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Archives: Codes and Regulations

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EPA Cancels Pesticide Registrations to Save the Bees

In a rare move, the EPA issued product cancellation orders for certain pesticides effective May 20, 2019. The pesticides contain neonicotinoids that, despite their widespread use have become controversial when laboratory studies reported a link between neonicotinoids and declining bee populations, although a link has not been replicated in field studies. Neonicotinoids are compounds in … Continue Reading

GSA Reviews more than 100 Green Building Systems and Selects 5

By Stuart Kaplow on May 26, 2019 Posted in Federal, Green Globes, LEED

Section 436(h) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires the General Services Administration’s Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings to complete a review of high performance building certification systems every 5 years. After the review, GSA recommends to the Secretary of Energy the building certification systems most likely to encourage a comprehensive approach … Continue Reading

Maryland Appellate Court Upholds Local Government Pesticide Ban

By Stuart Kaplow on May 5, 2019 Posted in LEED, Local Government

Last week the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the state’s intermediate appellate court, overturned an earlier circuit court decision, reinstating a Montgomery County ordinance significantly restricting pesticide use throughout the County. In October 2015, the Montgomery County Council enacted Bill No. 52-14 becoming the first major jurisdiction in the country to enact such a ban. … Continue Reading

Maryland Bans Polystyrene and Enacts 31 other New Environmental Laws

By Stuart Kaplow on April 28, 2019 Posted in Environmental, State

The Maryland General Assembly, the state’s legislative body meets in regular session for 90 days each year beginning the second Wednesday in January to act on more than 2,500 pieces of legislation. On sine die, when the legislature adjourned at midnight on the 90th day, on April 8, 2019, a total of 864 bills and … Continue Reading

Nurdles are the Environmental Calamity of 2019

By Stuart Kaplow on April 21, 2019 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental

A year ago, I thought a nurdle was a cricket term for a score by deflecting the ball rather than striking it. But in the last twelve months I learned that a nurdle is also a term for a small, lentil size, pellet of plastic that serves as raw material in the manufacture of plastic … Continue Reading

Tenants Order Phase l to Avoid Hazardous Substance Liability

By Stuart Kaplow on March 31, 2019 Posted in Environmental, Federal

It has been a year since the omnibus spending bill signed on March 23, 2018 amended the Superfund law, for first time making clear that tenants can qualify as bona fide prospective purchasers, protected from cleanup costs from the presence of hazardous substances on a property; but tenants are only now beginning to order Phase … Continue Reading

On the 25th Anniversary of Lead Based Paint Disclosures

By Stuart Kaplow on March 10, 2019 Posted in Environmental, Federal

Use of lead is not new. Lead was one of the first metals discovered by man and was in use before 3000 BC. Beginning in 753 BC, the ancient Romans used lead for making water pipes and kitchen cookware. Today many believe lead poisoning was the culprit for the infertility of Julius Caesar (.. who … Continue Reading

St. Petersburg is Bold in Mandating Envision

By Stuart Kaplow on January 27, 2019 Posted in Codes and Regulations, LEED, Local Government

The City of St. Petersburg, Florida passed a progressive ordinance last week mandating that City infrastructure projects and newly constructed and renovated City building be third party certified as green. The new Ordinance 359-H, passed by the St. Petersburg City Council on January 17, 2019 and awaiting the Mayor’s signature, supersedes the prior Executive Order … Continue Reading

Blockchain has come to U.S. Real Estate

By Stuart Kaplow on December 16, 2018 Posted in Codes and Regulations

Earlier this year a precedent setting property sale in Vermont was the first real estate transaction in the United States using blockchain, portending a new era in the sale of land and improvements. Blockchain technology is an industry disrupter on the cusp of improving transactions across all sectors and borders. It is suggested blockchain may … Continue Reading

Tenant’s New Defense to Hazardous Substance Liability

By Stuart Kaplow on December 2, 2018 Posted in Environmental, Federal

Buried in the omnibus spending bill signed earlier this year were amendments to the Superfund law that for the first time make clear that tenants can qualify as bona fide prospective purchasers, protected from cleanup costs from the presence of hazardous substances on a property. The Consolidated Appropriations Act signed on March 23, 2018 included … Continue Reading

Green Building Codes Not Eligible for Copyright Protection

By Stuart Kaplow on October 28, 2018 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Green Building

A decision earlier this month by the Eleventh Circuit United States Courts Of Appeals goes further than other modern courts in describing that building codes when adopted by local government cannot be copyrighted. Ruling that “the law,” whether by statute, ordinance, regulations, or code, and even when its source is a judicial opinion, is not … Continue Reading

Mission Critical at the Department of Defense now includes Climate

By Stuart Kaplow on August 19, 2018 Posted in Climate Change, Environmental, Federal

On August 13 the President signed the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. The $716 billion H.R. 5515, authorizes appropriations for the Department of Defense for procurement of everything from aircraft, missiles, ammunition, shipbuilding and space defense to military installation construction; and is arguably the most significant environmental legislation enacted … Continue Reading

