The Maine Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST), the statewide coalition of which CLF is a steering committee member, has submitted a proposal to increase commuter transit options, reduce household expenditures on gasoline and diesel, increase employment opportunities and productivity and reduce government expenditures by expanding the routes of the highly-successful ZOOM Turnpike Express bus services along the Maine Turnpike corridor. The program would also establish a fund for the improved maintenance of Maine’s roadways.

“Financially, this bill just makes a lot of sense for a fiscally-strapped state like Maine,” said CLF Maine Staff Attorney Jane West. “Instead of spending $56 million on a tollbooth or $150 million to widen a couple of miles of highway, this bill will serve thousands of commuters, reduce traffic congestion and provide a much-needed alternative to paying three dollars and more per gallon at the pump, for a fraction of the cost of any other solution.” More >

CLF Senior Counsel Peter Shelley spoke to Boston’s ABC affiliate WCVB-TV in response to Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke’s decision on Friday to reject Governor Patrick’s request to increase catch limits, citing the lack of scientific and economic evidence indicating that such an increase was necessary. Shelley stated that the industry has actually benefited economically by the new catch limits since they went into effect in May 2010, while fish stocks have been steadily increasing.

“There is a win-win that can be seen by restoring the fish populations. You can’t have a healthy industry that’s based on a resource base that’s disappearing,” Shelley said during the segment.

For those of you who missed Friday’s broadcast, click here to watch the clip online:

Today,  Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke made the decision to reject Governor Patrick’s request for emergency action to increase catch limits for Massachusetts fishermen, in violation of the groundfish management plan that CLF helped to pass, which has been in effect since May 2010 and was helping to create positive, sustainable change in the state’s fisheries. Several weeks ago, the Governor petitioned Secretary Locke to declare a state of economic emergency in Massachusetts fisheries and was supporting a lawsuit that challenged the plan, putting fish and fishermen at risk.

“With his decision to reject Governor Patrick’s request to increase catch limits, Secretary Locke has rightly rejected the notion that the new fisheries management plan is contributing to an economic crisis in the Massachusetts fishery,” said CLF Senior Counsel Peter Shelley. “On the contrary, fishing industry revenues in Massachusetts are up 21.9 percent over 2009 in just the first seven months under the new “catch shares” management system.  The Governor’s demand for emergency action was more politics than economics.” Read more >

Today, the U.S. EPA announced that it will join CLF’s lawsuit against the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) for violations of the Clean Water Act. The suit, filled by CLF in U.S. District Court in February 2010, states that BWSC has failed to control polluted discharges from its storm water system, allowing it to carry raw sewage and excessive levels of bacterial, copper and zinc into Boston’s waterways, threatening the health and well-being of the surrounding communities.

BOSTON, MA  December 22, 2010 – The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) has issued the following statement in response to the motion filed today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stating that it will join CLF’s lawsuit against the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) for violations of the Clean Water Act:

“The complaint against the Boston Water and Sewer Commission documents serious failures in the system that are allowing ongoing unlawful pollution of Boston’s waterways, including the Charles, Mystic and Neponset Rivers, in some the city’s most economically-challenged communities,” said Christopher Kilian, director of CLF’s Clean Water and Healthy Forests program. “The federal government’s entry into this case is a clear indication of the urgency of the matter and the priority EPA places on it. BWSC’s inability to maintain a system that ensures clean water is a violation of the law and an affront to the people of Boston. The United States agrees with CLF that BWSC must make a major commitment now to improve water quality, as other cities have done, and restore these resources to health for everyone’s benefit.” More>>

CLF’s supporters are our greatest and most powerful asset. Because of you, we were able to achieve important victories in New England and beyond. This past year, we fought for and secured new regulations to ensure a sustainable groundfish fishery, led the region in advocating for transportation solutions and made concrete progress towards improving water quality across the region. Thank you for making all of this (and so much more) possible.

At CLF, our advocates are already gearing up for a busy and productive new year. And today, I invite you to boost CLF’s impact in 2011 by making a tax-deductible gift to our most crucial work.

In 2011, CLF will:

• Address the proposed billion-dollar Northern Pass project, which would transmit 1,200 megawatts of hydro-generated power from Quebec. The proposal stands to dramatically re-shape the energy landscape throughout New England. CLF will be closely evaluating this project and taking actions necessary to ensure that it proceeds in an environmentally responsible way and results in significant reductions of greenhouse gas pollution.
• Continue our work promoting sustainable ocean management, resulting in healthy fishing communities, protection of areas of particular biodiversity and a promising source of renewable energy. CLF has made real progress in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and now we need to consolidate and expand that progress to all of New England’s oceans.
• Bring legal and community pressure on water polluters across the region, whether that pollution is caused by excess nutrients, stormwater or industrial sites. From reducing pollution from wastewater treatment facilities to promoting solutions for New England’s watersheds, CLF has the strength and persistence to protect our shared environment.

2010 was CLF’s most productive year to date. But let’s raise the bar and do even better in 2011. We’re going to need your support to accomplish our ambitious agenda. Please make a tax-deductible contribution today to maximize our impact in 2011.

Amidst the rush of the holiday season, thank you in advance for taking the time to protect your New England.