Under the new standard, fossil fuel projects will face heightened scrutiny. Photo: Shutterstock
June 25, 2026 (Boston, MA) – After years of advocacy by environmental justice communities across Massachusetts, landmark energy siting reforms will take effect on July 1. Starting that day, the Energy Facilities Siting Board will require developers to assess cumulative impacts – how existing environmental burdens stack up – before a large energy project can move forward. And for the first time, community members will have access to grants to hire their own technical experts and make their voices heard in the process.
“This date marks a turning point for how Massachusetts builds its clean energy future,” said Alex St. Pierre, CLF’s vice president for environmental justice. “These rules mean developers have to do the hard work upfront – talking with communities early, understanding what a neighborhood already lives with, and addressing concerns before they become conflicts. Massachusetts is proving what other states should take note of: we don’t have to choose between protecting environmental justice communities and advancing the projects we need for a cleaner, more productive economy.”
The rules, adopted under the 2024 Massachusetts Climate Act, require the Siting Board to use the state’s MassEnviroScreen tool to evaluate whether a project would pile new burdens onto communities already dealing with more than their fair share of pollution, flood risk, or public health stress. The new rules will apply to large energy projects, including clean energy generation projects of 25 megawatts or more, energy storage projects of 100 megawatt-hours or more, electrical substations, and major transmission lines. Under the new standard, fossil fuel projects will face heightened scrutiny.
These changes did not come easily. Communities in East Boston, New Bedford, Springfield, and across the state spent years – sometimes decades – fighting energy projects that ignored what their neighborhoods already endured. CLF fought alongside them: in court, at the State House, and through the rulemaking process that produced these rules.
CLF will continue working alongside partners across Massachusetts to ensure agencies listen to communities, enforce the law, and reject projects that would deepen existing harms.
Community Partners on What the New Rules Mean
GreenRoots
“GreenRoots is thrilled to see cumulative impacts analysis take effect in the energy facilities siting process. We witnessed just how detrimental the lack of cumulative impact analysis and meaningful community engagement was through the Eversource substation permitting process in East Boston. The substation was permitted with no meaningful community engagement and no analysis on what an additional infrastructure burden would mean for a neighborhood already disproportionately impacted by environmental harms. GreenRoots, CLF and partners worked tirelessly to ensure a situation like this never happens again. We’re thrilled that the equity and consideration our Eastie neighborhood deserved, but didn’t get, will be mandated for other EJ communities across Massachusetts.”
– Rosie Bongiovanni, executive director at GreenRoots.
Union of Concerned Scientists
“Black, Brown, and low-income communities historically overburdened by hazardous pollutants cannot be treated as sacrifice zones. Through this new process, Massachusetts becomes a nationwide leader in directly addressing legacies of environmental injustice while building the clean energy future we urgently need. Equitable siting is an essential step in building a grid that helps, not harms.”
– Paula García, senior manager for energy justice research and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE)
“We honor the years of grassroots courage and advocacy that got us to this point. ACE’s recent report on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) made clear what frontline communities have known for generations: 100% of power generating units in Massachusetts are located within 3 miles of environmental justice communities and this siting contributes to worse air pollution. This new regulatory process provides an opportunity to do things differently.
Developers must now engage communities before they break ground, not after. They must map cumulative pollution, not just individual smokestacks, and neighborhoods finally have real resources to hire their own experts and meet power with power.
But implementation is everything. We look forward to working with all stakeholders, agencies, developers, and community alike, to leverage this new process to change outcomes for communities that have waited too long.”
– Tristan Thomas, director of policy and law at Alternatives for Community and Environment.
North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB)
The North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB) continues to advocate for rules that reflect the state’s obligation to Indigenous people.
“Although we commend the work of community stakeholders, advocates, and government partners who made the adoption of these energy siting reforms possible, we are disappointed that the unique needs and rights of Indigenous communities have not been addressed in these regulations despite our previous efforts. Native Americans have a recognized special status in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts defined by treaties, covenants, acts of the General Court, and executive order. We call on the Siting Board and OEJE to explicitly recognize Indigenous communities as a distinct and intergovernmental stakeholder category whose unique EJ issues and legally enshrined rights must be considered in the development of these siting regulations.”
– Jean-Luc Pierite, board president at NAICOB.
CLF and community experts are available for further comment.
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