Skip to content

Kayley
McGrath

Associate

Kayley
McGrath

Associate

Kayley litigates the full suite of complex environmental disputes in state and federal court. Her experience includes multi-party suits under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Clean Water Act, and state law claims under the New York Navigation Law and claims for breach of contract, negligence, trespass, fraudulent inducement, improper foreclosure, Article 78 proceedings, and other real estate and land use litigation matters. Kayley has also counseled clients on New York City Local Law 97 of 2019 compliance and eligibility for the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program and Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax incentives.

Prior to joining SPR, Kayley worked in the litigation group in the New York office of a national law firm, where her practice focused on complex commercial litigation in federal and state courts. Kayley’s litigation experience includes complex commodities trading matters, insurance litigation, business torts, discrimination claims, and antitrust matters. Kayley has counseled financial institutions, real estate developers, and other business entities in all phases of litigation from inception through discovery, motion practice, trial and appeal, and has significant experience advising clients in administrative proceedings and alternative dispute resolution.

During law school, Kayley was Executive Editor of the Georgetown International Environmental Law Review and a member of Georgetown’s climate policy clinic at the Harrison Institute for Public Law. Kayley also worked as a Law Clerk to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, dealing with regulatory compliance issues under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Toxic Substances Control Act.

Best Lawyers®, “Ones To Watch” for Environmental Law

Hudson River Park

Location: New York, NY

From its inception, SPR has served as environmental and litigation counsel to the Hudson River Park Trust on major proposed projects in Hudson River Park, most recently Little Island, Pier 57, and Gansevoort Peninsula. Little Island is a distinctive pier offering world-class recreation and performing arts events, with the support of a donation from the Diller/von Furstenberg Family Foundation – the largest gift to a public park in the history of New York State. Little Island was the subject of litigation in state and federal court for over two years, during which SPR successfully overcame a challenge to the Trust’s environmental review and a challenge to the permit issued by the DEC (as co-counsel with the State).

SPR also helped the Trust obtain new permits after the donor terminated and then restarted the Project. Pier 57 was transformed from its original maritime use to an indoor/outdoor public space and food hall. SPR advised the Trust with respect to the preparation of an environmental impact statement for Pier 57 as well as obtaining environmental permits. The Gansevoort Peninsula is a public beach and passive recreation space that replaces a former sanitation facility. SPR advised on environmental permitting and represented the Trust in litigation challenging the Gansevoort Peninsula project.

“Renewable Rikers: Examining Current Plans to Repurpose and Revitalize Rikers Island”

For: The New York Environmental Lawyer, New York State Bar Association

October 2023 | Written by Kayley McGrath (Melanie Calero and Eva Schneider)

“Environmental Law: Developments in the Law of SEQRA”

For: Syracuse Law Review Vol. 72, No. 687

Article Title: Developments in the Law of SEQRA

2022 | Written by Mark Chertok, Kayley McGrath and Kevin Rogers

“Practice Before the Commercial Division, Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts”

For: Thomson West, Fifth Addition

2016-2020 | Written by Kayley McGrath et al.

“A Contingency of First Resort: Policy Lessons for Greenhouse Gas Regulation Through Backstop Contingency Measures under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act”

For: 27 Geo. Envtl. L. Rev. 121

2014 | Written by Kayley McGrath

New Proposed Local Law 97 Regulations Include Key Offset, Adjustment, and Cogeneration Provisions

On September 27, 2024, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) issued its third proposed rulemaking package to implement Local Law 97 of 2019 (LL97). LL97 requires most large buildings in NYC to meet increasingly stringent greenhouse gas (...

Inflation Reduction Act Guidance: Recent Updates to the Domestic Content and Energy Community Bonus Credits

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department have recently released updated guidance under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). As covered in a prior SPR Blog Post, the IRA allows taxpayers to deduct a percentage of the cost of eligible renewable ...

Inflation Reduction Act: Recent Guidance and the Path Forward in 2024

On February 20 and February 21, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) held a public hearing on proposed regulations concerning the definition of energy property and rules applicable to obtaining tax credits pursuant to the ...

Energy Community Guidance for Brownfields under the Inflation Reduction Act

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department released guidance last month on the bonus credit available for certain production and investment tax credits issued to qualified projects located in “energy communities” pursuant to the Inflation Reduction ...

Recent Developments in PFAS Regulation

The regulation of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continues to rapidly evolve at the New York State and federal levels. As further detailed in SPR’s prior blog post on this issue, PFAS are a family of chemical compounds with unique properties allowing ...

Gov. Hochul Announces M-Corps Program to Bring Climate Technology to New York State

On November 9, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that more than $3.7 million would be allocated to bring innovative climate technology, manufacturing and products to New York State. According to the Governor’s press release, this initiative, ...

Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2015

Princeton University, A.B., 2012, magna cum laude

New York, 2016

U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 2018

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 2018

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2020

Bar Association of the City of New York

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Pro Bono Advisory Council, Member