Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates
P.C.
75 Ponce De Leon Ave NE Ste 101
Atlanta,
GA 30308(470) 294-1674
www.garymartinhays.com
By Margaret Anne Hill, Michael L. Krancer, Frank L. Tamulonis III and Stephen C. Zumbrun | July 13, 2017
On June 20, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its opinion in Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation (PEDF) v. Commonwealth, 2017 Pa. LEXIS 1393 (Pa. June 20), in connection with the so-called Environmental Rights Amendment or ERA (Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution). Suffice it to say, the opinion has reopened the debate as to the meaning of the ERA, and more importantly, how the ERA is implemented as a practical and legal matter. In brief, the court ruled that amendments to the state's fiscal code (which sought to address budgetary shortfalls by redirecting money from a fund containing rents and royalties from oil and gas leases on commonwealth land to the general fund) violated the ERA. While the facts before the court were narrowly drawn, the court used the opportunity to revisit the decades old "test" applied in evaluating ERA claims, an issue it first addressed in its 2013 plurality opinion in Robinson Township v. Commonwealth, 83 A.3d 901 (Pa. 2013). It abruptly rejected the well-established Payne v. Kassab test and roughly 45 years of ERA-related case law, thereby placing the ERA, and industry, back into legal limbo. Despite some legal uncertainty, this opinion should not be interpreted as a major stumbling block to key energy and infrastructure projects.
By Kevin McGill | July 12, 2017
A Louisiana flood protection board has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive its lawsuit seeking to make oil, gas and pipeline companies pay for decades of damage to coastal wetlands, hoping to reverse losses in the lower federal courts.
By Jim Saunders | July 12, 2017
Nearly a year after a state regulatory commission approved controversial new water-quality standards, an appeals court ruled that a pulp-and-paper industry group should be able to challenge the measures.
By Michael B. Gerrard and Edward McTiernan | July 12, 2017
Environmental Law columnists Michael B. Gerrard and Edward McTiernan write that for only the second time since this annual survey began in 1991, no court overturned any agency decision where an environmental impact statement had been prepared. In sum, 2016 was a bad year for plaintiffs in SEQRA cases.
By Michael Dillon | July 6, 2017
On June 2, the Commonwealth Court weighed in on the long-simmering national debate surrounding questions of when two or more facilities must be regulated as a single source under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) and state air pollution control statutes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies have sought to aggregate facilities where certain factors support a finding that the facilities are operationally related, and especially where the level of emissions from the combined source would trigger heightened regulatory or permitting requirements. National Fuel Gas Midstream v. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, No. 116 CD 2016 (June 2, 2017), provides some clarity about the meaning of the term "common control," one of the three factors for determining if facilities should be aggregated for air permitting purposes. The decision finds that regulated facilities should not be combined as a single source merely because they are each owned by a separate subsidiary of a shared corporate parent.
By therecorder | The Recorder | July 6, 2017
Cal.Sup.Ct.; S221980 The California Supreme Court affirmed a court of appeal decision. The court held that homeowners who accepted the benefits of a…
By Cheryl Miller | July 6, 2017
California and seven other states on Thursday moved to defend Obama-era ozone pollution standards that Attorney General Xavier Becerra said may be left to die under Scott Pruitt's leadership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
By Cogan Schneier | July 3, 2017
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's effort to roll back Obama-era regulations hit a legal roadblock Monday when a federal appeals court ruled the agency illegally delayed a rule to limit methane pollution.
By Charles Toutant | June 30, 2017
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has thrown out an objector's claim that a $10 million settlement of an environmental class action against Honeywell International was approved without sufficient factual inquiry.
By thelegalintelligencer | The Legal Intelligencer | June 30, 2017
Board properly held that petitioner failed to establish that department's issuance of a permit for a well to be drilled on a slant with the bottom under a refinery storage tank was unreasonable or contrary to law because the board correctly applied the burden of proof, credible expert evidence supported the decision and Pennsylvania courts had held that hydraulic fracturing was not an abnormally dangerous activity. Affirmed.
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