On January 17, 2017, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released proposed amendments to SEQRA - the department's first major revisions to such regulations in more than two decades. The proposed amendments follow recent efforts by the DEC...
New York State Environmental Law
City Council Members Seek to Redefine “Reside” in Local Lead Paint Law
New York City's lead-based paint law (Local Law 1 [1982]) requires landlords to remove lead-based paint in any apartment unit in which a child under 6 years of age resides. The issue in Yaniveth R. v. LTD Realty Co. was whether a child "resides" in an apartment...
Tonawanda Coke Corporation Enters into a $12 Million Settlement with DEC and EPA for Alleged Violations of State and Federal Environmental Law
The U.S. Federal Government and the State of New York jointly announced on May 11, 2015 a $12 million settlement with Tonawanda Coke Corporation for a litany of alleged environmental violations at TCC's western New York coke manufacturing facility.The settlement comes...
DEC Issues New York State’s Official Rationale for Fracking Ban
DEC has issued its long-awaited environmental impact study for high volume horizontal fracturing, or fracking, in New York State. This document contains the state's official findings on the environmental and human health impacts of fracking, namely, that too much...
New State Legislation Requires Increased Climate Resilience for New York Infrastructure
As in other areas of environmental policy, New York State is a leader in grappling with global climate change. Since 2009, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has had a policy in place that requires it to consider energy use and greenhouse gas...
New York’s Highest Court to Weigh in on Who Bears the Cost of Regulatory Inaction on Fracking
Fresh off its hotly anticipated August 2014 decision upholding the right of municipalities to zone oil and gas extraction operations out of their towns, the New York State Court of Appeals is set to weigh in on another oil and gas extraction issue. This latest matter...
EPA Blocks Clean Water Act Funding for Tappan Zee Bridge Reconstruction
The U.S. EPA easily rejected Governor Andrew Cuomo's loan request, refraining from calling it chutzpah of the highest order: the Governor tried to pass off bridge construction as an environmental project worthy of the federal Clean Water State Revolving Fund...
New York Attorney General’s Office Releases Report on Extreme Rainfall Trends in New York State
Over the past decade, the changing climate has contributed to an increase in the number of extreme weather events throughout the world. New York State is no exception. Here, we rely on plentiful water resources to provide our necessities such as agriculture, energy,...
Can an Oral Contract Ever be an Enforceable Promise to Fund an Environmental Remediation?
When someone says the word "contract," what comes to mind? For most, it would probably be a signed piece of paper that sets out certain legally enforceable promises made between two parties. But oral contracts can exist, too, and an oral contract can be just as...
County Water Authority has Standing to Sue for Groundwater Contamination, but Timeliness is Governed by New York’s Three Year Statute of Limitations
Fixed contaminant standards need not be reached, much less exceeded, in order to cause an injury that courts can recognize. An intermediate appeals court in New York has ruled that the Suffolk County Water Authority may sue chemical companies for groundwater...
