Green Building Law Update

Environmental Law and Sustainability for Business

Tag Archives: Kaplow

Revoking the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Incidental Take Rule, Once Again

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, Federal
Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposed rule to restore criminal penalties for accidental killing of migratory birds, revoking the January 7, 2021, final regulation that limited the enforcement of the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. “The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is a bedrock environmental law that is critical to protecting … Continue Reading

A Call for Comprehensive and Clearer ESG Disclosures

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, ESG, Green Washing, LEED, Sustainability
Last Wednesday, with a Dutch court finding Royal Dutch Shell partially responsible for climate change and ordering it to reduce emissions and two environmental activists being voted to Exxon Mobil board at the annual meeting, made clear how dramatically the landscape is shifting for all businesses in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) space, as … Continue Reading

Maryland to Commit to World Economic Forum’s One Trillion Trees Initiative Tree Planting

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Codes and Regulations, Environmental
The Maryland legislature has enacted and the Governor is expected to sign legislation that will take effect on June 1, 2021 establishing aggressive state tree planting goals and a host of other initiatives rooted in trees, all in an effort to respond to climate change. While other significant climate change legislation failed to pass in … Continue Reading

Two Creeks, a Marsh and Two Lakes Sue a Florida Real Estate Developer

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental
Two creeks, a marsh and two lakes are plaintiffs in a first of its kind complaint filed last month against a real estate developer and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Wilde Cypress Branch, Boggy Branch, Crosby Island Marsh, Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane, tributaries of the Kissimmee River are seeking declaratory and injunctive … Continue Reading

Labor Department Will Not Enforce Anti ESG Rule

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, ESG, GRESB, Sustainability
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that it will not enforce recently published final rules by the prior Administration on “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments” and “Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights.” This policy statement is in furtherance of the Biden Administration issued Executive Order 13990, entitled “Protecting Public Health and … Continue Reading

Now We Know What is Killing the Birds

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental
Stuart Kaplow
A cause is now known for bird deaths that eluded scientists for more than 25 years. It is beyond dispute that there are human activities that have a known negative impact on the natural environment, but sometimes events come together, only in part arising from human activities, to create unknown environmental consequences. During the winter … Continue Reading

Covid Pandemic Exposes More Children to Toxic Lead

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental
Covid-19 school closures and lockdowns resulted in thousands of children having increased blood lead levels. In a study of this consequence of Covid-19, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to describe blood lead level testing among young children during the Covid-19 pandemic, the CDC analyzed data reported from 34 state and local … Continue Reading

SEC to Update Required Climate Related Disclosures

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, ESG, Federal
On February 24, acting chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Allison Herren Lee, offered insight into the future direction of mandatory climate change disclosures and new ESG regulation, when she directed the Division of Corporation Finance to enhance its focus on climate related disclosure in public company filings. The Commission provided guidance in … Continue Reading

Rare Earth Metal Theft by Catalytic Converter

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental
The theft of catalytic converters to sell for the value of the rare earth metal components is a thing once again. A catalytic converter is a component part of the exhaust system of a fossil fuel motor vehicle that catalyzes, or accelerates the break down of vehicle emissions making them less harmful. The catalyst of … Continue Reading

EPA 2020 Enforcement Offers Insight

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, Federal
The Environmental Protection Agency’s has released the results of its 2020 enforcement and compliance efforts and those results offer significant insight that business can benefit from. In the first 5 months of fiscal year 2020, EPA was on track to significantly exceed traditional numeric metrics in many categories with more compliance monitoring activities in the … Continue Reading

PFAS in a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment?

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, Uncategorized
The question de riguer in commercial real estate transactions is if PFAS is included in a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment? As made clear by the January 14, 2021 EPA action, the response is “no” that the standard practice for environmental site assessments in the vast majority of places does not consider PFAS, however, .. … Continue Reading

Former Public Officials Indicted on Criminal Charges in Flint Water Crisis

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental
Michigan prosecutors last Thursday announced that 9 individuals have been indicted on a total of 42 counts related to a series of alleged actions and inactions that created the Flint water crisis. Interestingly, the Chief Judge of the Seventh Circuit in Genesee County appointed Judge David Newblatt to act as a one-man grand jury to … Continue Reading

45L Energy Efficient Home Tax Credit Extended for 2021 by Covid Relief Bill

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Energy, Federal, Green Building, Green Globes, IgCC, LEED
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, H.R. 133, signed into law by President Trump on December 27th, extended the 45L energy efficient home $2,000 tax credit, which had been scheduled to expire last year, to cover qualified new energy efficient homes sold or leased through 2021. And yes, regular readers of this blog will notice that … Continue Reading

179D Tax Deduction Made Permanent by Covid Relief Bill

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Federal, Green Building, Green Globes, LEED
On page 4,872 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, H.R. 133, which passed both houses of Congress on December 21st and was signed into law by President Trump on December 27th, the 179D energy efficient commercial buildings federal tax deduction, which had been scheduled to expire at year end, was instead made permanent. At a … Continue Reading

GRESB Purchased from GBCI in advance of ESG Breakout

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in GRESB, LEED
Last month GRESB announced that its management had purchased the business from its parent GBCI. GRESB was established in 2009 as the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark by three pension funds who wanted to assess and benchmark the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and other related performance of real assets, providing standardized data to capital … Continue Reading

The Birds: Migratory Bird Treaty Act redux without Tippi Hedren

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Federal, LEED, Solar Panel, wind turbine
Three weeks ago the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a regulation to finally resolve and codify the legal principal that an incidental bird take resulting from an otherwise lawful activity, for example a sparrows flies into a solar panel, is not prohibited under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service is … Continue Reading

Carbon Tax Proposed in Portland will be First in the Nation

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Green Globes, LEED, Local Government
The City of Portland is proposing a carbon tax that would be the first of its kind anywhere in the country. Given the increased emphasis on climate change by the incoming Biden Administration the proposed ordinance should be on your required reading list. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions are changing the climate. Energy … Continue Reading
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