The Journal of t h e C o n s e rvat i o n L aw F o u n d at i o n w w w. c l f. o r g
WINTER 2009
IN THIS ISSUE
4 Our Commitment to the Future 5 CLF Offers Challenge Match! 6 Around the States 8 CLF Welcomes Bill Coleman as Interim President
A Half-Decade at CLF’s Helm Phil Warburg Reflects on his Years as CLF President
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A Half-Decade at CLF’s Helm After five years as CLF President, Phil Warburg is leaving CLF to pursue some longcontemplated independent writing. We’d like to share with you his parting reflections: When I joined CLF a little over five years ago, my daughters Tali and Maya – then 11 and nine – knew New England through the very limited lens of brief family gatherings at their grandmother’s home in Connecticut. We had spent most of the previous decade in the Middle East. Since our return, Tali and Maya have grown to know and love summer swims at Walden Pond, occasional forays to the White Mountains, Lake Champlain and Cape Cod, and – of course – their home team, the Red Sox. For me, reconnecting to my New England roots has been a joy, and leading CLF through a very important phase in its development has been a privilege. Long a lawyerly powerhouse, CLF has reinforced that reputation over the past half-decade. We successfully sued the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to secure important new commitments to build public transit in Boston, and have backed the New England states in fighting off automakers’ challenges to state-level greenhouse gas emissions standards for new motor vehicles. In the water realm, we prevailed at trial against the Massachusetts Highway Department, compelling that agency to get serious about cleaning up the stormwater pollution that flows unabated from its roads and parking areas into adjacent waterways. Through another CLF win, the City of Portsmouth will substantially re-
duce nitrogen pollution from its sewage plant – a major threat to New Hampshire’s Great Bay. And in Vermont’s Environmental Court, CLF closed the biggest loophole in the Clean Water Act by requiring existing big box stores and strip malls to rein in stormwater runoff by installing low-impact development measures. These are but a few examples of CLF’s
“…we first define the change we seek and then rally the resources we need to achieve that change.” legal victories over the past half-decade. But CLF’s achievements have extended far beyond the courtroom. Over the past several years our advocacy teams have carefully shaped our strategic priorities to be sure we are addressing New England’s most important environmental problems – not simply those that have a clear litigation angle. Armed with this broader definition of advocacy, we first define the change we seek and then rally the resources we need to achieve that change. CLF’s advocates today are as determined and persuasive at legislative and regulatory hearings as in courts of law – and we have important new environmental protections to show for it. We have successfully pressed for “hard” economy-wide greenhouse gas reduction deadlines in Massachusetts, and have helped usher in the Massachusetts Ocean Act, a monumental new law that, for the first time in the nation, requires a state to implement comprehensive planning
Securing firm, enforceable milestones for building new public transit in Boston is just one hallmark of Phil’s CLF legacy.
for its ocean resources. In Rhode Island, CLF beamed a spotlight on improperly approved permits of the Coastal Resources Management Council, forcing that agency to uphold its environmental protection mission. And in Maine, CLF helped block a local zoning amendment that would have allowed a coal gasification plant to be built, and we then obtained a legislative moratorium on new coal plants until the state establishes first-in-the-nation greenhouse gas emission standards for coal-powered facilities. In addition to proving ourselves versatile and persuasive in a variety of law and policy settings, we are pushing beyond traditional frontiers of environmental protection as we seek more comprehensive solutions to complex environmental problems. Our Call to Action on climate change, released last summer, identifies five major steps that – if implemented over the next five years – will set New England finally on a course toward energy self-reliance while substantially reducing our carbon footprint. Getting 2,000 megawatts of new wind energy up and running is one of those steps. In support of offshore wind energy development, we have navigated the labyrinth of regulatory and legal obstacles erected by diehard opponents to Cape Wind, who have raised nearly $16 million to make sure this project never blocks their ocean views. On land, CLF Ventures is providing regulatory guidance to the developers of an even larger wind project in Aroostook County, Maine. In contrast to many more traditional conservation groups, CLF makes it a priority to get the right things built in the right places, rather than simply stopping the wrong things from being built in the wrong places. Our big-picture perspective also drives our ocean advocacy. While we continue to make the case for more stringent regulation of New England’s fisheries, we recognize that true protection of our ocean environment calls for safeguarding ocean habitat on a much larger scale. Our Campaign for New England’s Ocean, geared toward creating a network of marine protected areas in the Gulf of Maine, aspires to fill this major resource protection gap. Another hallmark of CLF’s advocacy over the past half-decade is our abiding commitment to building strong and lasting alliances with diverse community partners.
