For the first time in over 50 years, the City of Portland is rewriting its Land Use Code, which is found in Chapter 14 of the City’s Code of Ordinances. The effort involves several substantive policy changes aimed at making...more
1/13/2020
/ City Planning Departments ,
Construction Project ,
Impact Fees ,
Land Developers ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
On August 8, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule to update regulations implementing Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The rule was proposed in response to President Trump’s...more
8/13/2019
/ Certifications ,
Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Deregulation ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Native American Issues ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Tribal Governments ,
Trump Administration
Pierce Atwood’s Environmental and Land Use Practice Groups are pleased to provide a summary of key environmental legislation from the 129th Maine Legislature’s First Regular Session, which adjourned sine die, on June 20,...more
7/1/2019
/ Administrative Authority ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fishing Industry ,
Groundwater ,
Groundwater Management Plan ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Recycling ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Solid Waste ,
State and Local Government ,
Subdivision
The Army Corps of Engineers recently issued a Regulatory Guidance Letter (RGL) that sets out factors that should be considered by district engineers when determining the amount of mitigation credits that may be allowed for...more
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently proposed extensive changes to its Visible Emissions Regulation (Chapter 101) that may impact a facility’s ability to remain in compliance....more
On June 27, 2018, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) posted for public comment a draft petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to remove most of the state from the Ozone Transport Region...more
On May 17, 2018, after a lengthy and tortuous rulemaking that included substantive review and authorization by the Legislature, but only if certain changes were made, the Board of Environmental Protection adopted several...more
Despite Maine’s attainment of the ozone standards, Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) control requirements keep coming. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has proposed a new regulation, Chapter 166, that...more
5/17/2018
/ Clean Air Act ,
Department of Environmental Protection ,
Environmental Policies ,
Exemptions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Industrial Discharges ,
Industrial Products ,
Public Hearing ,
Solvents ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
A new policy memorandum from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt will impact one of the most common, complex, and fundamental questions regarding air permitting: Will my proposed project be...more
Staff of the Maine Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC or Commission) will introduce for discussion at the February 14, 2018 Commission meeting proposed revisions to the Commission’s application of the adjacency principle,...more
On January 25, 2018, EPA announced that it was withdrawing its “once in, always in” policy for the classification of major sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act. Under its new...more
You think maintaining compliance with opacity standards is a challenge now – just wait. As anyone who has started a campfire knows, opacity (the density of the smoke) tends to be high when starting and ending fuel burning,...more
1/18/2017
/ Air Pollution ,
Biomass ,
Boilers ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Internal Communications ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
State Implementation Plans (SIPs)
On December 14, 2016, EPA signed its proposed Kraft Pulp Residual Risk and Technology Review rule covering 40 C.F.R. Part 63, Subpart MM (a.k.a. “MACT II”) for recovery furnaces, lime kilns and smelt dissolving tanks at kraft...more
It is expected that the State of Maine multi-sector general stormwater permit for industrial facilities will be signed by Commissioner Mercer shortly. The new 5-year permit requires that facilities subject to the permit,...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that, at this time, no additional regulations are needed to address stormwater discharges from forest roads under Section 402(p)(6) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The...more
On Tuesday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a decision addressing when someone can appeal to court a local board decision that is related to another local board decision, and concluded that the appeal can be...more
As major sources gear up to meet the January 31, 2016, compliance deadline for the Boiler MACT regulation, EPA has finalized a number of revisions to the rule that might affect your facility’s compliance plans. On November...more
On October 1, 2015, EPA announced that the new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone would be 70 ppb, a 6.7% reduction of the current 75 ppb standard.
On November 25, 2014, EPA had proposed to...more
The Pierce Atwood Environmental and Land Use Practice Group is pleased to provide the 2015 Summary of Key Maine Environmental Legislation enacted or carried over in the First Regular Session of Maine's 127th Legislature...more
7/31/2015
/ Community Development ,
Conservation ,
Contamination ,
Department of Environmental Protection ,
Endangered Species ,
Flood Zones ,
Food Labeling ,
GMO ,
Groundwater ,
Landfills ,
Mining ,
Offshore Wind ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pesticides ,
Property Owners ,
Recycling ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solid Waste ,
State Budgets ,
Storm Water ,
Timber ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Trees ,
Water ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
On April 2, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Fish & Wildlife) issued a final rule listing the Northern Long-Eared Bat (NLEB) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This listing took effect...more
We recently reported on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) numerous proposed changes to Maine’s solid waste rules. These changes were proposed largely in response to legislation passed during the past...more
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court (the Law Court) recently issued an important decision that confirms the broad authority of the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) to review decisions of the Commissioner of the...more
On October 16, 2014, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (the Law Court) issued a decision in the case of Remmel v. City of Portland, reversing a finding by the Maine Superior Court that the Portland City Council’s approval of a...more
Since the mid-1990s, Maine has had an EPA-approved waiver from the ozone nonattainment new source review (NNSR) requirements for NOx covering, at a minimum, areas of the state that attain the ozone standard. The NOx waiver...more
In December 2012, the U.S. EPA finalized changes to its National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Source Boilers at 40 C.F.R. Part 63, Subpart JJJJJJ. Under this regulation, owners or operators of...more