February, 2007 In this Edition:  The right choice for clean water The wrong choice for reducing global warming pollution News in Brief Top Stories The right choice for clean water A legal settlement signed by CLF, the City of Portsmouth, NH, and the Environmental Protection Agency has put Portsmouth on the path to long awaited reductions in wastewater and nitrogen pollution flowing into the Piscataqua River, a crucial area of the Great Bay estuary. “Great Bay currently has nitrogen levels similar to those that led to the collapse of the Chesapeake Bay,” said CLF Senior Attorney Tom Irwin. “Preventing a collapse means reducing nitrogen pollution from multiple sources, including the Peirce Island plant which is the single largest pollution source in the Great Bay estuary.”   >> More: CLF Press release Fosters.com article The wrong choice for reducing global warming pollution In January, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection gave the green light for one of state’s last remaining coal plants to continue releasing harmful greenhouse gas emissions into the air, ignoring a previous commitment to shut down the plant or reduce all emissions. The decision runs contrary to a 2007 policy adopted by the Patrick Administration to reduce global warming pollution. It also allows the plant’s owners to ignore a longstanding requirement to shut down or re-power the plant with cleaner emissions by 2010. >> More: CLF press release Boston Globe article  News in Brief New England: EPA blocks stronger auto emission standards Read the CLF press releases: Dec. 20, Jan. 2  Read the Lawyers USA article See CLF’s Chris Kilian talk about the lawsuit on NECN Victory! Northeast Gets Tough on Mercury Pollution Read the CLF press release Learn more about the TMDL Maine: CLF staff attorney named newsmaker of  2007! Citing his collaborative work to successfully oppose the coal gasification plant proposed for Wiscasset, Maine, and his leadership working in the state to reduce global warming pollution, we’re happy to report that CLF’s Steve Hinchman was named one of the Brunswick Times Record’s Newsmakers of 2007. Newsmakers of 2007 profiles 10 local people whose stories illustrate major issues and events in the Mid-coast region during 2007. Newsmakers were chosen because they have a good story to tell and because those stories reflect important matters The Times Record has covered during the year. Massachusetts: CLF opposes coal gasification in Somerset Read the CLF press releases: Jan. 8 , Dec. 12  Read Dr. James Hansen’s op/ed Vermont: Experts, activists, towns discuss Circ Read the Burlington Free Press article Rhode Island: Victory! Dominion agrees to strict, new water permit For Brayton Point Read the CLF press release Read the Boston Globe article New Hampshire: Vying for tougher emissions standards Read the Concord Monitor article  The Massachusetts Bar Association and CLF have partnered to launch the Massachusetts Lawyers Eco-Challenge to provide lawyers and law firms with the tools and guidelines to adopt greener practices that will reduce our collective impact on the environment. Get involved now! To learn more and download the Pledge and Guidelines, visit www.massbar.org/ecochallenge.  Coming soon! Want to see how CLF staff stay green? Find out in the next edition of Conservation Matters, hitting doorsteps soon... Click here to make sure that you recieve CLF's quarterly journal!