Image: Mystic Generating Station in Everett, Massachusetts. Credit: Fletcher6 / Creative Commons
July 2022 – The Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic published Opportunities for the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board to Advance Environmental Justice, which explores how the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) can or must use its existing authorities to better incorporate environmental justice (EJ) principles in its reviews of proposed energy facilities. The paper recommends that the EFSB:
• Make a “senior-level commitment” to environmental justice;
• Develop a formal EJ strategy;
• Issue impact review guidelines that explicitly take into account the distributive effects of proposed projects;
• Issue regulations for its consideration of cumulative impacts and of projects’ consistency with the EJ policy; and
• Develop these guidelines, regulations, and strategy pursuant to a process that prioritizes public engagement, especially with EJ communities.
This paper was written by Delaney King (JD ’23), in collaboration with Clinical Fellow Tommy Landers and Clinic Acting Director Shaun Goho. The paper is available here: Opportunities for the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board to Advance Environmental Justice