City of Quincy v. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, No. 21-1131 (1st Cir. 2021)
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The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) reaffirming the issuance of an air permit to Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC for a natural gas compressor station in Weymouth, Massachusetts, holding that the agency's actions were not arbitrary or capricious.
DEP had previously approved Algonquin's plans to power the Weymouth station using a natural gas-fired turbine, which emitted nitrogen oxides. In a prior appeal, the City of Quincy, the Towns of Braintree and Hingham, and a group of citizens (collectively, the City) and other petitioners established that the DEP did not follow its own procedures when it eliminated an electric motor as a possible alternative to the gas-fired turbine, and the First Circuit remanded the case. On remand, DEP again concluded that an electric motor was not what Massachusetts regulations call the "best available control technology" (BACT) for the new compressor station and reaffirmed the air permit at issue. The First Circuit affirmed the DEP's decision after remand, holding that substantial evidence supported the decision and that the agency's determination was not arbitrary and capricious.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on December 28, 2021.
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