Happy Earth Day!

As a child of the 1970s with semi-Hippie-ish parents, I grew up with the environmental movement. Raised on granola with goat milk and alfalfa sprouts grown on a windowsill in a repurposed glass jar lined with damp paper towels, my family took seriously our role as stewards of the land. We gardened, collected rainwater in […]


USEPA Enforcement Alert: The USEPA Lead Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule

The October, 2018 USEPA Enforcement Alert opens by asking the following question: “Do you know that if you are not lead-safe certified, disturbing just six square feet of a lead-based paint covered surface could cost you fines and even jail time?” In 2018, USEPA announced 141 federal enforcement actions to protect the public, particularly children, […]


Winter is coming and it is time to inspect your fuel oil tank.

The weather is getting cooler, which means that for the nearly two million homes in New York heated by fuel oil, the first delivery of the season may be on the way soon.  My colleague and I represent some home fuel delivery companies and I can tell you that if you live in one of […]


Love Canal: 40 Years Ago this Summer

It may be hard to believe, but the anniversary of one of the seminal events in environmental history turned 40 this summer.  For the past four decades, Love Canal has been known as one of the most significant environmental disasters in U.S. history.  The Love Canal neighborhood, located in Niagara Falls, New York, was home […]


NYS Energy Efficiency Goals

In 2013 the Governor rolled out the Reforming the Energy Vision (“REV”) program, which broadly set forth the state’s energy policies and goals. Two of the central goals laid out in the REV were to have 50 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 60 percent […]


“Universal Wastes”

To Avoid Penalties Ensure they are Handled Correctly To streamline environmental regulations for wastes generated by numerous sources in relatively small quantities, USEPA issued the Universal Waste Rule in 1995. This rule is designed to reduce the amount of hazardous waste in the municipal solid waste stream, to encourage the recycling and proper disposal of […]


NY-Sun Solarize Initiative Update

One of Governor Cuomo’s chief environmental goals is the “50 by 30” initiative, which aims for 50% of the State’s electricity production to come from renewable resources by 2030.  New York joined California in setting this target in 2016. The most common renewable energy resources in the State are hydro, wind and solar.  Solar energy […]


Wetlands: Part Four. Applying for a Section 404 Permit.

I’ve discussed the regulation of wetlands in my past blog entries. With this one, let’s talk about the application process for a permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). As discussed before, the CWA authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“ACOE”) to regulate the discharge of dredged or fill material into […]


Environmental Enforcement in 2017

Is Your Mulch Processing Facility in Compliance with the Law? New Regulations took Effect on November 4, 2017 Effective November 4, 2017, Mulch Processing Facilities in the state of New York are subject to regulation under the state’s revised and updated Solid Waste Management Facilities rules. Mulch Processing Facilities create a product derived from tree […]


Wetlands: Part Two. New York State Regulation of Wetlands.

My last blog entry discussed what wetlands are and why they are so important.  This blog entry talks about how they are regulated in New York State. Wetlands are regulated by State and Federal law.   Federally, wetlands are protected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“ACOE”) under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. […]