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Whether working with local allies to press for a new rapid transit line through Boston’s lower-income Dorchester and Mattapan neighborhoods or teaming up with lobstermen opposed to a new coal-fired power plant in Wiscasset, Maine, our lawyers consider community alliance-building to be integral and essential to their advocacy. Though a relatively small part of the nation, New England’s value as a laboratory for innovation far outstrips our region’s modest geographical dimensions. CLF over these
“CLF makes it a priority to get the right things built in the right places, rather than simply stopping the wrong things from being built in the wrong places.” past years has been a powerful catalyst in moving the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative from concept to law and, ultimately, to full implementation by all New England states. This innovative cap-and-trade curb on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants promises to provide valuable guidance as the new U.S. Congress gives longoverdue attention to energy and climate solutions in the coming year. A new law mandating major economy-wide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions enacted in Massachusetts and similar legislation under consideration in Rhode Island provide further inspiration as Washington policymakers explore options for battling climate change while boosting clean-energy jobs. These are laws that CLF has fought hard to advance. It’s worth noting that President-Elect Obama picked up on these precedents shortly after his November election, presenting U.S. Governors with the need for a phased 80 percent reduction in global warming gases by 2050. CLF derives its strength not only from our smart, dedicated advocates, but also from the values and commitment they share with our board community and thousands of CLF supporters across New England – people who see and embrace the big-picture environmental challenges facing our region, our nation and our world. People like you. Thank you for all you bring to CLF’s work on behalf of New England’s environment.
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Five years of of victories for New England’s environment Under Phil Warburg’s leadership, CLF has catalyzed major progress in protecting New England’s environment and communities.
Working for a clean energy future In every New England state, CLF has advanced new climate change laws, setting a 2020 cap on greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts and promoting ratemaking reforms and new subsidies for renewable energy and energy efficiency across the region. CLF has helped move New England’s first large-scale wind energy projects through a series of regulatory hurdles, often surmounting heavily funded opposition. CLF’s advocacy was critical to New England states’ joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and to ensuring that funds raised by auctioning carbon allowances under this cap-and-trade program would be used for energy efficiency. CLF’s Climate Call to Action, released in 2008, charted a five-year course for achieving major greenhouse gas reductions by stepping up investment in energy efficiency, siting major new wind energy facilities, shutting down coal plants, and shifting transportation investments from the private car to public transit. CLF was a party to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Massachusetts v. EPA, establishing greenhouse gases from cars and trucks as air pollutants subject to regulation under the U.S. Clean Air Act. And in Vermont, CLF successfully intervened in a federal trial that affirmed the right of states to regulate global warming pollutants from motor vehicles in the absence of nationwide standards. Plans for a coal gasification power plant and diesel refinery in Wiscasset, ME, were set aside in 2008, following efforts by CLF and community allies. CLF’s advocacy also led to a new Maine law calling for first-in-the-nation limits on carbon dioxide emissions from coal gasification facilities.
Preserving New England’s forests and waterways Over 40,000 acres were added to the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont – the result of demands made by CLF and other environmental groups. The New England states and New York joined to reduce mercury pollution from Midwest power plants by adopting a CLF-backed Clean Water Act plan that requires 90 percent cuts in out-of-state mercury pollution. In Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont, CLF successfully pressed for new EPA rules requiring big box stores and other large developments to curb stormwater runoff
into surrounding rivers and streams. This stormwater solution will help curb a major pollution threat to our region’s waterways.
Conserving ocean habitat and species After years of CLF’s work with state legislators, Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law the Massachusetts Ocean Act in 2008, mandating a first-in-the-nation comprehensive management plan for the state’s ocean waters. A major scientific report co-authored by CLF and WWF-Canada has heightened awareness of the need for a network of conservation areas in federal ocean waters, to protect critical ocean wildlife and underwater habitat. Overfishing of critically depleted fish stocks, including Georges Bank cod, became much more difficult after CLF pressed federal lawmakers to close a major loophole in the Magnuson Stevens Act. A new Atlantic Herring management plan bars destructive fishing practices by large mid-water trawlers – the result of efforts by CLF and a coalition of fishermen and conservationists.
