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 […]


NYSDEC Issues Enforcement Discretion Letter Delaying the Implementation of Select Portions of the updated and revised Solid Waste Management Rules that took effect in 2017

  A comprehensive revision to New York State’s solid waste regulations took effect on November 4, 2017. On March 1, 2018, the NYSDEC formally issued an enforcement discretion letter that effectively rolls back the implementation of the new rules in four (4) specifically designated areas. The delay in enforcement will expire on May 3, 2019 or […]


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 Three. Federal Regulation of Wetlands.

My last blog entry discussed New York’s regulation of wetlands.  I was going to discuss permit application process with this entry, but after some feedback, I thought I should discuss federal regulation of wetlands instead. As I mentioned earlier, wetlands are protected under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), which was implemented more […]