In 2007, the United States Supreme Court ruled that greenhouse gases (GHGs) are “air pollutants” under the Clean Air Act, setting the stage for regulation by EPA. Since that decision, EPA has: ELP faculty and students have been involved at each step, and continue to work on these issues. ELP’s full list of publications about GHG regulation under the Clean Air Act includes an amicus brief filed in the Supreme Court, two briefs filed in the D.C. Circuit, a paper cited by EPA in its Clean Power Plan proposal, and an op-ed published in the New York Times. Jody Freeman, SCOTUS Stalls Clean Power Plan (NPR On Point with Tom Ashbrook) Jody Freeman and Richard Lazarus, The biggest risk to Obama’s climate plan may be politics, not the courts (The Guardian) Jody Freeman, How Obama Plans to Beat His Climate Critics (Politico) Jody Freeman and Kate Konschnik, A Climate Plan Businesses Can Like (The New York Times) Jody Freeman, discussing the rule with Ian Masters

Ari Peskoe and Jeremy Fisher (Synapse Energy Economics) presented a webinar about the final rule. You can watch the presentation and download the slides The Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA established that EPA has authority to regulate GHGs under the Clean Air Act. Professor Richard Lazarus was co-counsel for the Petitioners for one stage of the proceedings.Following the decision, EPA’s first regulation targeted GHGs from mobile sources. In collaboration with the Department of Transportation, in an historic deal negotiated with states and the auto industry, EPA set GHG standards for light-duty vehicles. Professor Jody Freeman, as Counselor for Energy and Climate Change to the President, was the agreement’s architect. Once an air pollutant is “subject to regulation” under any part of the Clean Air Act, new or modified major stationary sources must apply the Best Available Control Technology to limit that pollutant. In litigation over the scope of stationary sources subject to GHG permitting, the Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic submitted an amicus brief, authored by Professor Wendy Jacobs, Clinical Instructor Shaun Goho, and clinical student William Cranch (JD ’15), on behalf of Calpine Corp., a Fortune 500 power generation company, to describe and defend EPA’s GHG permitting regime.

Solicitor General Don Verrilli cited the Clinic’s brief during oral argument before the Court, and the Court’s opinion quoted the Clinic’s brief. do home air purifiers help allergiesIn an article published shortly after the decision, Professor Lazarus summarized the case and looked forward to current debate about EPA’s Clean Power Plan.do air purifiers work with mold At the start of President Obama’s second term, Professor Lazarus wrote a piece in the Harvard Law Review Forum proposing an array of ideas for executive action to combat climate change. best ozone free air purifiersIn June 2013, President Obama announced the Administration’s climate change plan which included some of those proposals.In June 2014, the EPA proposed the Clean Power Plan to reduce CO2 emissions from existing power plants.

Authorized by Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, the proposed rule sets carbon intensity targets for each State’s power plant fleet to meet in 2030. Shortly before the proposal was published, Professor Jody Freeman penned an op-ed in the New York Times previewing the legal debates that will determine the fate of EPA’s proposal. Professors Freeman and Lazarus joined forces to discuss EPA’s Clean Power Plan at the Harvard University Center for the Environment, before a packed audience in October 2014. Later, they engaged in an online debate with Professor Tribe, who argued that the proposed Clean Power Plan is unconstitutional. The Environmental Policy Initiative (EPI) has focused on one of the threshold questions about the Clean Power Plan: whether EPA has the authority at all to regulate GHGs from existing power plants. The confusion stems from a failure to reconcile amendments in the text of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Kate Konschnik has written a blog post and a working paper laying out the arguments for why EPA has authority to regulate GHGs from existing power plants.

In addition, Kate was the counsel of record on an amicus brief submitted by Professors Freeman and Lazarus to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Meanwhile, EPI is looking down the road to state compliance with a final Clean Power Plan. Following the publication of the final rule, EPI published a primer that highlights responsibilities that states have under the Clean Power Plan and provides an overview of basic plan design choices. Kate Konschnik and Aladdine Joroff (Clinic) also published a paper that explains states can design multi-state compliance strategies that do not require additional Congressional consent. Just before EPA published the Clean Power Plan proposal, Ari Peskoe and Kate wrote a paper promoting the use of energy efficiency (EE) as a basis for setting the state emission targets, and as a method for compliance. EPA cited to this paper in the proposal. EPI has submitted as comments to EPA an Energy Efficiency Evaluation Tool, which states and stakeholders can use to evaluate an EE program for inclusion in a state compliance plan.

