As we approach Earth Day on April 22nd, it is a good time to consider the state of Green Building in Maryland. Global Warming is the Issue of the Day It is hip to be green. The phrase ‘global warming’ first appeared in print in ...

Green Buildings are beginning to be environmentally sound investments as government provides the necessary incentives to advance the wider use of alternative “green” methods, buying down slightly higher up front construction costs that are often, again over time, recouped in reduced operating costs and additionally ...

EPA has, at long last, established regulatory standards and practices for evaluating a property’s environmental conditions necessary to qualify for certain landowner liability protections under the Superfund law and, as such, it is now time to modify the scope of future Phase I Environmental Site ...

Maryland law has significantly changed the obligations of an owner of residential rental property, including expanding the duties of disclosure of lead based paint when the landlord files a complaint in District Court for failure to pay rent. Background In 1994, Maryland established the Lead ...

On the final day of its 2004 session, the U.S. Supreme Court restricted the right of property owners that voluntarily clean up sites contaminated by hazardous substances to force former owners of the land to contribute to the cleanup cost. This 7 to 2 decision, ...

The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a proposed regulation setting federal standards and practices for the conduct of “all appropriate inquiries” necessary to qualify for certain landowner liability protections under the Superfund law. The Innocent Landowner Defense To Superfund If promulgated as proposed, this regulation ...

The Maryland General Assembly has enacted significant and positive improvements to the State’s Brownfields programs that will make many more properties prime for redevelopment. House Bill 294 expands eligibility for the Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP), including now allowing oil contaminated properties to enter that program; ...

On December 16, 2003, the same day the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers announced that they would not issue a new rule clarifying federal jurisdiction on what waters are subject to wetland regulation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th ...