On May 23, 2024, the Supreme Court of Illinois rendered a judgment in Rice v. Marathon Petroleum Corp., which involved important considerations for both environmental law and personal injury claims. This case was initiated by Laura E. Rice, acting as the special representative for the estate of her late mother, Margaret L. Rice. The litigation focused on the complex relationship between statutory environmental protections provided under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act (“Act”) and the applicability of common-law negligence remedies for personal injuries. The decision establishes a cle ..read more

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently initiated its Water Testing Modification Effort to assess and ensure the quality of drinking water in properties currently under lease with GSA. GSA began issuing unilateral lease amendments (ULAs) to landlords in February 2024, requiring the landlord to conduct one-time drinking water testing within the leased space and building common areas. Per GSA, the Water Testing Modification Effort is in response to water stagnation concerns, and especially the potential for legionella bacteria amplification. Importantly, landlords must ..read more

Last month at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Environmental Law Forum, over 100 environmental lawyers discussed the implications of the duty of competence imposed by Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1 on their practices in light of climate change. John Dernbach first posed the issue to the forum in a keynote address a year earlier. Dernbach later published those thoughts. Oddly, applying those thoughts to environmental practice is not obvious; this article tries to memorialize some of the group’s conversation about doing so. Reprinted with permission ..read more

On April 24, 2024, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released an audit report on the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES), which was established under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) to accelerate the siting of large-scale renewable energy projects. The key finding of the report, that the siting process from application submission to the issuance of siting permits averaged about 1,333 days–nearly 3.7 years–will come as no surprise to those who are working to get renewable energy projects approved and constructed in New York state. The audit covers the p ..read more

Pennsylvania has an aggressive brownfields remediation program under the Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act (Act 2), 35 Pa. Stat. Ann. Sections 6026.101 to .908. Section 308 of Act 2 makes all “decisions by the Department of Environmental Protection involving the reports and evaluations required under Act 2 to be considered appealable actions under” the Environmental Hearing Board Act. That stands out from the rest of Pennsylvania environmental law. It has not been litigated very often, but it may pose risks for practitioners.  Reprinted with permission ..read more

Last month in New York, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department delivered a victory to landfill operator Waste Management, dismissing a laundry list of tort claims arising out of a real estate developer’s odor complaints. In William Metrose Ltd. Builder/Developer v. Waste Management of New York, LLC, the Fourth Department reinforced an important precedent for environmental nuisance claims – that redress for odors that impact the community at large is through effective governmental enforcement and not private lawsuits. But the certainty that the defense-oriented victory provides may be short ..read more

Several offices of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP are celebrating Earth Month and Earth Day through participation in events around the world. Greenberg Traurig is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Green Power Partnership Program and powers its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy. Earth Day was created in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson to draw attention to ongoing issues with toxic air and waste. Twenty million Americans participated in the first Earth Day, eventually leading to the formation of the EPA and then the passing of the Clean Air Act a ..read more

On April 9, Kerri L. Barsh, co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Environmental Practice, hosted and presented to visitors from Washington, D.C.’s Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security & Resource Strategy – National Defense University at the firm’s Miami office. Kerri’s presentation focused on key issues and challenges with respect to the environment and climate change from the private sector’s perspective.     Originally established in 1924 as the Army Industrial College, the Eisenhower School prepares select military officers, government civilians, and internati ..read more

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2024-30, which modifies guidance previously issued relating to the energy community “adder” for the investment tax credit and the production tax credit ..read more

Greenberg Traurig is proud to be a sponsor and a member of the planning team for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Annual Environmental Law Forum, taking place April 10-11, 2024. As a gathering ground for attorneys in private practice and public service, engineers, consultants, professors, and scientists, this event facilitates learning, networking, exchanging, and debating current policy, climate and technical issues, litigation trends, and development and infrastructure.  GT attorneys and leadership will lead a number of sessions at this annual two-day CLE and networking gathering of the ..read more