EBC Climate Change and Air Committee | Environmental Business Council of NE

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Updated as of February 2, 2021

Mission Statement

The mission of the EBC Climate Change and Air Committee is to identify and address air pollution and climate change issues that are of importance to EBC members and their clients. Issues include but are not limited to legislative, regulatory and policy developments, innovative technologies, and business development opportunities at the federal, state, regional, and local level.

These issues are addressed by providing objective information from up-to-date and reliable sources including government officials, academics, technology developers, and business experts.

To carry out this mission, the EBC Climate Change and Air Committee will:

Create and foster an open and ongoing exchange with legislators and regulators.
Solicit input from academia, private developers and business experts.
Organize focus groups to provide state regulators and policy makers with ideas, experiences and opinions on defined draft policies or regulations.
Organize special Climate Change Forums to promote the exchange of information.
Organize seminars, workshops or conferences on major topics of interest to EBC members and their clients.
Hold networking events for EBC members to meet key stakeholders and interact with clients and other EBC members.

Program Topics of interest include:

GHG inventorying and verification methods
Innovative GHG emission reduction technologies
Carbon management and trading strategies
GHG reporting and disclosure
Impacts assessment
Adaptation

Committee Leadership

Committee Chair

Ruth H. Silman, Managing Partner
Nixon Peabody LLP
100 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02110
617.345.6062 // rsilman@nixonpeabody.com

Committee Vice Chairs – Climate

Samuel Bell, Senior Hazard Mitigation Specialist
GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.
249 Vanderbilt Avenue, Norwood, MA 02062
781.278.3847 // samuel.bell@gza.com

Julie Eaton Ernst, P.E., Lead Resiliency Engineer
Weston & Sampson
55 Walkers Brook Drive, Reading, MA 01867
978.818.9008 // eatonj@wseinc.com

Leadership Team

The members of the EBC Climate Committee and Air Leadership team meet routinely with the committee chair to identify topics for future EBC programs. As part of their responsibility, members of the leadership team will also take on the role of program chair to organize and moderate EBC programs for this committee.

Current members of the EBC Climate Committee and Air Leadership Team include:

Nasser Brahim, Senior Climate Resiliency Specialist
Woods Hole Group
107 Waterhouse Road, Bourne, MA 02532
508.495.6237 // nbrahim@woodsholegroup.com

Joseph Famely, Senior Environmental Scientist
Woods Hole Group
81 Technology Park Drive, East Falmouth, MA 02536
508.495.6220 // jfamely@whgrp.com

Mike Feinblatt, Practice Leader, Energy & Industrial Services
ESS Group, Inc.
100 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor, Waltham, MA 02451
781.419.7749 // mfeinblatt@essgroup.com

Seth Jaffe, Partner
Foley Hoag LLP
155 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, MA 02210
617.832.1203 // sjaffe@foleyhoag.com

Isabel Kaubisch, Project Manager
Nitsch Engineering
2 Center Plaza, Suite 430, Boston, MA 02108
617.338.0063 // ikaubisch@nitscheng.com

Kelly Knee, Director – Coastal Hazards
RPS ASA
55 Village Square Drive, South Kingston, RI 02879
401.789.6224 // kelly.knee@rpsgroup.com

Diane Mas, Vice President | Chief Resilience Officer
Fuss & O’Neill, Inc.
146 Hartford Road Manchester CT 06040
413.348.9738 // dmas@fando.com

Scott D. Turner, Director of Planning
Environmental Partners Group, Inc.
1900 Crown Colony Dr, #402, Quincy, MA 02169
617.657.0280 // sdt@envpartners.com

Past Meetings

2021

2020

2019

November 22 – Building Climate Resilience into Infrastructure
October 3 – Meet the EBC Committees Wine Tasting
July 26 – New England Climate Change Resilience & Adaptation Summit
July 16 – Climate Change and Air Committee Program Planning Luncheon
July 16 – Climate Change Program: Preventing Toxic Exposures During Climate Events
May 17 – Climate Change Program: Early Actions to Mitigate Regional Coastal Flooding Risks
April 26 – Climate Change Program: Building Resilient Facilities through Emergency Preparedness and Resilience Planning
March 15 – Climate Change Program: Lessons Learned from Massachusetts MVP Grant Program
February 26 – Climate Change Program: The Challenge of Designing Systems for an Uncertain Climate Future
January 14 – Climate Change and Air Committee Program Planning Luncheon

