Michael B. Gerrard

July 22, 2005 | New York Law Journal

Michael B. Gerrard, a partner in the New York office of Arnold & Porter, writes that roughly 250,000 Phase I environmental site assessments are now performed in the United States annually. Given that volume, it is not surprising to see a growing amount of litigation over their sufficiency.

By Michael B. Gerrard

12 minute read

November 27, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Michael B. Gerrard, professor and director of the Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and special counsel to Arnold & Porter, analyzes Save the Pine Bush Inc. v. Common Council of the City of Albany, in which five of the seven members of the high court made clear that the lower courts had taken an 18-year detour from what their predecessors had intended in Society of the Plastics Industry v. County of Suffolk. In so doing, the Court explicitly addressed one of the two major scenarios in which the old ruling was seen to have created an obstacle, and it showed the path to pleading around the obstacle in the other scenario.

By Michael B. Gerrard

12 minute read

January 25, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Michael B. Gerrard, a partner at Arnold & Porter, reviews laws passed by the New York State Legislature and bills passed but vetoed by Governor Eliot Spitzer concerning climate change, community land preservation, clean energy, brownfields, hazardous substances, and wildlife management.

By Michael B. Gerrard

11 minute read

September 08, 2011 | New York Law Journal

In his Environmental Law column, Michael B. Gerrard, a professor at Columbia Law School, and senior counsel to Arnold & Porter, analyzes recent legislation recreating a one-stop, state program for permitting electric generating facilities while preempting local requirements. But the new statute differs from its predecessor in several important ways.

By Michael B. Gerrard

12 minute read

January 23, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Michael B. Gerrard, senior counsel at Arnold & Porter, a professor of professional practice at Columbia Law School and director of its Center for Climate Change Law, outlines the recommendations the Task Force on Global Warming will be releasing at the Presidential Summit at the upcoming NYSBA annual meeting, recommendations that, given the current fiscal situation, concentrate on action items that will either save the state money because of their energy cost savings or will have, at worst, a modest cost to state and local government.

By Michael B. Gerrard

10 minute read

February 04, 2010 | New York Law Journal

Michael B. Gerrard, the Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice and director of the Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and Senior Counsel to Arnold & Porter, writes: Despite the political meltdown that immobilized the state Legislature for much of the summer, new laws were enacted in New York in 2009 concerning energy efficiency retrofits, green jobs, the expansion of the state's returnable container law, and numerous other matters.

By Michael B. Gerrard

10 minute read

November 24, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Michael B. Gerrard, a partner at Arnold & Porter, reviews the provisions of the new statute that gives the Department of Homeland Security authority to regulate the security of chemical facilities, how the law is being implemented, some of the provisions that were not included in the new law, and its prospects for modification by the just-elected Democratic Congress.

By Michael B. Gerrard

8 minute read

September 24, 2004 | New York Law Journal

Michael B. Gerrard, a partner with Arnold & Porter, reports that the EPA has published the long-awaited proposed standards for "all appropriate inquiry" under CERCLA.

By Michael B. Gerrard

11 minute read

January 28, 2005 | New York Law Journal

Michael B. Gerrard, a partner with Arnold & Porter, writes that children's health was the subject of two pieces of New York environmental legislation in 2004 and was also the target of an executive order. Mercury in schools has been banned, and schools will be required to use nontoxic cleaning products. Additionally, the state has banned the use of a fire-retardant linked to impairing early childhood development.

By Michael B. Gerrard

11 minute read

January 14, 2011 | New York Law Journal

There are abundant legal techniques at the federal, state, and municipal levels that could accomplish a great deal in cutting energy use, says Michael B. Gerrard, senior counsel at Arnold & Porter. The methods can reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil and curb the use of carbon emissions.

By Michael B. Gerrard

12 minute read