Firm senior partner Gregor I. McGregor and firm associate Caroline E. Smith this fall presented our Environmental Law Update 2024 to the Real Estate Bar Association (REBA) and Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association (MMLA) at their annual meetings.
We were pleased to be invited again to address this year’s significant new court rulings, statutes, regulations, policies, and trends in federal, Massachusetts, and local environmental law and related land use and real estate news.
The 2024 survey covered the U.S. Supreme Court, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) and Appeals Court, U.S. Congress, Massachusetts Legislature, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA), and Department of Environmental Protection MassDEP).
The presentations focused on the contents of a comprehensive PowerPoint:
- ADMINISTRATIVE LAW : SEA CHANGE in the FEDERAL COURTS
- ARTICLE 97: THE OPEN SPACE ACT (aka PUBLIC LANDS PRESERVATION ACT)
- CAPE COD SEPTIC SYSTEMS viz STRESSED WATERSHEDS
- ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE : FEDERAL and MASSACHUSETTS LAW
- MBTA COMMUNITIES ZONING versus HOME RULE
- NEPA REGULATIONS: CEQ SUBSTANTIAL REVISIONS
- PFAS: EXPANDING REGULATIONS under FEDERAL LAW
- PRIOR PUBLIC USE: LAW ON CARE and CONTROL OF LAND
- STATE STORMWATER STANDARDS: under REVISION
- MA COASTAL FLOODPLAIN RULES: BIG CHANGES IMMINENT
- LAND DEDICATION and PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL
A PDF version of this PowerPoint is found in this site’s Slide Shows.