A timely opinion article published by The Hill on June 10, 2020 reminds us of the ways that environmental justice issues are intertwined with the institutionalized disadvantages of certain groups, typically along racial and socioeconomic lines. These inequalities are not just economic, nor are they limited to issues involving our…

In response to inquiries on essential construction activities under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Executive Order 202.13 and Executive Order 202.6 limiting exempt construction activities to “essential” and emergency constriction, New York State Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEC) Division of Environmental Remediation issued guidance identifying the following…

Were you affected by the 2019 flooding along Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River? A new government program may be able to help.

New York State recently launched the 2019 Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Flood Relief and Recovery Program to help homeowners affected by the “historic flooding along the…

In a May 19, 2019 blog post, I wrote about the environmental contamination at the old Tonawanda Coke Facility in Western New York. Earlier this month, the Buffalo News reported that a developer purchased the former Tonawanda Coke site, intends to redevelop the property as a computer data…

Nine years ago, for $1,200, a Dunkirk native bought a piece of land from the City of Lockport that contained a three-story, 16,000 square-foot building. His plan was to demolish the building and convert the property, which used to be an industrial power plant, into a gas station. But that…

Last week, the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (the “DEC”) announced that a Niagara County man had been sentenced for an attack on an Environmental Conservation Police Officer.¹ The attack allegedly occurred in 2018 when the defendant was driving an off-road Utility Vehicle (a “UTV”).…

Property owners, businesses and municipalities across New York State are experiencing flooding at an historic rate. The causes run the gambit from poorly maintained municipal stormwater systems to the flooding we have seen in 2017 and 2019 along Lake Ontario. Water is one of the most destructive forces of nature…

After the Tonawanda Coke plant closed, government officials and local researchers expressed concerns about the environmental impacts that chemical contamination could cause to nearby neighborhoods and the Niagara River. Those concerns were justified by the discovery of about 900,000 gallons of ammonia waste, leaking tanks, and soils contaminated with “heavy…

The United States Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) recently opened a criminal inquiry into another automobile manufacturer’s emissions-certification process.¹

In the last several years, as emissions and fuel efficiency standards have tightened, automobile companies have faced accusations of violating those standards and falsifying tests or technical data. Some have questioned…

Earlier this year, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (the “DEC”) presented the results of a comprehensive environmental investigation of the Niagara Sanitation Landfill near North Tonawanda, New York¹. The Landfill had accepted a variety of waste from the surrounding community over the course of its operation from…

Greene County’s plan to construct a new jail in Coxsackie, New York raises questions about how the proposed project will impact the environment and nearby residents. The project has made news recently as politicians and the public debate the size and cost of the proposed facility.¹ According to recent reporting,…

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Army Corps of Engineers have proposed a new definition of Waters of the United States in an attempt to clarify federal authority under, and applicability of, the Clean Water Act (“CWA”)¹. The deadline for submitting public comment on that proposed definition…

The Coast Guard and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (the “DEC”) are investigating tar balls and oil sheen that were found at Coney Island and along Long Island beaches in March, 2019¹.

According to the Coast Guard, oil found in the Arthur Kill waterway may have come…

The Town of Carmel’s “decision to dump mounds of asphalt millings eight feet high near the … shore [of Lake Mahopac]” sparked an Investigation by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (the “DEC”)¹. That’s because a January 2019 DEC ruling prohibited the use of asphalt milling as fill…