Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently announced a comprehensive set of actions and resources aimed to address PFAS contamination in the state. The DEC’s “A Decade of Progress on PFAS: Summarizing DEC’s Continued Response” contains a progress report detailing New York’s leadership regarding PFAS policy over the last 10 years, along with …
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recently enacted budget bill for 2025-2026 includes several important changes to the New York State Superfund program. The Superfund was created to help enforce state hazardous waste regulations and to investigate and remediate contaminated sites. Overall, the amendments clarify the program and strengthen the state’s ability to enforce hazardous waste laws. Separately, …
Despite boasting the largest population in the United States and being one of the most sought-after places to the live on earth, over the last couple of decades New York City has increasingly struggled with a shortage of housing. Restrictive zoning regulations and New Yorkers leery of the prospect of skyscrapers popping up in their …
Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced two grant opportunities totaling $26 million for projects aimed at addressing the impact of climate change and protecting water quality across New York State. Twenty-four million of these funds will be made available through the Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program (CRF), and the remaining $2 million will be provided through …
On July 25, the District Court for the Northern District of New York in Mulhern Gas Co. v. Mosely ruled that New York has the power to enact the All-Electric Building Act (AEBA). The decision clears the way for the AEBA to take effect in 2026, making New York the first state to require (most) …
Last month, the New York State Assembly demurred from taking up a vote for the second time on the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (“PRRIA”). The PRRIA was designed to cause a restructuring of the life cycle of packaging within the state by fundamentally shifting the burden of handling packaging waste from municipalities and …
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced June 25 that she is directing New York Power Authority to add at least one gigawatt of new nuclear power generation by building a zero-emission nuclear power plant somewhere in upstate New York. This announcement, four years after the 2021 closure of the Indian Point nuclear plant due to …
Influenced by laws in existence in multiple states, including California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington, the New York State Legislature has examined in recent years extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation intended to hold producers accountable for managing their packaging at the end of life. The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act …
Ask any New Yorker what their top five complaints are about the city and either “traffic” or “gridlock” (or both) are all but certain to be represented. Indeed, you don’t get to be called “the Business Capital of the World” without piling enough people on to the Island of Manhattan to get that business done, …
On September 11, 2023, the New York City Planning Commission (CPC) approved the first of several rezoning proposals from Mayor Eric Adams aimed at reducing carbon emissions to reach the city’s climate goals. Specifically, New York has set the year 2050 as the target date by which it hopes to reduce its carbon emissions by …