Strengthening communities and advancing transportation solutions Public transit in Boston will be built according to a tight timeline – the outcome of a CLF federal lawsuit filed in 2005 against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Under the settlement, enforceable interim milestones have been set for completing the Green Line extension through Somerville to Medford, opening up stops on the Fairmount Line for Dorchester and Mattapan residents, designing the Red/Blue Line connector downtown, and improving transit mobility for Arborway transit riders. In New Hampshire and Vermont, CLF lawsuits have substantially slowed highway projects that would induce suburban sprawl, destroy open spaces and significantly increase car travel in those states. Working closely with community residents, CLF succeeded in blocking plans for an oilfired power plant near a public elementary school and residential housing in lowerincome Chelsea, MA. CLF and community allies have also challenged construction of a high-level biohazard research facility in Boston’s Roxbury-South End area, raising still-unanswered questions about the risks to area residents and workers.
OUR Commitment to THE FUTURE
Over the past few months CLF’s board and staff have discussed the unfolding financial crisis facing our nation and world. Like many other organizations, CLF is not immune to the repercussions of a declining economy, and it is clear
A S p e c i a l E c o n o m i c M e ssa g e f o r CLF ’ s S u p p o r t e r s First, we must plan for the future by acting responsibly today.
that we need to take appropriate steps
Though CLF already lives on a lean budget — with approximately 82 percent
to weather this storm. Our management
of revenue going directly to support program work to protect the environment
team has approached this challenge with the same determination that has
— we have identified a series of cuts that will deliver immediate savings in the current fiscal year (which ends July 31, 2009) without impacting current staffing levels or case work. These measures include hiring and salary freezes, as well as
characterized our brand of environmental
selected cuts in budgeted travel, consultant, printing and other expenditures.
advocacy for over 40 years.
Together, these steps have reduced our current budget by over $500,000 – or 8.5 percent. Furthermore, a task force of senior-level managers are leading a contingency budget process if additional cuts are necessary. Our biggest priority is to continue the results-oriented advocacy that has made CLF the most effective environmental group in New England. The strength of CLF is our people and we intend to do everything we can to keep our lawyers and advocates in the courtrooms, state houses, and hearing rooms where they can make a real difference for region’s land, air and waters. 2009 will be an exciting year of opportunity for CLF and our supporters. A new administration and Congress in Washington, D.C. are already pushing for comprehensive, CLF-backed climate legislation. Solutions to end overfishing in the ocean are at hand that can lead us to a more sustainable fishing economy. CLF’s precedent-setting legal successes are forcing cleanup measures for the region’s most treasured waterways. And, with more and more cars on the road, smart investment in public transit gives us a real opportunity to reduce emissions and promote livable neighborhoods. Today, as we enter a new year and face an unprecedented economic downturn, our mission to protect New England’s environment could not be clearer or more urgent. While CLF stands ready to seize the opportunities that stand before us, none of our accomplishments are achieved without your help. More than ever, we depend on the generosity of our donors to support the work we are doing to build a healthier future for our children and grandchildren. Thank you for making that work possible.
CLF Offers Challenge Match!
G i v i n g t o CLF p a c k s a o n e - t w o p u n c h !
How far can your CLF contribution go in the New Year?
Thanks to a group of committed CLF Board members, concerned that the current financial crunch might impact our work to protect New England’s environment, you have the opportunity to take part in a remarkable challenge to CLF’s community of supporters! They’ll match any increase to your 2008 donation that you make by July 31, 2009 (the end of CLF’s current fiscal year). Take Part in the CLF Challenge Match Today! Here’s how you can help us raise as much as $300,000: •
Increase your donation. Any increase in your 2009 donation over what you gave in 2008 will be matched dollar-for-dollar. For example, if you gave $300 last year and $500 this year, the added $200 would be come $400.
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Add to what you’ve already given. If you’ve already given in 2009, consider giving again. If the sum of your 2009 gifts exceeds your 2008 gifts, the increase will be matched.
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If you did not make a gift during 2008, your total gift will be treated as a new gift. The entire gift will be matched one for one.
•
Recruit new donors to CLF. Their entire gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar! Make a goal of recruiting between two and five new members by reaching out to friends and family. New member gifts receive a 100 percent match.
Here’s how it works: All new or increased gifts made before July 31, 2009 will be matched up to $150,000 giving us the possibility of raising $300,000 combined! Your gift will trigger a double benefit to CLF and go directly to support our work to build a healthier environment and more livable communities for New England. Matching funds will go directly to support CLF’s advocacy, helping us eliminate the need for additional budget cuts. Visit www.clf.org/challengegrant to make your gift today and join the CLF challenge! Please contact CLF’s Development Office with any questions you may have. Abbie Daniel, Individual Giving Manager, can be reached at adaniel@clf.org or 617-850-1727.
