Environmental Policy & Law

Under the new bill, the number of tanks regulated by the act would shrink considerably, said Evan Hansen, president of West Virginia think tank Downstream Strategies. The bill exempts storage tanks that store oil or any other liquid associated with the oil or natural gas industry, and it also exempts tanks that hold less than 10,000 gallons.

Yesterday the Strategic Growth Council adopted guidelines for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program and scheduled workshops for early February to provide technical assistance to potential applicants.

Anne Clark Baker will begin a NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship in Washington, DC in February. Through the fellowship, Anne will work jointly with the Coastal States Organization and Institute for Water Resources at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to support integrated coastal policy analyses and development, technical coastal issue analysis and resolution, and Corps participation in collaborative partnerships. Read more

While rainfall can be a welcome sight in the dry Southland, when water hits the region’s concrete and blacktop landscape, it turns into a giant headache for beachgoers and environmentalists: untreated storm water or urban runoff.

Paying attention to the twinned threats of climate change and species extinction requires ingenuity, cash, and nimble legal mechanisms. Two novel solutions—REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and Biodiversity Offsetting—comprise potentially win-win solutions.

Robert Klee will be re-appointed as commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Gov. Dannel Malloy announced Monday. Klee, 40, has been serving as DEEP commissioner since January 2014 after working as the agency’s chief of staff for three years. He replaced Daniel Esty as head of the newly merged department, which was a key portion of Malloy’s reorganization plan during his first term as governor.

Kevin Kennedy was quoted in a New York Times article about the climate pact reached between the United States and China in November 2015. “It shows that the two big dogs in the room are taking the issue seriously,” said Kevin Kennedy of the World Resources Institute, a think tank. “It provides a real opportunity for the start of what could become a race to the top.” ...