Ari and Kate have presented on energy efficiency and the Clean Air Act to states, industry, and energy efficiency advocates. They’ve also written a paper exploring different pathways to compliance with the Clean Power Plan, using four states as case studies: Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Illinois. Comments to EPA on the Clean Power PlanVeolia's district energy networks serve the critical energy requirements of approximately 250 commercial, healthcare, government, institutional and hospitality customers occupying 45 million square feet of building space within the central business district of Boston, the Longwood Medical Area and the biotechnology corridor of Cambridge. "Green Steam" is an innovative environmental solution that recycles thermal energy previously lost to the environment, utilizing advanced cogeneration technology at Kendall Cogeneration Station in Cambridge. Following the completion of a 7,000-foot steam pipeline extension in 2013 and reconfiguration of the recently acquired Kendall Station, up to 75% of Veolia's district energy heat supply consists of recycled "Green Steam."

This innovative $112 million, "Green Steam" investment generates significant benefits for Cambridge and Boston, including: "Veolia has been a strong and loyal partner with the city, and the completion of this project marks an important step forward in attaining our Greenovate Boston goal of reducing Boston's greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050." -Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh​In Boston, Veolia supplies thermal energy to commercial, government, institutional and hospitality customers, including 70% of Boston's high-rise buildings. The majority of the steam supplied to the Boston network is cogenerated "Green Steam" imported from the Kendall Station plant located in Cambridge.  Download our 2-page fact sheet to learn more about how cogeneration provides efficient, reliable energy, while also reducing carbon emissions.In Cambridge, Veolia manages a steam distribution network for several customers, in addition to operating the recently acquired 256-megawatt Kendall Station.

Located in the high-tech corridor near Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the network supplies cogenerated "Green Steam" to global leaders in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.  Veolia also operates a cogeneration plant on behalf of a major biotechnology company, providing comprehensive operation and maintenance of the central steam/electricity microgrid.  Learn more about ​​Veolia’s “Green Steam” operations at Kendall Cogeneration Station in Cambridge.  Veolia has a long-term agreement to operate and maintain the MATEP assets in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, home to six world-class, Harvard Medical School-affiliated medical institutions.From its central plant, MATEP meets the needs for electrical energy; HVAC, heating and cooling systems; sterilization and specialist heating; operation of refrigeration facilities; and medical vacuum for the six hospitals that feature more than 2,000 beds and serve 85,000 inpatients and 50,000 outpatients a year.

In addition to reducing operating costs and the environmental footprint of these facilities, the management of these services protects mission critical areas, including operating rooms and research laboratories, from risks associated with any disruption to the local power grid. ​System Overview & ContactsIn the NewsSteam System Resources“GREEN STEAM” SYSTEM & MAPDownload the brochure to learn more about the district energy systemClick here to download a map of the Boston-Cambridge district   KENDALL COGENERATION STATION IN CAMBRIDGELearn more about our CHP operations at Kendall Station ​​Download the tour brochure   CHP BASICSDownload our 2-page fact sheet to learn more about how cogeneration provides efficient, reliable energy, while also reducing carbon emissions.  Tel: 617.849.660024-hour Emergency Customer LineTel: 617.482.8232 LEARN MOREDownload our 2-page fact sheet to learn more about how cogeneration provides efficient, reliable energy, while also reducing carbon emissions.

Feature article: National Geographic, “How Hidden Labyrinths Under Cities Are Becoming Clean Energy Powerhouses”​Cover Story: District Energy Magazine, “Full ‘Green Steam’ ahead in Boston: CHP project advances region's environmental goals”Watch the Green Steam video to see how the steam system works.Press Release: Veolia and I squared Capital's acquisition of the Kendall Cogeneration StationWatch video highlights at the 104th annual IDEA conference in June 2013, of city officials from Boston and Philadelphiaadvocating the value of district energy infrastructure for a clean energy future.Press Release: Mayors Walsh and Maher Join Veolia to Commemorate Boston-Cambridge Sustainable Energy ProjectOPTIMIZING YOUR SYSTEMInspections and Preventive Maintenance - Improve efficiency and reliability in your steam system with regular inspections and maintenanceSteam Safety Tips - Use caution and ensure safe and reliable steam system operationEnergy Efficiency Tips - Learn about various tactics that will help reduce your energy consumption and costs, such as steam trap inspections