Climate Change Law at the EPA, Log Lunch with Grace Weatherall ‘16

To round out the October Log Lunches, Williams students, parents, and community members were joined by Grace Weatherall ’16, a current Attorney Advisor at the EPA. After graduating from Williams with a double major in English and Environmental Studies, Grace studied at Harvard Law School before working as a legal fellow and attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), focusing on oil, gas, and power plant regulation.

Grace always knew she wanted to work in climate change, but her real inspiration to go into environmental law came during her senior spring at Williams, when she wrote about the politics of the Clean Power Plan (CPP). The regulation aimed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. Grace became interested in how the CPP came to be, the authority it was based on, and the eventual case that West Virginia brought against the EPA, claiming that the CPP unlawfully forced states to engage in “generation shifting” from one coal to lower-emitting energy generation. Her current work focuses on similar issues pertaining to air pollution: how does the EPA ensure that their regulation aligns with both the statutory directive and EPA’s policy goals?

To address that central question, Grace laid out the basics of the EPA legal process for us: Congress passes statutes pertaining to air pollution and climate change that the EPA receives, analyzes, and implements as regulation. Grace’s team will asses and advise the policy-writers on how best to implement the statutory directive. For offices at the EPA like the Office of Air Regulation, attorneys like Grace do not have the final say on the direction regulations can take, but their legal insight can have significant influence over the direction policy makers choose. Since joining the EPA earlier this year, Grace has worked on regulations under the Clean Air Act establishing a numerical standard for emissions from power plants through implementation of “the best system of emission reduction.” She’s also currently the legal lead on regulation implementing the methane charge program established under the Inflation Reduction Act.

In addition to her climate change work, Grace meets with employees on issues like the burning of waste, which have a huge impact on human health and environmental justice. This kind of work is especially important to Grace, as it  serves as a reminder that she works to combat climate change and protect people from its effects. She’s also found a strong community within environmental work, an area that she considers to be filled with passionate, dedicated people who care about protecting each other and our environment. For Grace, who’s still at the very beginning of her career in environmental law, the future is daunting in the issues it presents, but bright in its possibility of solving those problems together.

The Log Lunch crew made a Japanese-inspired meal this week, serving vegetable gyoza with ginger from 328 North Farm here in Williamstown, chives from the Environmental Center Garden, roasted purple daikon from Big Foot Farm, and roasted sweet potatoes. They also prepared a miso soup with tofu mushroom, and kelp, served alongside white rice with green onion and edamame. For dessert, diners enjoyed a slice of soft, gooey, and sweet butter mochi.

BY CAMPBELL LEONARD ’25