Biden Signs $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill into Law
President Joe Biden signed into law a $1 trillion infrastructure bill at a White House ceremony on Monday that drew Democrats and Republicans who pushed the legislation through a deeply divided U.S. Congress.The measure is designed to create jobs across the country by dispersing billions of dollars to state and local governments to fix crumbling bridges and roads, and expanding broadband internet access to millions of Americans.The bill-signing ceremony, held in chilly weather on the White House South Lawn to accommodate a big crowd…
Pollution Bill on the Governor's Desk
As previously reported, as a result of the May 2003 oil spill in Buzzards Bay in the U.S. (an oil barge grounding spilled 55,000 gallons of fuel oil, polluting 93 miles of the Massachusetts coastline), the Massachusetts legislators have introduced new legislation, which was adopted last week by both the State House of Representatives and the State Senate. The bill was now been submitted to the Massachusetts Governor for final signature. The Governor Mitt Romney has a deadline by end of this week to sign or to veto the bill. This proposed unilateral state legislation is of importance to our members since some of its provisions will directly affect their trade to Massachusetts ports.
MarAd Oks Plan For Mass. Bay LNG Terminal
Suez Energy North America announced MarAd has agreed to issue a deep water port license for its Neptune offshore liquefied natural gas terminal planned for Massachusetts Bay. The license will be issued after the Neptune project, planned in federal waters about 7 miles south-southeast of Gloucester, receives environmental permits from the Army Corps of Engineers as well as water and air discharge permits from the Environmental Protection Agency. The proposed project must also get two key state environmental permits. That could be done by the middle of this year, a spokeswoman for Suez Energy, which also is the parent company of an onshore LNG terminal in Everett. The federal approval comes a month after former Gov.
Coast Guard, Massachusetts to Further Safeguard State Waterways
The Coast Guard and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts today announced the signing of a new partnership agreement that will help the Coast Guard and Massachusetts state law enforcement officers work together more effectively to ensure the safety and security of the Commonwealth's waters. Under the terms of the agreement, approved last week by Rear Admiral Timothy Sullivan and Governor Mitt Romney, Massachusetts State Police and Environmental Police officers working with the Coast Guard have the authority to take enforcement actions against those suspected of violating federal safety and security zones created by the Coast Guard. The agreement…
Massachusetts Governor Approves Two Offshore LNG Terminals
The Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, has approved two offshore LNG terminals. The Northeast Gateway and Neptune projects are to be sited in federal waters approximately 13 and 7 miles south-southeast of Gloucester. Federal licenses for these projects have not yet been granted. Source: HK Law
Judge Nullifies State Oil Spill Law
A federal judge has nullified Massachusetts’ landmark Oil Spill Prevention Act, striking down regulations on oil shipping in Buzzards Bay that included mandatory tug escorts and navigational routes as well as minimum staffing. U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro ruled the state violated federal law because those areas fall under Coast Guard jurisdiction. He said the state regulations ''are pre-empted, invalid and unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.'' The Massachusetts Legislature passed the Oil Spill Act in 2004, amid warnings from the oil industry that it was stepping on federal jurisdiction. Lawmakers moved quickly to respond to a 98,000-gallon oil spill in Buzzards Bay on April 27, 2003, when a Bouchard Transportation Co.