“In a time of economic uncertainty, I am extremely gratified by the action of CLF’s visionary board members, and for their commitment to ensuring that CLF’s advocacy will remain strong this year and for years to come. I hope that CLF’s broad community of supporters will join us in taking part of this exciting opportunity.” — Michael Moskow, Chair of CLF’s Board of Trustees
Around the States CLF Racks Up Clean Water Victories Stormwater pollution is now recognized as one of the major pollution threats to New England’s rivers, lakes and streams, and a series of CLF victories promises to tackle this vexing problem. In the last months of 2008, CLF successfully implemented a legal strategy that pushed EPA New England to crack down on stormwater pollution flowing off existing big box developments and parking lots into some of New England’s most beleaguered waterways. “We commend EPA’s New England office for creating a first-in-the-nation model for filling this long-running gap in the Clean Water Act’s pollution permitting and cleanup regulations,” said Chris Kilian, CLF Vice President and Clean Water and Healthy Forests Program director. Long Creek in Maine and the Charles River in Massachusetts are two watersheds that EPA targeted with stricter runoff regulations. In both cases EPA issued rules under the Clean Water Act asking existing developments, like big box stores and malls, to develop cleanup
measures for controlling the stormwater pollution that flows off their roofs, parking lots and other paved surfaces. Runoff causes excessive nutrient pollution that leads to toxic algae blooms and failing water quality standards. “Left unchecked, polluted stormwater from Long Creek and other rivers threatens to destroy beaches and bays that are the jewels of the Maine Coast,” said Maine attorney Steve Hinchman. Another watershed at serious risk from stormwater pollution is Lake Champlain and its tributaries. Rising nutrient levels have led to rampant blue-green algae blooms in some of the Lake’s most popular bays, impacting the health of animal and plant species. CLF recently won a legal victory in VT Environmental Court, forcing state officials to use the Clean Water Act to implement stormwater cleanup measures for existing developments in the Lake Champlain basin. ➤➤ For more on clean water cases affecting your area, visit CLF online at www.clf.org.
CLF implemented a legal strategy to crack down on stormwater pollution flowing off existing big box developments and parking lots into some of New England’s most beleaguered waterways.
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Photos: Shutterstock
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Detroit should be building the types of vehicles that Congress and consumers are demanding today: hybrids, battery electric vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles and traditional vehicles that use widely available, highly-efficient technologies.
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Spotlight on: CLF Ventures
CLF, Big Three at odds over clean air regulations This past December, a federal judge in Rhode Island dismissed a bid by General Motors, Chrysler and two auto manufacture trade associations to block state regulations requiring automobiles to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 30 percent. The ruling, responding to legal filings from CLF and the state Attorney General’s office, delivered a major blow to the automakers, who had already lost two identical federal lawsuits in Vermont and California. “[I]t is difficult to see what interest the public has in permitting the plaintiffs another bite at the apple in challenging regulations limiting the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” District Court Judge Edwin Torres wrote in his decision. The decision came three days after the Big Three automakers arrived in Washington in their private jets, seeking $25 billion in federal assistance. These two overlapping news stories were an illuminating window onto how out-of-touch the national automakers have been in adapting to changing consumer and climate change policy demands. President Obama, at the time of the Congressional hearing, called them “tone deaf.” The stricter California-based tailpipe emissions standards, adopted by every state in New England except New Hamp-
shire, would have required Detroit to build exactly the types of vehicles that Congress and consumers are demanding today: hybrids, battery electric vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles and traditional vehicles that use widely available, highlyefficient technologies. Instead, the Big Three have continued manufacturing large SUVs and pickups under a stagnant business model that defies environmental logic and – as we now know – devastates their bottom line. “Neither Detroit nor the American people can afford any further wasteful litigation, especially in this case where the new state regulations are designed to get the American car makers to start building cleaner, more efficient vehicles,” CLF Vice President Melissa Hoffer. “The time for automakers to accept the need for innovation is long overdue.” CLF, in league with other regional and national environmental organizations, has weighed in with key members of Congress on ways the federal stimulus package can set our nation on a new path toward greater energy and environmental sustainability. Cleaning up the auto industry offers one of our best opportunities to retool the American economy while protecting our environment against the overarching menace of climate change.
Cape Cod Fisheries Trust: strengthening community and environment on Cape Cod Depleted fish populations, fishing industry decline and regulatory transitions pose serious challenges to the survival of New England fishing communities. The Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association (CCCHFA) responded to these threats by establishing the Cape Cod Fisheries Trust (CCFT), a community-based fisheries management program that provides affordable fishing permits to the local fishermen in exchange for adhering to conservation and community best management practices. CLF Ventures, Inc. is collaborating with the CCCHFA to launch this unique permit bank that supports the Cape Cod fishing community while improving the sustainability of a key regional industry. CCFT must move quickly to acquire permits since market forces may otherwise deprive communities of the quota on which their future depends.
