Watch CLF Staff Attorney Shanna Cleveland discuss the recent Supreme Judicial Court victory for Cape Wind on NECN’s “Broadside” TV program with Chet Curtis (standing in for Jim Braude), which aired last night. Shanna played a key role as CLF’s lead attorney on this case, and thoughtfully navigated complicated issues such as the long-term contracts between Cape Wind and National Grid.
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Today, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided to uphold the comprehensive permit for Cape Wind’s transmission lines issued by the state’s Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB)–a welcome and much-anticipated milestone for the nation’s first major offshore wind energy project. CLF has been actively involved in moving the ball forward on Cape Wind throughout its nine-year review and permitting process, and we’re thrilled that Cape Wind will finally have an opportunity to to move forward and provide Massachusetts with clean, renewable power.
Here’s what CLF Staff Attorney Shanna Cleveland had to say on the subject:
“The Court thoroughly reviewed the extensive record in this case and correctly concluded that the state siting board rigorously scrutinized the project and fulfilled its obligation to safeguard the public trust. Cape Wind will provide electricity without producing any harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and its clean energy benefits are expected to significantly outweigh its impacts. The Court’s affirmation of Cape Wind’s comprehensive state permit is a significant step on the path toward a clean energy future for New England and the nation.”
Check out clf.org for the full press statement>>
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Photo courtesy of Korrin Petersen, Coalition for Buzzard's Bay
Most people, whether they’re New Englanders or not, associate Cape Cod with pristine beaches, sparkling water, diverse plant and marine life. They don’t normally think of excessive algae blooms and scores of dead fish lining the shores of what many New Englanders consider their second home. Unfortunately, the Cape is rapidly becoming more of the latter (see photo above) due to untreated wastewater from septic systems flowing into Cape Cod’s waterways. The problem gets worse with each passing summer season.
Today, CLF and The Coalition for Buzzards Bay (CBB) took legal action to expedite the cleanup of the Cape’s legendary waterways by holding federal and county authorities accountable for reducing nitrogen pollution. In particular, the organizations called the EPA to the table to fulfill its legal obligations under the Clean Water Act to permit and regulate the discharge of nitrogen into the Cape’s waters.
Here’s what CLF President John Kassel had to say on the issue:
“The destruction of Cape Cod’s bays and estuaries must not be allowed to continue unchecked. Decades of foot-dragging are now threatening the very lifeblood of the Cape. We know the culprit and we know the solution. We need the Obama administration to prioritize clean-up of this treasured resource as it has with the Chesapeake Bay and for the EPA to step up to the plate and fulfill its legal obligation to control nitrogen pollution.”
Learn More:
Read the full news release at CLF.org>>
Learn more about nitrogen pollution on the Cape>>
Read the recent NY Times article on the issue>>
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It’s the height of vacation season out on Cape Cod, the age-old summer refuge of New Englanders and non-New Englanders alike. But nothing ruins a vacation week faster than heading down to the beach only to be accosted by “no swimming” signs and huge clumps of seaweed and algae floating in the very waters that used to invite fun in the sun.
This is the problem detailed in yesterday’s New York Times article “Cape Cod Waters in Pollution Crisis.” CLF has been working to take steps to correct the problem for over a year and a half. This morning, NYTimes.com reported that the article is the third-most e-mailed today–signaling to CLF advocates that we’re working on an issue that a whole lot of people care a whole lot about.
The article also quotes CLF’s own Chris Kilian, director of our Clean Water and Healthy Forests program.
“A lawsuit would be intended to bring all of the relevant decision makers and authorities who should be part of the solution to the table,” Kilian told the Times reporter.
These unwanted green monsters are signs of a major pollution problem in Cape Cod’s legendary bays and waterways. The problem is caused by untreated wastewater from the septic systems, which threatens the health of local waters and the plant and marine life that live there–and the problem continues to get worse every year. Moreover, officials have known about the problem for over 30 years, and failed to do anything to stop it.
However, the effects of the pollution can be reversed by drafting stronger wastewater management plans and implementing more effective pollution removal technology–but towns have to act now. CLF is working to make that happen, before it’s too late.
Read more about CLF’s work on water pollution in Cape Cod at clf.org>>
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…you can learn Commonwealth Magazine’s “Energy and the environment” issue, out this month. The magazine gives a detailed account of how Massachusetts is doing environmentally–and where we fall short–across a broad range of environmental issues. Best of all, the issue includes interviews with CLF Vice President for Climate Advocacy and Policy Seth Kaplan (“Grass is greener”) and CLF Board of Trustees member (and former CLF president) Doug Foy (“Who’s the real environmentalist?”).