2018

October 26 – Climate Change Program: The Case for Putting a Price on Carbon
July 9 – Climate Change and Air Committee Program Planning Meeting
June 22 – Climate Change Program: Protecting Boston – The Boston Harbor Barrier Study
June 4 – Air Quality Program: New MassDEP Air Regulations (310 CMR 7.00) – Recip Engines
March 15 – Climate Change Program Series Part Seven: Vulnerability and Adaptation for Habitat and Natural Resources
February 15 – Climate Change Program Series Part Six: Adaptation and Resiliency Programs at Electric Utilities
January 8 – Climate Change and Air Committee Program Planning Meeting

2017

November 28 – Climate Change Matchmaking Forum
September 14 – Climate Change Program Series: Part Five – Adaptation and Resiliency Programs in the Private Sector
July 13 – Climate Change and Air Committee Program Planning Meeting
June 23 – Climate Change Program Series: Part Four – Adaptation and Resiliency Programs at Institutions
June 16 – Climate Change Site Visit: FM Global Research Campus
April 14 – Climate Change Program Series: Part Three – Adaptation and Resiliency Programs at the Federal Level
March 28 – Water Resources Program: Climate and Extreme Weather Trends and the Impact on Water Infrastructure Systems
March 10 – New Hampshire Program: Sea Level Rise – Design Issues
March 7 – Climate Change Program Series: Part Two – Adaptation and Resiliency Programs at the Municipal Level
February 10 – Climate Change Program Series: Part One – Adaptation and Resiliency Programs at the State Level
February 3 – Energy and Climate Change Program: New MassDEP Regulations to Reduce Carbon Emissions
January 13 – Climate Change and Air Committee Program Planning Meeting

2016

2015

December 18 – Climate Change Committee Program: Post COP21 Briefing and Discussion
November 11 – Climate Change and Air Committee Program Planning Meeting
September 10 – Air Quality Program: PSD Permitting Changes & Their Impact on Major Source Project Design & Development
June 12 – Climate Change Program: Planning for Climate Change Resiliency – MEPA and MassDOT
April 30 – Climate Change and Air Committee Program Planning Meeting
January 7 – Climate Change Program: Green House Gas Reductions – The Newly Proposed Massachusetts Clean Energy Standard

2014

2013

2012

December 13 – Air & Climate Change Committee – Program Planning Meeting
June 8 – Climate Change Seminar Update – Climate Change Science and Consequences
March 5 – Air & Climate Change Program, Overview of Recent Air Regulatory Developments: Implications for Stakeholders
March 20 – YEP Committee: EPA Air and Water Regulations: Two Perspectives
February 29 – RI Chapter Program: Adaptation – Reducing Rhode Island’s Vulnerability to Climate Change

2011

November 30 – Climate Change Program: Adaptation to Climate Change: What’s the Plan?
June 14 – YEP & Climate Change Program- The Al Gore Climate Project
March 18 – Climate Change Program: Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020

2010

June 23 – Climate Change Forum: Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Strategies
April 9 – Climate Change Committee Meeting

2009

November 24 – Climate Change Program: Carbon Management: Navigating a Turbulent Carbon Based World
November 6 – EBC Business Summit Focusing on Environment-Energy-Climate Change
October 3 – EBC Seminar: Results of and Reflections on the first regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) Auction

2008

November 19 – Climate Change Committee Meeting
April 11 – EBC Climate Change Forum: Learn About the Activities of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, US House of Representatives
March 12 – Climate Change Committee Planning Meeting
March 6 – EBC Seminar: Climate Change Issues and Challenges: Managing Carbon
February 29 – EBC Seminar Focusing on Solutions to Climate Change in New England

2007

April 17 – Air Quality Committee Meeting

2006

November 16 – Planning Meeting
June 1 – IAQ/Mold Assessment – Getting it Right! – Controlling Your Risk
March 21 – On-Line Source Registration Training
February 28 – Seminar: Air Regulations 101: Am I Regulated?

2005

November 14 – Planning Meeting
May 18 – Industrial Boiler MACT Regulations
March 16 – Ambient Particulate Monitoring – A Review of Current Technologies
February 16 – Joint Meeting with Brownfields Committee – Indoor Air Quality Issues at Brownfields Sites
January 19 – Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Update

2004

December 15 – Air Toxics Reform – Phase 1 Update
November 18 – RI Air Permitting Streamlining Task Force Update
October 20 – The Effectiveness of Clean Air Act (Title IV) on SO2 and NOx Emission Reductions in the Northeast
September 15 – Distinguishing Between “Toxic Mold” and Mold Hysteria
July 21 – New Source Review (NSR) Enforcement Actions Against Coal-fired Power Plants
June 16 – Mass Ozone SIP
April 30 – Inaugural Meeting