In this special issue of Conservation Matters, we want to take you behind the scenes of our work, to give you a glimpse into how we break down challenges and take advantage of opportunities to create a healthy, thriving New England – not just for today, but for generations to come.
“By issuing this permit, the Baker administration has clogged our community’s air, water, and land with another 500,000 tons of toxic ash in Rumney Marsh,” said Kirstie Pecci, Director of the Zero Waste Project at Conservation Law Foundation. “We will all be able to breathe easier when the Commonwealth stops pandering to dangerous landfills and starts protecting public health by enforcing its zero waste regulations.”
On a Thursday night in late November of last year, residents from Chelsea and East Boston came out in force for a meeting of Massachusetts’s Energy Facility Siting Board. At issue: a proposal by Eversource, the state’s largest utility company, to build and operate two new 115-kilovolt underground electric transmission lines and an above-ground substation… Continue reading Massachusetts Environmental Justice Act Moves Forward
Local residents have defeated ballot questions aimed at allowing Casella Waste Systems to expand the Bethlehem Landfill. Now CLF and Toxics Action Center have announced a lawsuit to hold the landfill operator accountable for water pollution into the Ammonoosuc River.
As we close out a month in which the Massachusetts coast was hit with three nor’easters – and narrowly missed a fourth – Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is still considering whether to allow Wheelabrator to continue dumping huge quantities of ash from its trash incinerator into its adjacent landfill in Saugus. The Agency’s… Continue reading Deadline Looms for Decision on Expansion of Dangerous Landfill in Saugus
Waste Management wants to expand its Turnkey landfill in Rochester, New Hampshire. Expanding what is already our region’s largest landfill would put communities and our environment at risk – and undermine efforts to reduce waste in the first place.
A new law in New Hampshire adopts much-needed protections to stem the tide of childhood lead poisoning cases in the state.
“A project that had been a battleground will now create common ground,” said CLF president Bradley Campbell, “and Jon Cronin deserves credit for resolving differences with CLF in favor of expanded public access to the waterfront. CLF spent decades and taxpayers have spent billions of dollars transforming Boston Harbor from an open sewer to a natural treasure and an engine of new growth. This settlement honors those public investments and makes clear that greater public access can go hand-in-hand with new development.”
… A Tuesday letter from the Conservation Law Foundation notifying the commission and MassDevelopment of its intent to sue alleges that both violated the federal Clean Water Act by failing to apply for and obtain a permit to legally discharge the water. Stormwater is runoff from rain or snow melt that picks up chemicals, toxins,… Continue reading Devens hit with lawsuit over Clean Water Act violation
“For too long, we’ve put New Hampshire kids on the front lines of this serious public health problem – risking their health and their futures with the permanent effects of lead poisoning,” said Tom Irwin, Director of the New Hampshire office of Conservation Law Foundation. “Today’s vote is a victory for kids across the state. And because childhood lead poisoning often has a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and people of color, creating yet another barrier to breaking the cycle of poverty, today’s vote is a victory for some of New Hampshire’s most vulnerable children and families. We look forward to seeing the Governor sign this important bill into law.”
