Previous Events & CLE Programs
June 22, 2009
Committee Meeting
Monday, June 22, 2009 - 12:30p
Topic: The Supreme Court’s decision in Burlington Northern v. United States
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May 14, 2009
Committee Meeting
Thursday, May 14, 2009 - 12:30p
Topic: "Waste-ful" Mediation Saves Time & Money: An ADR Update from EPA and MA DEP
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March 12, 2009
Committee Meeting
Thursday, March 12, 2009 - 12:30p
Topic: The Power of Public Apology
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February 12, 2009
Committee Meeting
Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 12:30p
Topic: Recent Developments in CERCLA
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December 11, 2008
Committee Meeting
Thursday, December 11, 2008 - 12:30p
Topic: CERCLA Lawsuits by Private Parties after U.S. v. A
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November 13, 2008
Committee Meeting
Update on DOER’s Renewable Energy Regulations
Sponsors
Hazardous & Solid Waste Committee
Energy & Telecommunications Law Committee
Please join Courtney Feeley Karp, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, for an update on renewable energy regulations. The Green Communities Act has launched a new era of clean energy development and will significantly impact the role that renewable energy will play in Massachusetts. It directs DOER to add a new Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (APS) and modify the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) by January 1, 2009. Also, by November 1, 2008, DOER must report on the feasibility of instituting a capacity requirement on electricity imported into the ISO-New England (ISO-NE) control area from renewable generators outside of New England.
Ms. Karp will discuss the ongoing development of these rules and the role for new renewable energy technologies including waste-to-energy, biomass, and construction and demolition (C&D) waste. She will also cover provisions for emission standards and carbon sequestration. Please join us for this informative discussion on upcoming regulatory changes.
October 9, 2008
Committee Meeting
Renewable Energy from Waste: Legal and Policy Issues
Thomas A. Mackie, Mackie Shea O'Brien, PC, will discuss the recent legal and policy changes promoting renewable energy, including the Green Communities Act. He will review the role of waste or secondary material as a fuel for renewable energy generation in light of DEP’s evolving solid waste policy, and the moratorium on municipal waste combustion.
September 4, 2008
Committee Meeting
Bank v. Thermo-Elemental, Inc.: The Most Recent SJC Decision on Chapter 21
Sponsors
Environmental Litigation Committee
Hazardous & Solid Waste Committee
Lisa Goodheart, Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C., and Jonathan Sablone, Nixon Peabody LLP, counsel for the parties in Bank, will discuss the case and its implications for practitioners. In Bank, the SJC resolved the long-pondered question whether a party who does not strictly comply with the MCP in performing a cleanup may nonetheless recover its cleanup costs under Chapter 21E. In so doing, the Court also confirmed that attorneys’ fees incurred in the course of implementing the cleanup are recoverable as response costs under Chapter 21E and established a new rule that a party seeking to recover attorneys fees under section 4A of Chapter 21E must affirmatively plead the claim.
June 3, 2008
Committee Meeting
Proposed Amendments to the AG's Brownfields Covenant Not To Sue Regulations
Benjamin Ericson, Brownfields Unit Chief, Office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, will discuss the AG's proposed amendments to its Brownfields Covenant Regulations. Brownfields Covenants provide protection from certain claims by state or private parties in exchange for commitments to redevelop and restore contaminated properties. The Attorney General's Office has released proposed amendments to its Brownfields Covenant Regulations after conducting public outreach seeking input on its brownfields program. Specifically, Mr. Ericson will discuss their justification and intent, the results of the public comment period and how this written and oral commentary may impact issuance of the regulations in final form.
March 27, 2008
Committee Meeting
Recent Developments in the USEPA Region I CERCLA Enforcement Program
Join Joanna Jerison, Superfund Legal Office, for an update on recent legal and policy developments pertaining to Superfund enforcement and cleanups. The Superfund Program in USEPA Region I continues to be active in the implementation of CERCLA remediation activities throughout the New England area.
February 28, 2008
Committee Meeting
USDOT/PHMSA: Federal Hazardous Materials RegulationsApplicability and Enforcement
Sponsors
Hazardous & Solid Waste Committee
Environmental Litigation Committee
Time & Place
Mike Hilder and Margaret Carson, U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”), will present an introduction on the applicability of Federal regulations to the transportation of all types of hazardous materials by air, rail, highway, and water, and the measures of Federal, State, and local officials to promote compliance with those regulations.
Mr. Hilder, an attorney with PHMSA’s Office of Chief Counsel, will summarize the Federal statutory and regulatory scheme and the relationship of DOT’s authority with that of OSHA, EPA, and the U.S. Postal Service. He will also explain PHMSA’s procedures for conducting civil penalty enforcement cases when investigators discover noncompliance. Ms. Carson, an investigator with PHMSA’s Office of Hazardous Materials Enforcement, will discuss PHMSA’s procedures for conducting inspections and observations to investigate whether shipments are being made in compliance with the Federal regulations. They hope to provide insight into measures you can take to help clients achieve compliance and deal with PHMSA in the event that noncompliance is discovered.
December 3, 2007
Committee Meeting
Challenges of the MA Mercury Management Act
Sarah Weinstein, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of MassDEP’s Bureau of Waste Prevention, and Ann Berwick, Undersecretary for Energy in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, will discuss the challenges associated with the Massachusetts Mercury Management Act (MMA). Specific topics include the MMA as a template for producer responsibility legislation in the Commonwealth, the implications of the Act on recent energy conservation initiatives, and efforts to overcome the apparent clash of environmental priorities associated with mercury.
"Producer responsibility" is an approach to waste management in which product manufacturers take responsibility for collecting and recycling their products that contain hazardous materials when the product is no longer useful. The Massachusetts Legislature has enacted one such bill, the Massachusetts Mercury Management Act ("MMA", Chapter 190 of the Acts of 2006), which is designed to remove mercury products from solid waste and thereby reduce the toxicity of our trash. Initial implementation has identified some challenges with this approach that can teach important technical and legal lessons for upcoming "producer responsibility" laws. Join us as we discuss these critical issues.
October 26, 2007
Committee Meeting
Update on the Massachusetts Safe Neighborhood Chemical Initiative (SCNI)
Join us as we discuss the Safe Neighborhood Chemical Initiative (SNCI). Specifically we will provide an update on the initiative and present the perspective on the legal implications from an attorney representing one of the affected companies, and the enforcement implications.
SNCI, conducted jointly by the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services (DFS) and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), began in response to the Danversport explosion of CAI Inc. and Arnel Co. and the South Hadley evacuation involving the release of acid vapor from Presstek Inc. Forty-four companies, all in high population density areas, were identified for inspection as part of the SNCI. The inspection process involved team training and protocol development for consistency purposes, development and mailing of a detailed “Request For Information” (RFI), which each company was obligated to answer under the authority of Statute 21E, an inspection, walk through and audit, closing conference and written report.
September 27, 2007
Committee Meeting
The Battle for Control of Rail Based Solid Waste Facilities
Stephen Richmond, of Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., and Siu Tip Lam, from the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, will discuss the recent controversy over the siting of rail based solid waste facilities in the Northeast and provide an update on recent case decisions. There have been a number of solid waste facilities built recently under claims that they are exempt from most state and local laws due to their connection to rail carriers, and the controversy caused by these operations has been heard before numerous federal and state courts and the Surface Transportation Board. Both Mr. Richmond and Mr. Lam have been heavily involved in these cases, both arguing for state and local control of rail based solid waste facilities.
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