EPA has finally proposed revisions to the national ambient air quality standard for PM2.5. The Administrator is proposing to lower the standard from 12.0 ug/m3 to a range of 9.0 to 10.0 ug/m3. 
Readers of this space will recall that the Clean Air Science Advisory Committee recommended that EPA lower the PM2.5 NAAQS to between
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U.S. DOE Announces $3.5 Billion to Accelerate Direct Air Capture Commercialization
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced a $3.5 billion funding opportunity to create regional Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hubs. The DAC Hubs program is one of four new programs announced by the Biden-Harris administration aimed at building “a commercially viable, just, and responsible carbon dioxide removal industry,” in the U.S. with funds from
MassDEP Proposes Cumulative Impact Analysis Regulations — It’s About to Get Interesting.
After more than a year of work, MassDEP has proposed regulations that would require applicants to perform cumulative impact analysis prior to issuance of certain air emissions permits. The regulations were required by the environmental justice provisions of the 2021 Climate Roadmap Act.
The requirement to perform a CIA will apply to any person
EPA and the Corps Promulgate a “Durable” WOTUS Rule — Proving Only That There Is a Difference Between Hope and Expectation
Last week, EPA and the Army Corps finally published their long-awaited rule defining “Waters of the United States.” Will the WOTUS rule finally provide the clarity for which we have been waiting, allowing the rule to be as “durable” as the agencies claim, or will it instead be dead on arrival, made irrelevant by the
Another Day Older and Deeper in (Carbon) Debt
The International Energy Agency has released its 2022 Coal analysis and forecast. It is sobering. By the time 2022 is over, world-wide coal consumption will have exceeded 8 billons tonnes for the first time. In other words, 2022 was a record year for coal. It is true that demand was largely flat compared to 2021
FERC Proposes to Implement Expanded Transmission Siting Authority
On December 15, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in which the Commission proposes to implement its newly clarified authority under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”) to issue permits if a state denies an applicant’s request to site transmission facilities in a designated National Interest
Next Up for Massachusetts Building Emissions Reductions: Tackling the Clean Heat Challenge
This week, the Massachusetts Commission on Clean Heat released its final report. The report seeks to establish a framework for a long-term reduction in emissions from heating fuels, to align with the Commonwealth’s emissions reduction target of net zero by 2050 and the 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap.
According to the 2050 Roadmap, on-site combustion
BOEM Slated to Act on Two Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Activities in 2023
We’re closely monitoring offshore wind activities in the Gulf of Maine. Interested in learning about state-led offshore wind efforts in Maine? Check out this recent blog post on the Maine Offshore Wind Roadmap.The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for the development of offshore
Our Environmental Statutes Are Broken
Last week, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a writ of mandamus to the Center for Biological Diversity, imposing a deadline on EPA to issue an “effects determination” concerning the potential impacts of the pesticide cyantraniliprole. 
This effects determination was supposed to be issued before EPA registered the pesticide. Unfortunately, EPA did not do
The Social Cost of Greenhouse Gas Emissions is About to Get Much More Expensive
Following an announcement at COP27 by President Biden, the EPA issued a supplemental proposal to reduce methane and other harmful emissions from new and existing sources in the oil and gas industry. In its regulatory impact analysis for the supplemental proposal, EPA included a sensitivity analysis detailing a revised methodology and new estimates for