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Robert M Rosenthal

Robert (Bob) Rosenthal focuses his practice on environmental and energy law matters, including litigation in federal and state courts, regulatory permitting, and contract negotiations. He represents major companies on matters involving the Public Service Law, the Federal Power Act, the Natural Gas Act, the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), and New York’s Tidal and Freshwater Wetland Acts. Robert also handles the governmental, environmental, and energy aspects of land use and real estate transactions. His clients include electric generation facilities (traditional power plants, solar and wind energy), gas pipelines, solid waste landfills, and other energy infrastructure projects.

Bob has worked on numerous regulatory actions pending before New York Public Service Commission, including those related to the planning and siting of electric transmission, power plants and gas infrastructure, wholesale electricity markets, electric and gas retail utility rates, and the regulation of telecommunications. Bob also represents clients before town planning boards for special permits, particularly for renewable energy projects, and guides clients through the Public Service Law Articles 8 and 10 siting processes. He has represented energy clients before the New York Independent System Operator, PJM, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. His litigation experience includes obtaining trial- and appellate-legal decisions under the Clean Air Act, obtaining dismissals of Article 78 petitions challenging SEQRA processes, securing permanent injunctions on First Amendment grounds, obtaining waivers under NYISO tariffs to preserve wind energy projects in interconnection queues, and defending CERCLA counterclaims against Eleventh Amendment challenges.

Bob served as general counsel for the New York Public Service Commission and Department of Public Service, overseeing more than thirty attorneys and advising on legal matters related to energy, utilities, and telecommunications. He led teams in drafting key PSC orders on renewable energy, transmission planning, and affordability programs, and developed a new utility enforcement unit. Robert also integrated the Office of Renewable Energy Siting into DPS, expanded its authority, and supervised all PSC litigation, preparing commissioners for monthly meetings.

Bob’s experience includes serving as senior counsel in the New York Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau, where he represented the state in major federal and state court cases and handled regulatory enforcement, settlements, and appellate briefs, including landmark Clean Air Act actions. In the Governor’s Counsel’s Office, he advised on energy, environment, and agriculture policy, drafted and negotiated key legislation and budget bills, supervised major litigation, and contributed to strengthening utility oversight and environmental regulations.

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On Oct. 24, 2025, the New York Supreme Court, Albany County, issued a decision and order directing the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to issue final regulations establishing economy-wide greenhouse gas emission (GHG) limits on or before Feb. 6, 2026.…

Continue Reading Court Requires DEC to Promulgate Regulations in NYS Climate Regulation Case

A town cannot compel a utility company to post a warning notice that its utility poles contain a wood preservative.  That is the effect of U.S. District Judge Spatt’s February 4th decision in PSEG Long Island LLC v. Town of North Hempstead, 15-cv-0222, slip op. (E.D.N.Y Feb. 4, 2016).

On September 9, 2014, the Town of North Hempstead (“Town”) enacted an ordinance that required PSEG Long Island (“PSEG-LI”) to post a “warning” sign on every fourth utility pole, indicating that: the utility pole contained a hazardous chemical; prolonged exposure should be avoided; and exposed areas should be washed.  PSEG-LI challenged the ordinance on multiple grounds including that it violated the First Amendment.  Greenberg Traurig attorneys William A. Hurst, Robert M. Rosenthal and Steven C. Russo represented PSEG-LI.

The majority of utility poles in the United States, including those PSEG-LI recently installed in the Town, are treated before use with Pentachlorophenol (“Penta”) – a heavy-duty, EPA-registered wood preservative regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).  The Town sought to justify the ordinance requiring warning signs on the ground that the utility poles allegedly posed a significant risk to residents who touch them, and to the environment itself, ostensibly through migration of Penta into groundwater (although none has been documented in amounts exceeding any applicable maximum contaminant or action level).  During the public debate that followed, and in its Complaint to the District Court, PSEG-LI pointed out that Penta is registered for exactly – indeed, solely – this use, based on a comprehensive EPA health and environmental risk assessment.

On February 4, the District Court declared the ordinance an unconstitutional attempt to compel noncommercial speech. In so doing, the Court hewed closely to the standard First Amendment analysis with respect to government-compelled speech.Continue Reading Ordinance Requiring Pesticide Warning Signs Found to Violate First Amendment

As described in our previous blog post, this spring New York enacted amendments to its Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) to, among other things, make eligibility for the lucrative tangible…
Continue Reading NYSDEC Issues Draft Brownfield Regulations Defining “Underutilized” and “Affordable Housing Project”

In a departure from his budget proposal, the Legislature negotiated changes with the Governor to extend the tax credits for New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) with relatively modest changes…
Continue Reading New York Lawmakers Agree on Brownfield Law Extension With Less Drastic Changes to Tax Credits