“The last thing the asthma capital of the U.S. needs is a plant spewing air pollution and further imperiling public health,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, Interim Director of CLF Massachusetts. “Springfield residents made their opposition to this polluting plant clear, and DEP officials have handed them a win today. The fact is that burning biomass is neither clean nor renewable and it should be left in the past with fossil fuels.”
“Public access to Boston’s beautiful waterfront won today,” said Peter Shelley, Senior Counsel at CLF. “State officials acted unlawfully in coming up with the Downtown Municipal Harbor Plan and handed private developers a free pass to create new rules to benefit themselves. The judge saw right through this effort and affirmed that only the state’s Department of Environmental Protection can make decisions that protect the public’s centuries-old right to access the water and waterfront.”
“The last thing the asthma capital of the U.S. needs is a plant spewing air pollution and further imperiling public health,” Caitlin Peale Sloan, interim director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Conservation Law Foundation, said in a statement. “Springfield residents made their opposition to this polluting plant clear, and DEP officials have handed them a win today. “
Shira Gubb is the Vice President for Human Resources at CLF, where she oversees HR functions for the organization – including recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, and compliance. Shira has experience prior to CLF in both nonprofit and for-profit organizations as well as municipal government. She most recently worked at the Cambridge Public Library… Continue reading Shira Gubb
Regulators have known for more than 20 years that vessel strikes kill right whales at an alarming rate. But to date, they haven’t put forward a real solution.
No state here in New England has required its utilities to assess their vulnerability to climate change – or take action to prepare for it. With our homes, lives, and livelihoods at stake, allowing utilities to be so unprepared is irresponsible and simply too big a risk to take. CLF is pushing to change that – starting with Massachusetts.
After years of advocacy from CLF and our partners, Massachusetts has passed a critical climate and environmental justice bill that updates our existing climate law and adds protections for historically marginalized communities.
“Massachusetts is already seeing the impacts of the climate crisis so we must continue to lead on bold climate policy,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, Interim Director of CLF Massachusetts. “As this bill becomes law, we can finally begin the essential work of slashing emissions and creating a safer, more sustainable future for all residents. Governor Baker must work quickly to implement new rules that ensure the state’s ambitious climate goals are realized.”
To be environmentalists – to stand up for healthy communities for all people across New England – we must be anti-racist. We cannot, and will not, be silent.
The Springfield City Council will challenge Palmer Renewable Energy’s decade-old building permit with the help of the nonprofit Conservation Law Foundation of Boston.
