Energy & The Environment

An Overview of MassDEP Energy Initiatives

In April 2008, Commissioner Burt announced the creation of the Environmental Innovations Team within the Commissioner's Office at MassDEP. The primary goals of the team are to promote energy efficiency and clean energy through our contact and programs with external stakeholders, and to facilitate the use of more innovative and efficient approaches to our environmental protection work and through the use of innovative technologies by our regulated community.

MassDEP has great opportunities to suggest, incentivize, and in some cases require energy efficiency and renewable energy via our interactions with our regulated community. In addition, the Environmental Innovations Team is working to identify and encourage development and use of innovative technologies and program advancements that produce more effective and possibly lower cost solutions in MassDEP's work and/or programs. The Environmental Innovations Team is currently sponsoring and/or supporting a number of innovative efforts, including:

• Permitting: New clean and renewable energy project proposals are eligible for MassDEP's new "Fast Track" permitting program. Fast Track option enables project applicants to expedite comprehensive environmental reviews and permitting and negotiate alternative permitting fees and timelines.
  
  
• Combined Heat & Power Air Regulations: The Bureau of Waste Prevention promulgated additions and revisions to the Department's Air Pollution Control Regulations (310 CMR 7.00) to encourage the installation of CHP systems. These regulations will reduce greenhouse gas and other emissions, reduce fossil fuel usage and enable cost savings.
  
  
• Chapter 91 Regulation Changes to Support Clean Energy: Last October, MassDEP made changes to its Chapter 91 regulations which helped to clarify regulatory ambiguities that should make it much simpler to plan for, permit, and implement renewable energy projects. The Department streamlined the regulations and clarified what qualifies as water-dependent and non-water dependent use projects, which will make it more predictable to permit renewable energy projects that use ocean wave, current and tidal energy, and wind.
  
  
• Energy Management Pilot for WWTP & DWTP: The Massachusetts Energy Management Pilot used a multi-partner "SWAT Team" approach to identify energy saving opportunities at these facilities, which are the largest users of energy for municipal operations. The next step is to identify creative financing for energy improvement implementation, and to expand this approach to more facilities.
  
  
• Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEP) Policy: MassDEP revised its SEP Policy to allow increased flexibility to implement SEPs as part of settlement of agency enforcement actions. The revised policy will, for the first time, include energy conservation and use of renewable energy as examples of possible SEP projects in the appropriate cases.