Following on the heels of a April 2, 2007 Supreme Court ruling, Massachusetts has “now become the first state to require developers of large real estate projects to quantify and mitigate GHG emissions from such developments,” and this “can be expected to shape how project proponents evaluate, design and develop large projects within Massachusetts and perhaps elsewhere,” according to a recent article from Goodwin Proctor LLP.

In Massachusetts et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency et al., the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, remanded the EPA, affirming that the agency did, in fact, have the capacity to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide (CO2) from new vehicles.  On May 14, in response to the April 2 decision, President Bush ordered the EPA and Departments of Transportation, Energy and Agriculture to collaborate in forming regulations aimed at reducing fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.  “In the absence of a federal standard for vehicle emissions,” explains Daniel Coffey of Hiscock and Barclay, LLP, in this article, “several states have moved forward to implement their own guidance.”

While other states are moving forward to make their own vehicle emissions regulations, Massachusetts is taking GHG regulation into uncharted waters… Find the rest of the article HERE!