Zoning, Planning & Land Use, Commercial Real Estate, Energy & Utilities Law

Boston Joins the Building Disclosure Bandwagon: Ordinance Will Require Reporting in 2014

by Seth Jaffe | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 5/10/2013

On May 8, the Boston City Council approved an ordinance requiring building owners to report annual energy and water use. The final ordinance is slightly different from the one about which we posted in February. Highlights...more

Maryland to Impose New Stormwater Remediation Fee; Virginia Enacts Congestion Relief Fee

by Roberto Garcia | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 5/6/2013

Lawmakers in Maryland and Virginia have approved the imposition of certain new fees on property owners in various jurisdictions. Maryland property owners in nine counties and one city face the imposition of a Stormwater...more

BLM Issues Right-of-Way Application Rule In An Effort To Spark Renewable Energy Development

by Ben Rubin | Nossaman LLP on 5/1/2013

As reported earlier today by a number of news outlets (see for example this KCET article by Chris Clarke), the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") will be issuing a Final Rule to facilitate right-of-way applications for lands...more

Watt’s New? Michigan Energy Newsletter - March 2013

by Laura Chappelle, Matthew B. Eugster, Bruce Goodman, Randall Kraker, Timothy J. Lundgren, Toni Newell, David Preston, Jack Sage, Eric Schneidewind, Matthew Zimmerman | Varnum LLP on 4/9/2013

In This Issue: - Highlights of MPSC Annual Report - Good Neighbor Fund Payments Made - Coal Plants Sued for Pollution Exceedances - Pure Michigan Solar Panel - New Grant for Efforts to Remove Barriers to...more

CEQA: Reforming California's Landmark Environmental Law

by Michelle Ouellette | Best Best & Krieger LLP on 3/5/2013

California has always been on the cutting edge when it comes to environmental protection. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the adoption and implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, frequently referred...more

Without any night light, will France save energy or fall asleep?

by Stéphane Illouz | Reed Smith on 3/1/2013

As of 12 July 2013, and applicable to all buildings that are used for professional activities, the lights will need to be switched off after working hours....more

Recent Ruling Confirms That Cost of Compliance with a PRP Letter Is Insured Under CGL Policies

by Revelle Gwyn, Elizabeth Hamrick, Katherine Henry, Sid Trant | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 2/8/2013

In a recent ruling of interest to any company named as a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) at a Superfund site anywhere in the country, the Alabama Supreme Court has followed the majority of state courts and held that a...more

EPA Will Continue to Apply the "Functional Interdependence" Test for Air Quality Source Determinations Outside of the Sixth...

by Tad Macfarlan, David Overstreet, Bryan Rohm, Craig Wilson | K&L Gates LLP on 1/24/2013

Introduction - On December 21, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a new guidance memorandum (the “Page Memorandum”) on single source determinations for the oil and gas industry under the Clean...more

Hardening Buildings And Infrastructure To Mitigate Business Risks Of Sea Level Rise

by Cristina Arana Lumpkin, Howard Nelson | Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP on 1/24/2013

In low-lying Miami, discussions about sea level rise go well beyond the hypothetical. For property developers, building owners, government agencies, and insurance companies, developing strategies to mitigate the risks of sea...more

2012 Eminent Domain Year in Review & 2013 Forecast

by Brad Kuhn on 1/10/2013

As we look back on 2012, it was unquestionably a busy year. Federal funds continued to make their way to local projects and shovels continued to break ground for infrastructure projects. The potential use of eminent domain...more

EPA Provides Comfort to Prospective Tenants at Contaminated Properties

by Christopher J. McAuliffe | Morgan Lewis on 12/19/2012

Revised guidance details how tenants may benefit from the bona fide prospective purchaser protections under CERCLA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 5 issued revised guidance that addresses...more

EPA Revised Guidance Encourages Renewable Energy and Other Industry Development on Contaminated Properties

by Amy L. Edwards | Holland & Knight LLP on 12/14/2012

On December 5, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued revised guidance regarding whether lessees of contaminated or formerly contaminated property may claim protection from liability under the...more

Minor Deficiencies And Inaccuracies In Environmental Impact Report Did Not Prejudice The Environmental Review Process

by Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 11/11/2012

A court of appeal recently upheld an environmental impact report which only analyzed the proposed project and the no project alternative, upholding the lead agency’s conclusion that none of the proposed alternatives were...more

The Fine Print of Natural Gas Property Rights: Cautionary Lessons from Western Ohio and New York

by McDermott Will & Emery on 11/7/2012

Much of the discussion about hydraulic fracturing has focused on the environmental, health and other community risks allegedly posed by the process. While these perceived risks have taken center stage in the media,...more

A Guide to San Francisco’s Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance and Commercial Water Conservation Ordinance

by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 11/6/2012

Superstorm Sandy appears to have made it safe for politicians to talk out loud again about climate change. San Francisco’s commercial building energy and water conservation ordinances set standards and reporting requirements...more

Earth Matters - October 2012

by Morgan Graham, Kevin Hogan, Susan Marriott, Inshirah Muhammad, Thomas Puchner, Adam Walters | Phillips Lytle LLP on 11/1/2012

In This Issue: - Updated Siting Process for Power Plants in New York - Sustainability in Leasing Series – Part I: The Green Rider - Sustainability in Leasing Series – Part II: The Green Lease Policy Statement &...more

The Amorphous "Unusual Circumstances" Exception to CEQA's Categorical Exemption Strikes Again

by Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 10/29/2012

Voices for Rural Living v. El Dorado Irrigation District, Super. Ct. No. PC20080398, (Oct. 4, 2012) The recent Voices for Rural Living v. El Dorado Irrigation District case from the California Court of Appeal’s Third...more

U.S. Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Koontz IV, Reviewing Decision of Florida Supreme Court

by Rosa Eckstein Schechter on 10/19/2012

We've delved into the background of the Koontz litigation here in past posts; suffice to say that it's a legal controversy between landowner Coy Koontz and his local water management district that has gone on for years (18...more

At CFIUS’s Recommendation, the President Blocks Chinese Company from Acquiring U.S. Wind Farms

by Mintz Levin - Energy & Clean Technology on 10/1/2012

President Obama issued an executive order prohibiting a Chinese-owned company from acquiring and owning four wind farms in the U.S. on September 28, 2012, which marks the first time in over two decades that a U.S. president...more

Aboriginal Title Revisited - William V. British Columbia

by Dentons on 9/27/2012

Originally published in Mineral Exploration - Fall 2012. The decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) in William v. British Columbia issued June 27, 2012, is the most recent pronouncement on Aboriginal...more

Saul Ewing Successfully Argues that Cell Tower on a Leased Property is Not a Land Development; Court Rejects Evidence of Impact on...

by Saul Ewing LLP on 9/25/2012

A federal judge has overturned the decision of a township zoning board and granted an application to build a cell phone tower on leased property, ruling it was not a "land development" or "subdivision" under the Pennsylvania...more

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Zoning, Planning & Land Use › Commercial Real Estate › Energy & Utilities Law