Entries tagged: environmental law

On June 23, 2017, in Murr v. Wisconsin, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed whether adjacent properties owned by the same owner may be combined for purposes of determining if there has been a regulatory taking without compensation. The Court ruled that a Wisconsin regulation preventing the owners of two adjacent parcels from selling or developing […]

Spring is here and with it, our thoughts turn to battling weeds.  To wage our battles, we often hire landscapers and, after signing the contract, put our trust in these people to ensure that our lawns stay lush green and dandelion-free.  However, what many homeowners do not realize is that the use and application of […]

If an agency such as a Town Board, Planning Board, or a Board of Zoning Appeals finds that an application before it may cause a substantial adverse impact on the environment, it is required by the State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”) to adopt a positive declaration, and require preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact […]

On November 19, 2015, in Sierra Cub v. Village of Painted Post, New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, reversed a decision by the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, which had found that an individual petitioner lacked standing to challenge actions of the Village of Painted Post on State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”) grounds.  […]

As published in the September issue of the Suffolk Lawyer On August 27, 2015, Newsday reported that Baykeeper, an environmental group, intends to commence a lawsuit against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) and National Grid because the effluent from the Northport power plant is killing millions of fish each year.  The […]

Published in the Hauppauge Reporter On May 28, 2015, the HIA-LI Environmental/Green Industries Committee presented a well attended program entitled “Pharmaceuticals in Our Waters”.  The program was held at the Education Center of the Suffolk County Water Authority in Hauppauge and was followed by a tour of the lab facility where the Authority does its […]

Printed in the Suffolk Lawyer The disposal of pharmaceuticals is a growing area of concern in our over-medicated society. According to Citizens Campaign for the Environment, nearly 4 billion prescriptions are filled in the U.S. each year, of which about one third, or 200,000 pounds, are unused. Trace amounts of these drugs enter our surface […]

LIPA apparently believes, contrary to all evidence, that it need not comply with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”)[1] before it approves 20-year, fixed rated Power Purchase Agreements for commercial solar electrical generating facilities.  One reason may be that it believes the State exempted it from environmental review in 2011 when the State enacted […]

I have previously written blogs that have questioned LIPA’s focus on industrial scale solar projects in Suffolk County.[1]  Dyed-in-the-wool environmentalists find this blasphemous, and feel particularly betrayed by the author, who has focused his practice on environmental law and litigation for more than thirty years.  The rationale for their unquestioned fealty to solar regardless of […]

SPower, the entity seeking to construct a 9.5 MW solar electrical generating facility on a 60 acre portion of the Delalio sod farm in Shoreham, along Route 25A, recently sent a brochure to the community touting the environmental benefits of the project, its ability to eliminate fluctuating prices for electricity during peak usage, its benefits […]