Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed on appeal a hunting club’s ownership of a tract of land in its entirety – including both surface and subsurface rights – over the objections of a prior owner’s heirs. In Woodhouse Hunting Club, Inc. v. Hoyt, Case No. 327 MDA 2017, the court weighed in for … Continue Reading
Section 5(a)(iii) of the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act (“Chapter 21E”) makes persons liable to clean up releases of oil or hazardous material also liable to any other person for property damage caused by the release. The Supreme Judicial Court decided a case on January 19 restating clearly that private … Continue Reading
The Pennsylvania appellate courts decided about two dozen cases that one could call “environmental” last year. A brief review follows that necessarily gives short shrift to some of these opinions. This review may also omit some cases, for which I apologize. Read Environmental Cases in the Pennsylvania Appellate Courts During 2017 by clicking here.… Continue Reading
On Tuesday, the New York State Court of Appeals clarified many of the standards associated with the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) in its unanimous decision in the consolidated cases of Friends of P.S. 163 Inc., et al. v. Jewish Home Lifecare, Manhattan, et al. and Wright, et al. v. New York … Continue Reading
Green building legislation and, in particular, green roof legislation has been implemented outside of the United States for decades as one means of mitigating urban heat. In the past decade, local and state governments in the United States have joined in with a marked and steady uptick in the enactment of their own green building … Continue Reading
An appeal pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit asks whether CERCLA preempts state law claims for medical monitoring in Giovanni v. U.S. Department of the Navy, No. 17-2473 (3d Cir.). This is an important issue in the context of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) because the exact health effects remain in dispute. … Continue Reading
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s June decision in Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation v. Wolf, 161 A.3d 911 (Pa. 2017) (PEDF), has sparked many conversations about how the newly interpreted Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution will be implemented. In my column this month for the Pennsylvania Law Weekly I hope to catalogue at least some … Continue Reading
In response to the widespread impacts of Hurricane Irma in Florida (all coastlines and virtually every community), Speaker Corcoran of the Florida House of Representatives has created a new Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness. Speaker Pro Tempore Jeanette Nunez of Miami will chair the 16-member bipartisan Select Committee whose focus will be to gather … Continue Reading
Six Tips on Managing Water Damage, Mold Growth, and Bacterial Threats As Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, and other impacted areas begin the journey to recovery after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, property owners are faced with the challenge of addressing water damage, preventing or remediating mold growth, and heading off bacterial threats from potentially contaminated … Continue Reading
On July 28, 2017 the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed two lower court rulings and remanded two cases pertaining to the lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Michigan, concluding that plaintiffs’ claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for deprivation of their federal rights were not preempted by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) (Beatrice Boler, … Continue Reading
The current federal administration has expressed a desire to defer largely to states through principles of cooperative federalism. A recent case involving the dune construction in Margate, New Jersey, offers some insight into the procedural complexities this approach presents for those affected. Where a state oversees a federally funded project, it is unlikely that one … Continue Reading
A decision rendered last month by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reinterpreted the commonwealth’s obligations under Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, known as the Environmental Rights Amendment (ERA). The Supreme Court sided with the appellant, Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation (PEDF), in PEDF v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvani a, 10 MAP 2015, and held … Continue Reading
Last week, the Maryland Court of Appeals (the highest state court) decided a lead paint toxic tort case of potential interest to environmental lawyers. Levitas v. Christian, No. 58 Sept. Term 2016 (Md. July 11, 2017), holds that a pediatrician may testify not only that the plaintiff’s injuries are the result of lead exposure, but … Continue Reading
New York courts have long held that the “public trust” doctrine precludes the use of dedicated parkland for non-park uses. The New York Court of Appeals showed just how strictly that doctrine is applied when, after many years of planning and litigation, it enjoined development of a retail entertainment complex known as Willets West in … Continue Reading
As readers of this blog know, we have been closely following developments regarding claims for medical monitoring. (Medical Monitoring Claims in Illinois, Part 1; Medical Monitoring Claims in Illinois, Part 2.) A recent decision arising out of Hoosick Falls, New York, allowed Plaintiffs’ request for a medical monitoring fund to survive defendants’ motion to dismiss. On … Continue Reading
On March 22, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit continued its stay of EPA’s Regional Haze Rule. Texas et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 16-60118 (Mar. 22, 2017). The EPA rule would have required power plants in Texas and Oklahoma to install costly and potentially unnecessary upgrades to their generators. Last July, … Continue Reading
Have you ever wanted to escape a clingy and annoying relationship? In terms of environmental compliance, triggering New Jersey’s Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA) can evoke the same feelings of frustration. N.J.S.A. 13:1K (1993). The recent Drytech, Inc. v. State of New Jersey, in particular, highlighted the pesky and recurrent nature of ISRA. ISRA applies … Continue Reading
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”), as is typical of government agencies, regularly releases guidance documents explaining how to interpret or apply its programs and regulations. Once drafted and again once finalized, these documents are published in DEP’s Online Library, where they can be accessed through browser searches or directly through the eLibrary. But … Continue Reading
Late last month the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) proposed to revise its Part 617 regulations, which are the rules governing the conduct of environmental impact review under New York’s “Little NEPA,” known as the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). The proposal was officially noticed in today’s issue of the New … Continue Reading
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) recently released draft regulations for public comment which aim to further reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from various industry sectors in Massachusetts, including transportation, electricity generation, and natural gas pipelines. Public comments on these regulations are due by Feb. 24, and can be submitted in writing to MassDEP … Continue Reading
Conventional environmental lawyers may find themselves in unfamiliar territory when faced with a municipal citation for allowing a vacant property to become a nuisance or a municipal claim to recover the costs of abating that nuisance. In Philadelphia, the City has a regular program to do both. That program proceeds under City ordinances and regulations, … Continue Reading
On Sept. 26, 2016, Governor Scott ordered the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to immediately issue an emergency rule requiring immediate notification of pollution spills to the general public, FDEP, and local governments. FDEP provides a copy of the Governor’s order and related materials on its website. During an investigation of two recent pollution spills … Continue Reading
The long odyssey of the Massachusetts Small MS4 stormwater general permit continues – the latest chapter involving four separate appeals filed in two courts seeking to modify the permit’s terms. Issued by U.S. EPA New England, the general permit authorizes stormwater discharges from small municipal separate storm sewer systems (“MS4”) located in Massachusetts. While the … Continue Reading
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently denied a petition seeking declaratory and mandamus relief to require the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and a group of executive government officials to regulate greenhouse gases consistent with Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Funk v. Wolf, No. 467 M.D. 2015 (Pa. Commw. Ct. July 26, 2016). … Continue Reading
