Environmental Law CLE

Learn what it takes to develop and litigate citizen suits to enforce our country’s landmark environmental laws! This course will cover the basic purposes of citizen suits; the remedies available to successful litigants; the key steps involved in developing and filing citizen suits; and trends that affect the value and viability of citizen suits as a tool.

How is the United States going to meet its carbon emissions and renewable energy goals? The answer, friends, is blowin’ in the wind – offshore wind. In this introduction to offshore wind permitting and development, we will review the global and national history of offshore wind and describe the immense potential for offshore wind to contribute to the United States’ clean energy transition. We then will provide an overview of the players and layers of approvals required for an offshore wind project, and describe how state and federal momentum has aligned under the Biden-Harris Administration to advance the development of the offshore wind industry in the U.S. Finally, we will talk about what we expect to see as the U.S. offshore wind industry develops over the next few years.

Are you curious about environmental justice work? Confused about where to start? This course will cover basic terminology and history; laws commonly used to present and seek to address environmental justice issues in U.S. courts; and practice tips and principles.

In this program, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Senior Attorney and Managing Litigator Selena Kyle will introduce the concept of environmental justice and discuss trends in federal environmental justice policy and private environmental-justice advocacy. This program will use examples from the guest’s own impact litigation practice to illustrate current issues in environmental justice.

In this introduction to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (the “Clean Water Act”), 33 U.S.C. § 1251, et seq., we will address the Clean Water Act’s genesis and discuss how the Act has evolved since 1972. We will cover the legislative history, permitting requirements, and key definitions under the Clean Water Act. We will also discuss the recent decisions expanding the protections offered by the Clean Water Act and what this means for the environmental law practitioner.

Climate change is the term on everyone’s tongue, but the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with its goals to half US carbon emissions by 2030 and become a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, is not the only major federal law that continues to shape land use in the United States. From the now defunct navigable waters protection in the 1899 Rivers and Harbors Act to the alive and kicking 1973 Endangered Species Act, a web of evolving laws and regulations touches upon every square inch of land in the country. This course offers an overview of the federal framework for such laws, including enforcing agencies (Hint: It’s not just the EPA) and their more detailed regulations interpreting the laws. We will also touch upon the big 6: Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, CERCLA, Coastal Zone Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Endangered Species Act. Finally, we conclude with historical context, including former president, Teddy Roosevelt, and how Rachel Carlson’s Silent Spring galvanized the nascent environmental movement in the United States and led to many of the subsequently adopted laws.

Your client’s townhouse development project is underway. Things are going well and ahead of schedule. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection visits his work site and slaps him with a large fine and then serves him with an unsettling lawsuit. Now what? Is the project over? Will general liability insurance cover litigation costs and damages? In New Jersey, environmental lawsuits are frequently brought about by the NJDEP and attorney general. There is no quick exit ramp for these kinds of lawsuits, so trial preparation is key. A quick Q&A with the client reveals that he purchased the vacant parcel without doing basic due diligence to determine detrimental liens, covenants and restrictions. The local site plan and subdivision processes went smooth, and local approval was granted. What seemed like an “all clear” was anything but. The prior owner, it turns out, stuck him with a large unpaid environmental cleanup bill for nearby stream contamination. Unfortunately, these bills run with the land, not the owner at the time of occurrence. In this course, we will discuss how detailed trial preparation can spare your clients from the worst outcomes of environmental lawsuits. This involves how to research every nook and cranny of a property and its history, including NJDEP permits on file, rejected applications, transcripts of past proceedings, environmental investigations and studies. Preparation then involves determining which laws, regulations and subsequent caselaw are applicable to the case at hand, while keeping in mind that the federal government preempts the state in many areas of environmental law. Finally, sometimes it is better to live to fight another day: Striking a deal with the NJDEP is often favorable to fighting a bitter, losing litigious fight. Envisioning the most favorable and also plausible outcome is the most important factor shaping trial preparation. Then, we will survey some of the best practices for drafting responsive pleadings, supported by law, regulation and scientific evidence, to the best possible extent, so that your client receives the best representation in an area fraught with uncertainty

This course will provide an overview of fresh water law in the United States. We will cover both the law and policy aspects within water law while analyzing the balance between public rights and private rights to use water, including private ground water rights, and private water harvesting rights. While also covering water usage and its impact. Water is the heart of agriculture, commerce, transportation’s, recreation, and survival.

There are 574 federally recognized Indian Tribes in the United States, and approximately 300 reservations covering nearly 55 million acres. Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s 1984 Policy for the Administration of Environmental Programs on Indian Reservations, EPA recognizes Tribal Governments as sovereign entities with primary authority and responsibility for the reservation populace, and the appropriate non-Federal parties for making decisions and carrying out program responsibilities affecting Indian reservations, their environments, and the health and welfare of the reservation populace. This course will explain the unique role of Indian Tribes in environmental law: in resource use, protection, and regulation under federal statutes, treaties, and Tribal law both on and off the reservation

In this discussion of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (the “Clean Water Act”), 33 U.S.C. § 1251, et seq., we will address the Clean Water Act and the Supreme Court’s “functional equivalent” standard established in the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife decision. We will cover the history of the Clean Water Act with respect to point sources, the evolution of how point sources have been defined since the Clean Water Act was established, and the newly adopted “functional equivalent” standard. We will focus our discussion on the County of Maui decision and address what the standard means for the environmental law practitioner.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act -- otherwise known as CERCLA or Superfund – is the federal statute that provides a funding mechanism to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste and accident sites. In this course, Connie Sue Martin will lead you through the CERCLA liability framework, contribution and cost recovery, and the roles of key players such as EPA, states, and Indian tribes.

Wetlands are often attractive areas for development but wetland regulations can make it difficult to build at a property. This course will address how to identify wetlands, why wetlands matter, and how wetlands came to be regulated. Additionally, this course will explore the various types of permits for wetlands use and their processes. Throughout this course attorneys will gain familiarity with wetlands, their functions, and legal issues involved in their use.