Green Building Law Update

The Intersection of Real Estate, Science, and Law

Tag Archives: environmental lawyer Maryland

EPA Seeks Public Comment on Genetically Engineered Mosquito Risk

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, Federal
As an environmental attorney, I am often asked to evaluate the legal processes surrounding emerging technologies that intersect with protecting human health and the environment. Few issues illustrate this intersection more vividly than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s latest announcement concerning genetically engineered mosquitoes for mosquito control. This is a significant environmental matter. For those … Continue Reading

Offshore Wind Projects are Now ‘Really’ Dead

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Federal, wind turbine
As a keen legal observer in matters of environmental law, I write today in a tone of both reasoned clarity and cautious optimism: the recent Federal government decision rescinding offshore wind leasing areas delivers precisely the kind of regulatory finality that our legal system craves. This is not intended as a value judgment assessing good … Continue Reading

DOE Order to Keep Maryland Oil Fired Plant Running Sparks Energy Environmental Tension

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Federal, GHG, greenhouse gas
Last Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a sweeping emergency order under the Federal Power Act, allowing the Wagner Generating Station in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, to continue producing electricity, despite having nearly exhausted its annual limit on fuel oil usage under state environmental law. This order, requested by PJM Interconnection, one of the … Continue Reading

EPA’s Reconsideration of the GHG Endangerment Finding

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Codes and Regulations, GHG, greenhouse gas
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to reverse its 2009 “Endangerment Finding,” a regulatory determination that greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, buildings, power plants, and other sources “endanger public health and welfare.” That endangerment pronouncement, made under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act, created the legal justification for many of the sweeping … Continue Reading

Stablecoin: The GENIUS Act Ushers in a New Era including Green Building Finance

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Federal, Green Building, LEED, Sustainability
On July 18, 2025, the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, signed into law the much anticipated Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, that is the GENIUS Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that provides a legal framework for U.S. dollar backed stablecoins. While the bill has been touted as … Continue Reading

Mold in the John Hanson House: Court Preserves Government Immunity at the Expense of Human Health

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Local Government, State
Earlier this month, the Maryland Appellate Court issued a controversial ruling in Candace McCarthy v. Board of Commissioners for Frederick County, Maryland, holding that Frederick County is immune from a negligence claim stemming from mold exposure in the historic John Hanson House. The decision, issued on the same day Maryland’s new mold exposure law took … Continue Reading

Maryland Expands Bat Protections: New Law Shifts Approach to Biodiversity

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, Federal, State
Biodiversity degradation is an existential crisis affecting planetary and human health. Since the enactment of the federal Endangered Species Act in 1973, populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, and fish have dropped a shocking 68%. As scientists and policymakers grapple with addressing the rapid and widespread decline in species, states like Maryland are exploring regulatory strategies … Continue Reading

Mandatory GHG Disclosures in Maryland Real Estate Contracts

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, GHG, greenhouse gas, State
Maryland law now requires specified greenhouse gas emissions disclosures and exchange of performance data in a contract of sale for buildings subject to the state’s Building Energy Performance Standards. Failure to comply with the regulation can have significant financial and legal consequences. Maryland has quietly taken a dramatic regulatory leap, promulgating what is one of … Continue Reading

States Challenge Validity of New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Codes and Regulations, GHG
The recent enactment of the Climate Change Superfund Act in New York has set the stage for a significant legal battle over the scope of state authority to impose financial responsibility for purported climate related damages. The outcome of this litigation could have far reaching effects, influencing not only New York but the entire energy … Continue Reading

Greenwashing Lawsuit Alleging Plastic Pollution by PepsiCo is Dismissed

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, Green Washing, greenwashing, recycling
After this blog was posted, on December 9, 2024, Letitia James, the Attorney General of the State of New York filed a Notice Of Appeal of her office’s loss described below, to the Supreme Court of the State of New York. On October 31, PepsiCo won a victory obtaining the complete dismissal with prejudice of … Continue Reading
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