In February, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided that the Environmental Hearing Board could award attorneys’ fees and litigation costs to a prevailing third-party appellant under the Clean Streams Law. Clean
Continue Reading Attorney Fees Awards Under the Clean Streams LawDavid Mandelbaum
David G. Mandelbaum represents clients facing problems under environmental laws. He regularly represents clients in lawsuits and also has helped clients achieve satisfactory outcomes through regulatory negotiation or private transactions. A Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, David teaches Superfund, and Oil and Gas Law in rotation at the Temple University Beasley School of Law as well as an environmental litigation course at Suffolk (Boston) Law School.
Since United States v. Atlas Minerals, the first multi-generator Superfund contribution case to go to trial in 1993, Mr. Mandelbaum has been engaged in matters involving allocation of costs among responsible parties, especially under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). He has tried large cases and resolved others as lead counsel. He has written, spoken, and taught extensively on the subject. More recently he also has been engaged to assist lead counsel from this firm and others:
- to develop cost allocation methodologies;
- to craft expert testimony in support of a favored methodology (given a definition of “fairness,” why one methodology better tracks it than another);
- to develop efficient case management approaches; and to assist private allocation as part of the neutral team.
Concentrations
- Air, water and waste regulation
- Superfund and contamination
- Climate change
- Oil and gas development
- Water rights
Uncertainty, No Guidance for Attorney-Client Privilege in Environmental Audits
A few weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in a tax case about attorney-client privilege. See In re Grand Jury, No. 21-1397 (U.S. arg. Jan. 9, 2023).
Continue Reading Uncertainty, No Guidance for Attorney-Client Privilege in Environmental AuditsEPA’s Methane ‘Super-Emitter’ Proposal: Getting Outside Help
Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a “supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking,” calling for comments on air pollution standards for control of methane emissions from new and…
Continue Reading EPA’s Methane ‘Super-Emitter’ Proposal: Getting Outside HelpThe Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment and Statues
This E2 Law blog post discusses In re Appeal of Friends of Marconi Plaza and the court’s comment on the application of the Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment, Pa. Const. art. I, § 27, to that decision.
Continue Reading The Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment and Statues
Clients: How Risky Is a Shift in Your ESG Approach?
Some institutional investors, like pension funds, have insisted that their portfolio only include stock in corporations with high ESG ratings. That, of course, has led corporations to look for ways meet that investor demand.
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What Difference Will Listing ‘Forever Chemicals’ as Hazardous Substances Make?
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to list two “forever chemicals”—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)—as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or…
Continue Reading What Difference Will Listing ‘Forever Chemicals’ as Hazardous Substances Make?Oil and Gas and Another Questionable Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment Decision
I recently wrote a column for The Legal Intelligencer’s Pennsylvania Law Weekly, reposted on this blog here, raising questions about whether the Pennsylvania courts have correctly identified the…
Continue Reading Oil and Gas and Another Questionable Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment DecisionIs the Pa. High Court Deciding the Most Helpful Environmental Rights Amendment Cases?
The Supreme Court can only decide so many cases. If we are to have a constitutional environmental provision with relevance to the interaction of private activities with the government, Pennsylvania…
Continue Reading Is the Pa. High Court Deciding the Most Helpful Environmental Rights Amendment Cases?
Local Preemption and Wetlands in Massachusetts: An Update
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) decided a case this week clarifying the limitation on a municipality’s ability to regulate wetlands and waterway construction more stringently than would the Department…
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DEP’s Municipal Harbor Plan Regulations Invalid
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) did not have authority to give the Secretary of Environmental Affairs the power to approve municipal…
Continue Reading DEP’s Municipal Harbor Plan Regulations Invalid