In 2019, the New York City (NYC) Council enacted Local Law 97 (LL97) in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero by 2050 from the sector of the NYC economy that emits the most GHGs — buildings. As...more
Property-casualty insurers should take note of letters sent by the U.S. Senate Budget Committee on June 9 to prominent insurers seeking information on climate-related matters. The letters are available here and seek...more
Few five-word phrases have vexed the justices of the United States Supreme Court more than “waters of the United States” as used in the Clean Water Act (CWA or Act). The Court has attempted to define the term, and thereby the...more
6/2/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Sackett ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Buildings account for more than 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions in New York City (NYC). To address this problem, NYC has enacted a first-of-its-kind regulation, Local Law 97 (LL97), which establishes increasingly...more
On June 30, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, 597 U.S. ___ (2022), that the Clean Air Act did not clearly authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create the...more
7/12/2022
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
West Virginia v EPA
The New York State Legislature has passed legislation that amends the NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) and associated tax credit program and extends the program for another 10 years. The amendments extend the BCP, which...more
Gov. Kathy Hochul released proposed amendments to both the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) and the Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Program this week, in connection with her FY 2023 Executive Budget proposal. The proposal...more
On Monday, Oct. 18, 2021, the White House announced an effort joined by eight federal agencies to reduce PFAS in U.S. air, water, land and food. PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a group of manufactured...more
Despite SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s recent statement that formal rules related to Environmental Social Governance (ESG) may slip to next year, the SEC recently began sending out letters prompting public companies to review and...more
On Friday, June 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed its Agency Rule List for Spring 2021 with the Office of Management and Budget. The Agency Rule List gives clarity to when companies can expect to see...more
6/16/2021
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
As we noted in a previous client alert, the Biden administration has taken significant steps to strengthen enforcement and oversight relating to ESG issues early on in its tenure. In January, the president issued an executive...more
6/2/2021
/ Business Plans ,
Business Strategies ,
Capital Investments ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
On March 4, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the creation of a Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement. Climate risks and sustainability have been of increasingly critical interest...more
3/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Business Strategies ,
Capital Investments ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment Management ,
Joint Task Force ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
Governor Cuomo’s FY 2022 Budget provides relief to participants in the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) that risk losing their Tangible Property Tax Credit due to pandemic-related and other delays....more
2/17/2021
/ Brownfield Grants ,
Brownfield Properties ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Policies ,
Property Tax ,
Real Estate Development ,
Redevelopment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
Urban Planning & Development