David G Mandelbaum

September 14, 2023 | The Legal Intelligencer

The case has received some serious attention in the weeks since because Judge Kathey Seely found that the plaintiffs—16 young residents of Montana—had suffered and would suffer injury on account of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions in Montana and combustion of fossil fuels extracted from Montana.

By David G. Mandelbaum

7 minute read

August 10, 2023 | The Legal Intelligencer

Cape Cod has a problem with nitrogen pollution of its embayments and waterways. The solution that Massachusetts began to implement on July 7 may offer some lessons for Pennsylvania practitioners.

By David G. Mandelbaum

7 minute read

June 29, 2023 | The Legal Intelligencer

Close analyses of the Supreme Court's opinions abound. Therefore, I offer only a brief thumbnail here. Section 301 of the federal Clean Water Act prohibits discharges of pollutants from a "point source" to "navigable waters" without a permit.

By David G. Mandelbaum

8 minute read

April 27, 2023 | The Legal Intelligencer

In February, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided that the Environmental Hearing Board could award attorney fees and litigation costs to a prevailing third-party appellant under the Clean Streams Law.

By David G. Mandelbaum

7 minute read

February 02, 2023 | The Legal Intelligencer

Perhaps because the oral argument so confused everyone, on Jan. 23, the court dismissed the case on the ground that certiorari had been improvidently granted. So now instead of guidance, we have uncertainty.

By David G. Mandelbaum

8 minute read

December 29, 2022 | The Legal Intelligencer

The EPA would vet the third-party and the technology, and upon approval of that person, that person would be authorized to provide notice directly without passing the notice by the EPA.

By David G. Mandelbaum

7 minute read

November 10, 2022 | The Legal Intelligencer

Attention to ESG has become political. Some states with conservative administrations have taken steps to inhibit attention to ESG by, among other things, precluding investment of state employee pensions in certain funds or with certain fund managers who have increased their emphasis on ESG as an investment criterion.

By David G. Mandelbaum

7 minute read

September 29, 2022 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to list two "forever chemicals"—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)—as "hazardous substances" under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund).

By David G. Mandelbaum and Kaitlyn R. Maxwell

8 minute read

September 01, 2022 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Supreme Court can only decide so many cases. If we are to have a constitutional environmental provision with relevance to the interaction of private activities with the government, Pennsylvania business, organizations, and their lawyers need some guidance on both parts of the ERA.

By David G. Mandelbaum

7 minute read

July 14, 2022 | The Legal Intelligencer

As the April column in this series pointed out, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 reinstituted the Superfund chemical excise tax. Somehow, more than a few of our colleagues and clients have formed the expectation that environmental practitioners are the lawyers knowledgeable on this tax. Humoring them, I try here to provide a brief outline of how this tax works.

By David G. Mandelbaum

5 minute read