CCFT’s mission is to ensure a lasting future for sustainable fishing on Cape Cod by managing fishing quota as a community asset. CCFT will lease its permits to local fishermen that meet eligibility criteria and satisfy community and environmental covenants. Fees generated will cover program costs and generate capital for future permit acquisition, conservation initiatives and employment. CCFT will initially focus on groundfish such cod and haddock, as well as scallop and lobster species. Without the intervention of CCFT, permits coming up for sale from retiring fishing vessels? will be bought by large boat corporate fleets and will be permanently lost to Cape Cod. Losing these community assets will have a negative impact on the economy and the environment of the North Atlantic. CLF Ventures is providing CCFT with strategy advice and business planning assistance, coordinating the legal services of law firm Shearman and Sterling, and designing a triple-bottom-line program evaluation process that takes environmental, social and economic factors into account.
Join CLF Today!
CLF Welcomes Bill Coleman as Interim President File this story under “all good things must come to an end.” After five great years as CLF’s President, Phil Warburg left the organization in January to pursue his passion for writing. Please be sure to check out this edition’s cover story authored by Phil reflecting on his experiences at CLF. We are grateful for Phil’s strong leadership and dedication to CLF’s mission. From moving climate change onto the center-stage to bringing smart, strategic advocacy to realms as diverse as environmental justice neighborhoods and the open ocean,
CLF relies on your support to protect New England’s natural resources and communities. Give your region a healthier future by becoming a member of CLF.
he has strengthened CLF’s position as New England’s leading environmental advocacy group. The Board has designated CLF Ventures CEO Bill Coleman as Interim President to lead the organization until Phil’s successor has arrived. To ensure a smooth and seamless transition, an eight-member committee established by the Board of Trustees is already hard at work leading the search for our dynamic new president. In addition to leading the CLF Ventures team for the last five years, Bill has over three decades of management experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors. He will partner with our existing management team to ensure that CLF continues to provide the cutting-edge legal victories for which we are known.
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Conservation Law Foundation works to solve the most significant environmental problems that threaten New England. CLF’s advocates use law, economics and science to create innovative strategies to conserve natural resources, protect public health and promote vital communities in our region. Founded in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization.
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CLF members understand that threats to the environment are complex, requiring sophisticated, innovative solutions. Join the growing number of people whose support makes a critical difference in preserving New England’s environment. As a member of CLF, you will receive Conservation Matters, our quarterly journal that explores the region’s most pressing environmental issues; CLF’s monthly e-mail newsletter that keeps you up to date with CLF’s latest news; and invitations to special member events. You also have the opportunity to join CLF’s active and engaged online community by participating in Action Alerts and other vital online campaigns. To join CLF, please use the enclosed envelope or visit us on the Web at www.clf.org/donate. Thank you! Philip Warburg, Esq. President Michael B. Moskow Chair, Board of Trustees Paula W. Gold, Esq. Vice Chair, Board of Trustees John M. Teal, Ph.D. Vice Chair, Board of Trustees Eugene H. Clapp Treasurer, Board of Trustees Thaleia Tsongas Schlesinger Secretary, Board of Trustees Jon A. Lund, Esq. Chair, Maine Board John B. French, Esq. Chair, Massachusetts Board Martin L. Gross, Esq. Chair, New Hampshire Board Louise Durfee, Esq. Chair, Rhode Island Board Maximilian W. Kempner, Esq. Chair, Vermont Board CLF Maine 14 Maine St., Suite 200 Brunswick, Maine 04011-2026 Phone 207/729-7733 CLF Massachusetts 62 Summer St. Boston, MA 02110-1016 Phone 617/350-0990 CLF New Hampshire 27 North Main St. Concord, NH 03301-4930 Phone 603/225-3060 CLF Rhode Island 55 Dorrance St. Providence, RI 02903-2221 Phone 401/351-1102 CLF Vermont 15 East State St., Suite 4 Montpelier, VT 05602-3010 Phone 802/223-5992 Editor: Caitlin Inglehart Graphic Design by Jason Fairchild, The Truesdale Group Web site www.clf.org Copyright © 2009 Conservation Law Foundation Printed on 100% post-consumer content recycled paper with soy-based Inks