Wetlands and Stormwater

New York State Unveils Methane Reduction Plan

Earlier this month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration released its Methane Reduction Plan (the “Plan”), setting forth 25 priority actions to reduce methane emissions as part of New York State’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, as compared to 1990 levels. While the State continues its efforts…

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New York Supreme Court Denies Motion to Preliminarily Enjoin a Brownfield Remediation and Hotel Development in the Village of Tuckahoe

In one of the few cases examining the intersection between the State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”) and the State Brownfield Cleanup Program (“BCP”), the New York State Supreme Court (Westchester County), on May 26, 2017, denied a motion to preliminarily enjoin a BCP cleanup and hotel development on a former quarry site in the…

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Sive, Paget & Riesel awarded top ranking for New York environmental law firms by Chambers & Partners

SPR has again been recognized as a top-ranked (Band 1) environmental law practice in New York in the 2017 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. The 2017 edition of Chambers USA notes that SPR “boasts a deep bench of environmental experts [and] offers high-quality environmental regulatory advice as well as expertise in…

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SPR Defeats Appeal of Superfund Liability Claims Based on Veil-Piercing, Lease/Sublease of Contaminated Property

By: Ed Roggenkamp SPR attorneys successfully defended the appeal of their summary judgment victories for the defendants in Next Millennium Realty, LLC v. Adchem Corp. (16-1260-cv) in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The May 11, 2017 order dismissing the appeal upheld three successive summary judgment decisions by the District Court. These decisions…

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New York City Council Passes Bills to Identify and Address Environmental Justice Areas

By: Heewon Kim Recently, the New York City Council passed two bills to help address environmental justice (“EJ”) issues in the city. Low-income populations and communities of color, including those in New York, often face disproportionate environmental burdens of human activity, such as air pollution and its accompanying health effects. New York City agencies have…

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New York Budget Legislation Establishes New Regulations for Solid Waste Sites

By: Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz The budget legislation signed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last month contains several high profile environmental provisions, including more than $1.5 billion in grants for drinking water infrastructure improvements; the creation of a new Drinking Water Council to develop a plan for addressing “emerging” contaminants such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (“PFOS”) and…

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DEC Proposes Amended Guidance on Brownfield Cleanup Program

By: Heewon Kim DEC recently released a draft revision of its Brownfield Cleanup Program (“BCP”) guidance document, DER-32/Brownfield Cleanup Program Applications and Agreements. This document provides guidance on the BCP application process, as well as the content of and process for executing, amending and terminating a Brownfield Cleanup Agreement (“BCA”). The revisions are intended to…

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Who’s Who Legal Recognizes Jeff Gracer as an Environmental Thought Leader

By: Heewon Kim Sive, Paget & Riesel principal Jeffrey B. Gracer was named as a Who’s Who Legal Thought Leader, a new Who’s Who category established this year. Only those who obtained the highest number of nominations from peers, corporate counsel and other market sources, were chosen as Thought Leaders. They comprise just the top…

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NYC Expands Curbside E-Waste Collection Program for Small Buildings

By: Heewon Kim Earlier this month, New York City announced it will be expanding a pilot curbside e-waste pick-up program into a permanent program in four boroughs. The pilot program started in Staten Island in October 2016, and in six months has already collected over 400,000 pounds of potentially hazardous e-waste that would otherwise have…

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Executive Order Begins the Formidable Process of Dismantling Federal Efforts to Address Climate Change

On March 28, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order, titled “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth,” that is designed to roll back several of President Barack Obama’s efforts to address climate change.  While some of the Executive Order’s provisions are self-executing, many will require lengthy administrative procedures to become effective and certainly will face…

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