Northern Pass received two major blows in March, knocking it fully out of contention as the energy winner in Massachusetts. The Commonwealth, which initially selected the proposed transmission line for a lucrative clean energy contract in January, severed ties and announced on March 28 that it is moving on to a different project. Just two… Continue reading New England Closes the Door on Northern Pass
“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
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its plans to reverse the nation’s landmark clean car standards. The impacts of weakening the standards will be widespread and severe, and will include raising costs for American families and businesses on gas, while dirtying the air that we breathe and harming the health of our families and… Continue reading EPA’s Roll Back of Clean Car Standards Will Cost Americans
“Alyssa Rayman-Read is a tenacious legal advocate who brings a depth of experience in reducing inequalities and enhancing the rights of vulnerable communities,” said Bradley Campbell, President of Conservation Law Foundation. “Her courage in building bridges amongst unlikely allies; her conviction in amplifying the voices of those who have been side-lined; and her commitment to social and climate justice make her uniquely qualified to advance CLF’s mission in Massachusetts.”
“Taking Northern Pass off the table is the right call for Massachusetts and New Hampshire,” said Greg Cunningham, VP and Director of CLF’s Clean Energy and Climate Change program. “Having been rejected now by two states, the writing is on the wall for Northern Pass – Eversource should pull its plug once and for all.”
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
… “In New England, like California, we are past the point where more gas can help us,” said David Ismay, a senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, which is fighting new gas plants in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Massachusetts, the region’s most populous state, wants 40% of its power from clean- energy resources by… Continue reading Natural Gas Under Assault in Some States After Brief Reign at the Top
“The least expensive energy is the energy you don’t use,” said CLF Attorney Amy Laura Cahn. “We have programs that could save everyone in our state money, but utilities aren’t making enough of an effort to reach middle-income families and renters and are not tracking their own progress in serving these groups. These are serious problems. But we have the chance to change course — it’s time for Massachusetts to stop resting on its laurels and move forward with energy efficiency.”
“This was a hail Mary effort of Northern Pass to meet the Massachusetts deadline and that hail Mary pass has failed,” said CLF attorney Melissa Birchard. “The New Hampshire siting committee unanimously rejected this bad proposal in February. The Committee is standing strong for the people of New Hampshire and will not allow Northern Pass to play fast and loose with the process. The writing is on the wall – Northern Pass is dead and Massachusetts must move on to a project that better serves the people of New England.”