SEC Assessment of Climate Change Risks Still Mandated

By Stuart Kaplow on August 12, 2018 Posted in Climate Change, Federal

While I was on the Baltoro glacier making my way down from K2 in Pakistan earlier this month the Securities and Exchange Commission informed Exxon Mobil Corp. that it closed its investigation into whether the company had misled investors about the risks that climate change posed to its business. The ending of the probe that … Continue Reading

Your ENERGY STAR Score is About to Fall Precipitously

By Stuart Kaplow on June 10, 2018 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Energy, Green Building, Green Globes, LEED

Building owners that utilize ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager will see a dramatic change in the 1 to 100 ENERGY STAR scores after August 26, 2018. Every score model we reviewed saw a drop in ENERGY STAR score except hotels. You have 75 days to act. The change is significant for buildings pursuing LEED or Green … Continue Reading

European Data Privacy Law Applicable to Green Buildings

By Stuart Kaplow on May 6, 2018 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Green Building

With the upcoming May 25, 2018 effective date for the new European General Data Protection Regulation, the European Union law drafted to provide greater protections for the personal data of individuals, it is a good time to review and consider the large quantity of data generated by green buildings. The EU GDPR has long arms … Continue Reading

Local Laws Stop the Setting Sun on Solar Installations

By Stuart Kaplow on April 8, 2018 Posted in Energy, IgCC, Local Government, Solar Panel

Two bills pending in the Montgomery County Council aim to increase the use of renewable energy in the suburban Maryland County. At a time when the number of households installing solar panels on their roofs declined last year, the first annual decline since 2000, and a decline by more than 15% when compared with the … Continue Reading

Back to the Future with “Navigable Waters of the United States”

By Stuart Kaplow on February 4, 2018 Posted in Environmental, Federal

Last week the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of the Army finalized a rule adding an applicability date to the 2015 Rule (that never went into effect) defining “waters of the United States.” But, the 2015 Rule will now not be applicable until two years following publication of the applicability date rule in the Federal Register … Continue Reading

Saint Paul Green With Envy

By Stuart Kaplow on January 21, 2018 Posted in City, Green Building, Green Globes

When the Saint Paul City Council votes this Wednesday on Ordinance 17-60 it should amend the legislation to not delete, from the existing law, Green Globes as one of the approved green building standards. The work product of an advisory committee of experts, Ord 17-60 Sustainable Building Regulation Ordinance, alters and amends the 2009 Resolution … Continue Reading

Fireworks Cause Air Pollution But

By Stuart Kaplow on December 31, 2017 Posted in Environmental, Federal

In a very good example of striking the right balance between environmental protection and celebratory festivities, despite that fireworks degrade air quality with particulate matter, in the United States we have decided that the pyrotechnic show must go on. Fireworks have a storied history in the United States best articulated in a July 3, 1776 … Continue Reading

Migratory Bird Treaty Act Reform is for the Birds

By Stuart Kaplow on December 17, 2017 Posted in Federal

A week after this blog post, the Office of the Solicitor issued a memorandum the subject line of which was, “The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Does Not Prohibit Incidental Take.” The very first page of the Memorandum ends with the sentence, “Interpreting the MBTA to apply to incidental or accidental actions hangs the sword of … Continue Reading

EPA Ends Perverse Practice of “Sue and Settle”

By Stuart Kaplow on October 22, 2017 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, Federal

“The days of regulation through litigation are over,” according to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. In fulfilling his promise to end the practice of regulation through litigation that has harmed the American public, the EPA Administrator issued an agency wide directive on October 16, 2017 designed to end “sue and settle” practices within the Agency, restoring … Continue Reading

Rhode Island goes for LEED for Neighborhood Development and SITES

By Stuart Kaplow on October 15, 2017 Posted in Codes and Regulations, LEED

The State of Rhode Island is expanding its longstanding Green Buildings Act adding built landscapes to the list of public projects that must be built to recognized green building standards. Rhode Island has since 2008 mandated the public construction projects larger than 5,000 gross square feet “shall be designed and constructed to at least the … Continue Reading

50 Shades of Green in Montgomery County

By Stuart Kaplow on October 1, 2017 Posted in Codes and Regulations, IgCC, LEED

Green building will remain mandatory for new construction in Montgomery County, Maryland and effective December 1, 2017, the International Green Construction Code 2012 will be a permitted alternative. Montgomery County was among the first local jurisdictions in the country, in 2008, to adopt a mandatory green building law for private building, requiring most new construction … Continue Reading

Denver Voters Petition Green Roof Mandate to the Ballot

By Stuart Kaplow on September 10, 2017 Posted in Codes and Regulations, Green Building

The Denver Elections Commission has announced that the Denver Green Roof Initiative, a mandatory green roof ballot initiative will appear on the November 7 ballot. A ballot initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can bring about a public vote on a proposed statute or … Continue Reading