Gregor McGregor and Luke Legere were invited again this year to present to the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association (MMLA) their firm's annual review of environmental law developments for municipal attorneys.

An annual National CLE Conference hosted by the Colorado Bar Association CLE program brings together hundreds of attorneys from all over the US for current developments and professional networking. Mr. McGregor has presented and co-chaired the environmental law seminar at the conference, most recently January 8-10, 2017 at Aspen Snowmass.

Our firm is active with the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association (MMLA). We have been honored to present at the MMLA annual meeting a review of the year’s developments in environmental law and related land use, energy law, and litigation.

Environmental law at the local level is surprisingly well established and comprehensive. It deals with the universe of environmental problems, needs and opportunities that have come before Town Meetings and City Councils over the years, leading to legislation enacted in the form of bylaws and ordinances. In addition, innumerable municipal boards and officials have long list of policies, rules and regulations they have promulgated within their statutory or charter powers. Then there are property law principles and constitutional provisions imposing limits or conferring rights of an environmental nature. In summary, these local environmental laws and principles can range from “A…

The stated purpose of the MassDEP Regulatory Reform Initiative is to streamline the permitting process and maintain MassDEP's high standards of environmental protection. Following a review over two years, all MassDEP Bureaus changes to take effect soon, if not already.