Environmental Law

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Environmental and Natural Resources Law

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2012 Articles

2011 veto session summary By Kent Mohr March 2012 A summary of environmental bills introduced during the veto session of the 97th General Assembly. 
CCDD regulations finalized By Steve Sawyer October 2012   On August 23rd, the Illinois Pollution Control Board (PCB) adopted the final Rule on Illinois’ Clean Construction or Demolition Debris (CCDD).
Institutional controls: The use of municipal ordinances and agreements as components of No Further Remediation Letters By Frank M. Grenard March 2012  As a municipal attorney, the lawyer has a responsibility to inform the decision makers of requests for institutional controls, what they are, how they would benefit or be detrimental to the community, and to assure that the municipality would not bear any additional financial loss or liability. By the same token, the attorney should assure that the municipality understands that the business/development community needs assistance in obtaining closure of environmental incidents, many of them relatively minor in scale but they result in tremendous roadblocks to projects.
ISBA President challenges Illinois lawyers to fight hunger October 2012 ISBA President John Thies invites all law firms and legal organizations statewide to participate in a food and fundraising drive during the final two weeks in February 2013.
New Section 31 enforcement procedures By Coty Hopinks-Baul March 2012 A detailed description of the enforcement process for practitioners not already familiar with the “Section 31 Process” and a brief discussion of the amendments to the process for those already familiar with it.
Radon as an issue for real estate closings: New home construction requirements By Myles Jacobs October 2012 Thanks to the author's efforts, a new law has been passed in Illinois requiring that as of June 2013 new residential construction will have to include passive radon measures.
Supreme Court expands juror rights in environmental penalty cases By Raymond T. Reott October 2012 Frequently, environmental statutes calculate penalties based upon the number of days the company violated the statute. After Southern Union Company v. United States, the government must prove that the defendant committed all of the acts constituting the offense for each given day.
Unanimous Supreme Court allows pre-enforcement review under Clean Water Act By Raymond T. Reott April 2012 A discussion of the recent case of Sackett v. EPA.
Wetland regulations—More than an environmental rule: A comment on County of Lake v. Campus Investments, Inc. By Lisle A. Stalter April 2012 This case is important on two fronts. First, it discusses statutory interpretation and how it is applied in the context of purpose provisions of enabling legislation of statutorily created public bodies. Additionally, this case recognizes that the protection of wetlands is not only for aesthetic purposes or to provide a habitat for migratory birds.