Proposed regulations by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to ratchet down climate-damaging emissions fall dramatically short of what’s needed and legally required – adding up to only about 70,000 tons of emissions, not the 5 million tons we need to reach a 2020 goal.
“EPA’s permitting program has for decades provided important protections for our water,” said CLF attorney Caitlin Peale Sloan. “Proposing inadequate funding from an already-strapped environmental protection budget in order to create a weak program demonstrates a real lack of understanding on behalf of our state leaders. While we certainly have reason to be wary about EPA’s continued ability to perform in the coming years, we cannot allow these near-term fears to push us into making a dangerous, long-term change. Massachusetts legislators should reject the proposal in its current form, and CLF welcomes the opportunity to work with the Baker Administration in finding a solution that actually provides continued protection for our natural resources.”
If you recently deleted your Uber app in response to the consumer boycott over the ride-hailing company’s behavior during the protests against Trump’s travel ban, you may want to think twice before you reinstall it. While Uber has amassed at least three more scandals since then, a new report is also giving us a first… Continue reading #DeleteUber Campaign Could Be Good for the Environment
The New Frontier in the Fight to Save Boston Harbor When CLF launched its 1983 lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for dumping toxic sludge and untreated wastewater into Boston Harbor, years of neglect by the federal government, the state, the city, and polluters had turned the harbor into a shameful liability. But over time,… Continue reading Boston Harbor 2.0
Climate change will impact septic systems. Lawmakers can get ahead of this clean water issue by adapting septic system regulations to the climate changes to come.
The Conservation Law Foundation, which has fiercely opposed the development, made good on its threat to sue the state to stop developer Jon Cronin’s $260 million project if it received approval from state environmental regulators. The project, proposed on the site of Cronin’s Whiskey Priest and Atlantic Beer Garden restaurants, got the green light from… Continue reading Environmental group files suit to stop Seaport condo tower
“The Boston waterfront is a public treasure, an engine of tourism and a hub of economic growth, but it all collapses when we neglect our communal right to this resource,” said CLF senior counsel Peter Shelley. “The public has invested well over fifteen billion dollars in the harbor cleanup and waterfront improvements and has a protected privilege to enjoy the benefits of these investments. By approving a luxury residential scheme that essentially privatizes a public resource, the Baker Administration is corrupting a longstanding process designed to protect public interest. The minute we prioritize individual development goals over the public good, we start down a slippery slope that could spell disaster for our communities and our harbor.”
Scott Pruitt is more than just a threat to our environment – he’s a threat to our economy, our safety, and our entire way of life. The stakes are too high to stand idly by. CLF is ready for the fight.
On Monday night, more than 100 people from the south-central Massachusetts towns of Sturbridge, Charlton, and Southbridge turned out for an emergency meeting of the Sturbridge Board of Health. They came to express their anger to the Regional Director of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) that the 19 home wells in the Sturbridge neighborhood… Continue reading Citizen Action Turns the Tide on Massive Landfill Expansion in Southbridge
For three years now, Big Gas has been spinning tall tales aimed at scaring you and me – and especially our local politicans – into locking in our addiction to dirty, polluting natural gas for decades to come. But their hype ignores the facts and the very real progress made over the past few years to avoid price spikes, keep the lights on, and tamp down our emissions of climate-damaging pollution.
