOEEA administers the CZM Program within the state as authorized by the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). This involves promulgating policies and regulations, plus reviewing projects and permits of state agencies for consistency with policies within the coastal zone.
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[Dated: April 4, 2023]
The Division of Water Quality (DWQ) in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) implements the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in Massachusetts as well as similar state laws. DWQ approves new public wells and reservoirs (including those of municipalities) and enforces the state’s maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), mandates monitoring of water supplies, requires wellhead protection zones, and evaluates public and private projects with water supply impacts. DWQ can impose various kinds of moratoria.
Federal legislation requires that municipalities plan for emergencies. Industry is required to cooperate by sharing information and giving notice of chemical releases and spills. Each city and town must have an emergency management plan and make it work.
We work for energy clients on traditional power plants, renewable energy production and generation, and transmission lines. Our focus is on mastery and management of the federal, state, regional and local approvals and environmental reviews triggered by project proposals, and satisfaction of the public hearings and public comment opportunities.
We enjoy the trust of our clients for the most serious aspect of environmental law, civil and criminal enforcement.
For many of our plaintiff clients, who seek to enforce the law, we conduct the necessary factual investigations, legal research, expert recruiting, case evaluation, and resulting litigation to enforce environmental laws and legal obligations. These clients can be landowners, individuals, governments, or non-profit organizations or associations.
The National Environmental Policy Act, known as NEPA, unites a poetically-worded national policy with a statutory plan to implement that policy. NEPA requires that each federal agency prepare a detailed statement of environmental impact for each major federal action that may significantly affect the quality of the human environment. This Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is the cornerstone of the statute.
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[Dated: April 4, 2023]
Across the spectrum of environmental law we offer advice and representation
with practical, results-oriented lawyering.