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Using the authority given it by Congress in the Clean Air Act, and affirmed by the Supreme Court in the landmark case of Massachusetts v. EPA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to address the threat to the public health and environment from the greenhouse gases damaging our climate. But, as David Jenkins of Republicans for Environmental Protection describes on the Frum Forum website that effort is under attack by an effort led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
The full piece is well worth reading but the punchline is of special interests to New Englanders who are represented by Senators Scott Brown (R-MA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) or Judd Gregg (R-NH) who voted for Sen. Murkowski’s Dirty Air Act/Big Oil Bailout/EPA rollback the first time it got to the Senate floor:
Murkowski’s framing insinuates that her resolution is paving the way for Congress to take action . . . Unfortunately, that is not what is going on here . . . Murkowski has not been pushing at all for legislation to price carbon, and efforts by sponsors of such legislation to gain her support have been unsuccessful.
Instead she is putting all of her energy and passion into preempting EPA. “You attack it at all fronts,” Murkowski recently told Politico. “You go the judicial route. You go the legislative route.”
. . .
It is time for any member of Congress who still supports Senator Murkowski’s endeavor—or similar efforts—to drop all pretenses and tell the voters why they support the unfettered polluting of our life-sustaining atmosphere.
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If you were listening to Maine Public Radio yesterday (whether because you are on vacation or because you live there) you might have caught this piece about plans to develop a sub-sea cable from Maine to Boston.
Bottom line: In order to meet the climate and energy goals that science and sound policy dictate we will need to build thousands of megawatts of clean renewable generation (as well as becoming much more efficient and many other key steps) and the infrastructure to support it. And a sub-sea cable could be part of that solution, if it is done right.
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Through a recently released tool authored by the World Resources Institute as part of Google’s Public Data Explorer, users are able to visualize greenhouse gas emissions like never before:
On a per capita basis, New England states are leading the pack with some of the lowest numbers.
Why?
The proof, as they say, is in the pudding:
Of course, there’s still plenty of room for improvement – and in this midst of this climate crisis, we’re all going to have to do much better to turn things around.
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Yesterday, an exciting and inspiring delegation of emerging leaders from the international environmental community paid a visit to CLF’s Boston office. The delegation was sponsored by the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, a professional exchange program that seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through short-term visits such as this one. The group was in the U.S. to learn how environmental law is implemented and enforced here, and they chose CLF specifically as the group to advise them. WorldBoston, a local nonprofit organization, organized the Boston portion of the delegation’s visit to the U.S.
The fifteen delegation participants came from the world over – Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Haiti, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Serbia, Thailand, Uganda, Venezuela, Vietnam and the West Bank. While all do work related to the environment, the list of their careers was as diverse as the list of their nationalities! Scientists, professors, elected officials, government employees, NGO officers and other professions gathered around the conference table to hear CLF attorneys speak about their work advocating for environmental policies and taking violators of those policies to court.
Massachusetts Advocacy Center director Peter Shelley kicked off the meeting, welcoming the guests and providing them with an introduction to CLF’s mission, program areas, and organizational structure. He then transitioned into a discussion of CLF’s legal work, explaining that in the U.S., we have important legal tools available that allow organizations such as CLF to bring lawsuits against polluters and even the government, and that allow them to recoup the costs of their legal fees if they win. Attorneys Shanna Cleveland, Seth Kaplan, and Cynthia Liebman also discussed their work at CLF and their experiences with the U.S. legal system. Delegates expressed keen interest in the strategies discussed and shared thoughts on the contrasts between the legal system in the U.S. and in their own nations. Everyone expressed agreement that government is not always as transparent as it claims to be (although another benefit of the U.S. legal system that was discussed is our tremendous access to data through environmental review procedures and Freedom of Information Act requests).
The event was a great success, and the morning flew by amid the discussion. CLF was honored to host such a motivated and interesting group of people, and we hope that the delegation enjoyed learning from us as much as we enjoyed learning from them.
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On an appropriately wet and windy afternoon yesterday in Boston, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act with a vote of 101-52. Modeled after the bill passed by the Senate in February, the Act will streamline the siting process for wind energy projects, making it easier for developers and local authorities alike to incorporate well-designed wind power initiatives into the plan to meet the state’s energy demand. The new legislation is a major step towards building a clean energy economy for Massachusetts and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. The bill will now head to a House-Senate conference committee for further discussion.
Here’s what Sue Reid, director of CLF’s Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Change Program, had to say on the issue:
“Massachusetts needs to tap into its abundant wind energy resources in order to meet its clean energy goals. We are delighted that the Massachusetts House of Representatives has joined the Senate in passing this wind siting reform bill that is crucial to meeting the state’s energy demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preserving our natural resources. This new legislation will make it easier to develop well-designed wind energy projects. Today’s vote represents a key victory in the state’s ongoing efforts to reduce our dependence on dirty fossil-fuel fired power in Massachusetts.”
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