Archive for 2018
National Flood Insurance Program Temporarily Reauthorized until December 21, 2018
In recent years, the unpredictability of the National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”), administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) has given rise to increasing uncertainty and frustration for coastal and waterfront markets located within Special Flood Hazard Areas. The NFIP program, which provides flood insurance for approximately 5 million residential and commercial properties, requires…
Read MoreNY Supreme Court Dismisses ULURP/SEQR Challenge to American Museum of Natural History’s Gilder Center Project
In a decision dated December 10, 2018, Hon. Lynn Kotler of the New York Supreme Court, New York County, dismissed in its entirety litigation challenging the legality of the American Museum of Natural History’s Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation for failure to comply with New York City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure…
Read MoreSixth Circuit rules in two cases that discharges to groundwater from coal ash ponds do not require a Clean Water Act Permit
The Sixth Circuit’s recent decisions in Kentucky Waterways Alliance et al v. Kentucky Utilities Co., (“Kentucky Utilities”) No. 18-5115 (6th Cir. Sept. 24, 2018), and Tennessee Clean Water Network v. Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”) No. 17-6155 (6th Cir. Sept. 24, 2018), have further widened an existing circuit split regarding EPA’s Clean Water Act (the “Act”)…
Read MoreNYSERDA Issues New York’s First Offshore Wind Energy Solicitation
On November 8, 2018, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (“NYSERDA”) issued its first request for proposals (“RFP”) for offshore wind renewable energy credits (“ORECs”) associated with 800 MW of offshore wind energy capacity. The State’s first OREC RFP is a significant step toward achieving Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s goal of generating…
Read MoreFederal Court Dismisses NEPA Challenge to Offshore Wind Lease
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently dismissed an Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) litigation filed by the Fisheries Survival Fund and other commercial fishing interests related to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Management’s (“BOEM’s”) first lease auction for a wind energy area offshore of New York State. The Plaintiffs alleged that BOEM’s…
Read MoreWOTUS Rule Reinstated in 26 States through Nationwide Injunction of Trump Administration “Suspension Rule”
On August 16, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division, issued a nationwide injunction to the Trump administration’s so-called “Suspension Rule,” which called for the delayed effective date of the Obama-era “waters of the United States rule” (or “WOTUS Rule”). Thus, the struggle to delineate the federal government’s jurisdiction…
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