Section Newsletter Articles on Environmental Law

Key post acquisition obligations for BFPPs By Samantha Gibson Environmental Law, May 2017 A discussion of the post-acquisition obligations one must satisfy in order to get the protection of a BFPP defense.
A look at National Waste and Recycling Association v. County of Cook: How much authority does a local government have over environmental issues By Lisle A. Stalter Environmental Law, May 2017 The National Waste and Recycling Association is a not-for-profit entity that recently challenged Cook County’s Solid Waste Recycling Ordinance.
Industrial Growth Zones Program established through collaborative efforts of the City of Chicago and Cook County By Karen Kavanagh Mack Environmental Law, March 2017 The City of Chicago and Cook County have recently launched a joint program aimed at spurring redevelopment of environmentally impacted, industrial real estate located in select areas of the City and/or Cook County.
Senate Bill 1673: The General Assembly’s attempt to cut and paste federal “water quality standards variance” provisions into Illinois law By Phillip R. VanNess Environmental Law, March 2017 A new (to Illinois) process for addressing water quality standards is in the offing, and it warrants careful review.
Summary of the Clean Water Rule (CWR): Definition of “Waters of the United States” By Bertram C. Frey Environmental Law, March 2017 The United States Supreme Court has issued three decisions that provide guidance in determining the appropriate scope of “waters of the United States” covered by the CWA.
Environmental basics revisited: A look at Northern Illinois Service Company v. Illinois Environmental Protection Agency By Lisle A. Stalter Environmental Law, November 2016 Although the decision in this case is pretty straightforward and not surprising, it is useful to have a confirmation of where the interpretation of the Act stands.
Opportunities for inexpensive environmental law CLE Environmental Law, November 2016 Our section will present two live webcasts on November 30th for just $30 apiece.
The 2015 RCRA Solid Waste Rule and the 2016 TSCA Reform (The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act) By William J. Anaya Environmental Law, August 2016 In the last 12 months, Congress and US EPA have made significant changes to waste and chemical regulation that deserve some analysis.
Significant 2015 federal court decisions in environmental law By Kenneth Anspach Environmental Law, August 2016 Make note of these important decisions affecting environmental laws.
Lenders and contaminated property By Eugene P. Schmittgens, Jr. Business Advice and Financial Planning, May 2016 Establishing proper safeguards and with a property with a viable end-use, contaminated properties can be profitable for all parties.
Competing approaches for adjusting non-settling CERCLA defendants’ liability in contribution claims By Samantha Gibson Environmental Law, April 2016 This article examines the competing approaches courts apply when determining the liability of non-settling parties in CERCLA contribution claims.
Free Environmental CLE for ISBA members Environmental Law, April 2016 Your ISBA membership may come with all the CLE you need.
LUST at 27: The Leaking Underground Storage Tank Fund and the incredibly invisible indemnification provisions By Phillip R. Van Ness and Craig Foster Environmental Law, April 2016 There are as yet no set parameters for either accessing or preserving the LUST Fund.
Upcoming Professional Development Luncheon Environmental Law, April 2016 Save the date for this informative lunchtime program.
Environmental insurance alert—Change to evidence rules threatens policyholders’ ability to recover under historic insurance policies By Scott J. Kaplan Environmental Law, September 2015 A discussion of the Ancient Document rule and its usefulness.
How to counsel your client so that you both survive a regulatory inspection By Lisa A. Funderburg Corporate Law Departments, September 2015 Some practical tips for helping your client prepare for a regulatory inspection, survive an inspection, and manage any follow-up that may come from an inspection.
Professional development opportunities By Kent Mohr Environmental Law, September 2015 The ISBA Environmental Law Section will host a professional development luncheon on  October 21, 2015 from noon to 1:00 pm at the ISBA’s Chicago Office. Register now to participate!
Studio Session on Section 31 Enforcement By Kent Mohr Environmental Law, September 2015 The ISBA’s Environmental Law Section Council will be sponsoring a live webcast program at 9:30 a.m. on October 22, 2015 titled "Navigating a Section 31 Enforcement Case."
CERCLA and the Supreme Court By John M. Barkett Environmental Law, August 2015 If you can get the Court to take a CERCLA case, it is not at all unlikely that, despite CERCLA’s remedial purpose, the Court will interpret CERCLA’s words literally rather than attempt to rewrite them.
How to counsel your client so that you both survive a regulatory inspection By Lisa A. Funderburg Environmental Law, August 2015 Some practical tips for helping your client prepare for a regulatory inspection, survive an inspection, and manage any follow-up that may come from an inspection.
The “M” word—Mold is manageable By William J. Anaya Environmental Law, June 2015 An overview of how to handle a mold discovery.
Seventh Circuit adopts continuous trigger for first-party property damage claim resulting from defect discovered after policies lapsed By Matthew Riley Environmental Law, June 2015 The ruling in Strauss v. Chubb Indemnity Insurance Co. has potentially far-reaching positive implications for policyholders as it affects various sources of recovery, as well as scope of notice issues.
Summary of Public Acts for the 98th Illinois General Assembly By Kent E. Mohr, Jr. Environmental Law, June 2015 A summary of select public acts from the 98th Illinois General Assembly (2013-2014) relating to environmental law.
Environmental forensics By Tomlinson Fort and Larry Schmaltz Environmental Law, May 2015 Environmental forensics is the use of scientific data analysis to answer questions about causation. Here are some questions you can ask your clients when the cause of a release is unknown.
Ever wonder how much it costs to clean up a leaking underground tank site? By Steve Anderson Environmental Law, May 2015 In a transaction, clients may want to know what kind of costs to expect if the leaking underground storage tank at the property has to be dealt with after closing.
Officer liability affirmed, but no retroactivity for Section 42(e) By Samantha Gibson Environmental Law, May 2015 On March 19, 2015 the Illinois Supreme Court announced its decision in People ex rel. Madigan v. J. T. Einoder, Inc., clarifying that power to obtain mandatory injunctive relief under section 42(e) of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act is not retroactive and what constitutes involvement in violating the Act sufficient to find personal liability for a corporate officer.
The diminishing value of USEPA’s audit policy and the increasing value of privileged internal investigations By Jeffrey C. Corey Environmental Law, January 2015 As useful as they may be for purposes of running and improving a business, audit reports may be equally useful to someone who has a reason to file suit against the company.
Recent environmental decisions: Illinois Pollution Control Board rulemakings By Kyle P. Carlson, Alison Hayden Kehrer, and Emily N. Masalski Environmental Law, January 2015 The following summaries cover rulemakings currently pending and ongoing or recently concluded before the Illinois Pollution Control Board.
Case comment: Nat’l Envtl. Dev. Association’s Clean Air Project v. EPA By Emily Taylor Environmental Law, September 2014 This case serves as a reminder to the Headquarters and Regional Senior Air Program Officials to take care that their memoranda do not violate the CAA’s “Regional Consistency” provision and its implementing regulation.
Recent environmental decisions: Illinois cases By Kyle P. Carlson, Alison Hayden Kekrer, and Emily N. Masalski Environmental Law, September 2014 The following Illinois case law summary presents a survey of some of the most important environmental law cases decided by Illinois state courts in the last year.
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