Green Building Law Update

Environmental Law and Sustainability for Business

Tag Archives: Stuart Kaplow

Maryland becomes First State to Ban Polystyrene this Thursday

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, State
During the 2019 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly enacted what will be the first statewide ban of expanded polystyrene foam. In the Spring of 2019 law makers did not foresee a pandemic that would shift restaurant dining (not to mention school meals and much more) to carry out in transportable food containers, but today … Continue Reading

SEC Alters Environmental Disclosure Requirements for First Time in 30 Years But

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Federal
A final rule the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted on August 26, 2020 and effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register may be more significant for what is not in the rule. The rule is silent on ESG disclosures, including climate risk. SEC disclosure requirements, which had not undergone significant revisions in … Continue Reading

Court Adopts New Evidentiary Standard for Science

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental
In 2020 when science and politics appear to have collided in a car wreck, confidence of the public in scientists is at an all time low. That observed, the public does not often think about the role courts have in accepting scientific theories. Last week Maryland’s highest court drew attention to this vital unsettled matter … Continue Reading

I Just Read my 1000th Phase I Environmental Site Assessment this Year

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental
For those concerned about the state of the environmental industrial complex during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, I can report that last Friday I reviewed my 1,000th Phase I Environmental Site Assessment this year. In context, last year I did not hit that 1,000 mark until late September, and while it is an unscientific indicator, … Continue Reading

2018 IgCC Poised to be Adopted for the First Time

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Green Building, IgCC, LEED, Local Government
Montgomery County, Maryland is on the cusp of being the first to adopt the 2018 International Green Construction Code. The proposed Executive Regulation 12-20 appeared in the Montgomery County Register on August 1. A public hearing will be held on proposed regulation on September 3. And written comments may be submitted until October 5. Montgomery … Continue Reading

More Than Green Buildings, Green Roads

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Green Building, LEED
If green building is going to repair the planet it will have to include green roads. Over 65% of the impervious surfaces in the U.S. are related to transportation (e.g., roads, parking lots, sidewalks, and driveways), with the vast majority being roads. There are 4,180,817 miles of roads in the U.S. Roads are the largest … Continue Reading

EPA Proposes First Greenhouse Gas Emissions Limits for Aircraft

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Environmental, Federal
Last Wednesday the Environmental Protection Agency proposed greenhouse gas emissions standards for airplanes used in commercial aviation and large business jets. “This standard is the first time the U.S. has ever proposed regulating greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft,” according to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. And as much as I have railed against more and regressive environmental … Continue Reading

A Force Majeure Decision during the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental
There has been much speculation and supposition about the interplay of force majeure provisions in leases and other contracts in response to government orders closing businesses during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but now there is an authoritative court decision that may provide persuasive authority. In a motion in a Bankruptcy case the landlord … Continue Reading

New BREEAM In Use Version in a Changing World

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Green Building, LEED
Last week BRE Global announced that the “BREEAM USA In-Use Version 6 for Commercial and Residential” green building rating system has launched. In addition to improvements to the prior commercial building rating system BREEAM In-Use now includes residential for the first time (accepting that existing multi-family building is a very much underserved sector). An update … Continue Reading

COVID-19 and the Risk from Recirculated Air in Buildings

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, Green Building, State
The Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations (REHVA) has in recent days issued guidance on how to occupy commercial and public buildings, from offices to schools, “in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.” As Americans begin to end coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns, which were of course intended to keep … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Permits State Law Claims Against Superfund Property

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental
In an instructive environmental law decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the federal Superfund statute (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) does not preclude owners of adjacent contaminated land from pursuing state laws claims for money damages for nuisance, trespass and strict liability, but any cleanup of that land cannot … Continue Reading

Maryland is First State to Legislate Permitted Use of PFAS

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental
Prior to the just concluded session of the Maryland legislature, the State’s laws and regulations were silent with regard to PFAS chemicals including PFOA. At worst, Maryland could have been criticized along with the Federal government and other states, for failing to regulate PFAS as a hazardous substance. But then, some days ago Maryland did … Continue Reading

Understand How EPA Does Not Expect to Seek Penalties during COVID-19 Pandemic

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, Federal, Legal Developments
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last Thursday retroactively beginning March 13, 2020, a temporary policy regarding EPA enforcement of environmental legal obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. EPA’s admittedly unprecedented temporary “enforcement discretion policy” applies to civil violations during the COVID-19 outbreak as a response to the deleterious effect on a wide variety of businesses. … Continue Reading

LEED can Help Mitigate Legal Risks in ESG Disclosures

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, LEED
Public companies in the U.S. find themselves at a dynamic time of emergent environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) disclosures. Vocal socially conscious investors, activist stockholder environmental proxy proposals, and the like are driving companies to make ESG statements. This blog post highlights the legal risk associated with ESG disclosures and proffers that with green building … Continue Reading

179D Tax Deduction Allocated from Government Buildings

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Energy, Environmental, Green Building
On December 20, 2019, the President signed legislation reviving the Section 179D energy efficient commercial building tax deduction and while much has been written about the much needed boost to green building, little has been said about the enormous benefits available from government owned buildings. The § 179D federal tax deduction was brought back from … Continue Reading
LexBlog