The collective wit and wisdom from three decades of practicing environmental law (in no order of importance). 1.Thou shall not call the environmental lawyer the day before the closing 2. Thou shall not accept without further inquiry a Phase 1 reports that says there are no RECs 3. Thou shall be concerned when the Phase […]
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Read More »
In a prior post, we discussed the regulatory freeze that had been implemented by the Trump Administration on its first day in office. The moratorium applied to proposed rules issued by the Obama Administration since election day that had not yet gone into effect. We provided a list of environmental and energy rules that were
Pre-Publication Notice Identifying 30 Environmental Rules Subject to Regulatory Freeze Read More »
In our prior Post, we discussed the regulations proposed by the Obama Administration since election day that would be subject to the moratorium issued by the Trump Administration. In this post, we cover the Obama-era regulations that have already gone into effect that my be vulnerable to recession under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The
Since the Carter Administration, it has become customary for outgoing presidential administrations to issue a plethora of new regulations between election day and the inauguration. These rules are often called “midnight rules”. In response, the incoming administrations have issued executive orders or memorandum to temporarily delay or “freeze” these midnight regulations” so the new administration
What Obama “Midnight Rules” Are Subject to the Trump Regulatory Freeze? Read More »
This interview occurred at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008 shortly after the last game was played. [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obhKtJQTLBo[/youtube]
EDR Commonground Interview On the State Environmental Due Diligence Read More »
A 20-year old voluntary cleanup agreement (VCA) was the subject of the dispute before the New York Court of Claims in Alaskan Oil, Inc., v. State of New York, Claim No. 116072 Motion No. CM-81863 (Ct. Claims 7/25/16). In this case, claimant Alaskan Oil Inc. acquired approximately 40 properties owned by Parrish Energy Fuels, Inc.,
Court Dismisses Action Against DEC For Breach of VCA Read More »
A legal maxim is that bad facts often make bad law. It appears that complex facts may have confused an Appellate Division court in In the Matter of FMC Corporation vs New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2016 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6785 (App. Div.-Third Dept. 10/20/16) where the three judge-panel appeared to rule
Appellate Court Restricts NYSDEC Ability to Spend Superfund Money Read More »
Over a year after the 2015 amendments to the state Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) went into effect and eight months after the legislative deadline, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) announced it was adopting amendments to its Part 375 regulations defining what constitutes “underutilized” and “affordable housing”. The definitions are important because
NYSDEC Adopts Final Definition of “Underutilized” for NYC Brownfield Sites Read More »
The NYSDEC’s much awaited revised definition of underutilized that was required as part of the 2015 Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) reforms will be published in the March 9, 2016 New York State Register (NYR). The proposed definition is currently available on the NYSDEC website As previously discussed, the 2015 BCP amendments replaced the ‘as of
NYSDEC Proposes Revised Brownfield “Underutilized” Definition Read More »
Because of the changes and controversy surrounding the NYSDEC Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), there has been some skepticism in the real estate community about the amount of tax credits that the Department of Taxation and Finance actually approves and if those amounts are near what is supposed to be available under the BCP. The following
Searchable BCP Tax Credit Database Show Who Has Received Tax Credits and How Much Read More »