RECENT LAW LIBRARY ARTICLES
Commercial real estate developers and business leaders routinely underwrite projects against ten, twenty, and thirty year horizons, knowing that capital expenditures must outlast political cycles. Yet every two years, Washington and the state capitals deliver a referendum on policy priorities ...
The promise of drone package delivery – swift, efficient, reduced energy intensity, protection from porch pirates, and cost reducing last mile logistics – offers compelling opportunities for commercial real estate, from office parks and flex parks to multi family. Battery ...
We are often asked about installing residential rooftop solar panels, which should not be surprising given that as of early 2026, more than 5 million single family homes (i.e., around 5.8% of roofs) have rooftop solar panel systems. That is ...
Australia’s High Court Puts Scope 3 GHG Emissions Back on the U.S. Business Risk Map
Many American businesses welcomed the SEC’s retreat from proposed Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions reporting. But an Australian High Court decision shows why value chain emissions remain a material legal risk. The court invalidated a coal mine expansion approval because the planning authority failed to consider conditions addressing substantial downstream ...
D.C. Circuit Upholds PFAS Hazardous Designation – Critical Implications for Real Estate
For commercial real estate owners and business professionals, the landscape of environmental liability continues to shift. The recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. EPA has unequivocally affirmed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authority ...
TMDL Trump Executive Order – Why the Chesapeake Bay “Pollution Diet” Remains Intact
On September 16, 2026, President Trump issued Executive Order 14428, revoking President Obama’s 2009 Chesapeake Bay Executive Order (EO 13508) and directly taking aim at what Mid-Atlantic lawmakers have long derided as the “rain tax.” However, before commercial real estate owners celebrate the death of local stormwater fees, they should ...
Maryland’s Packaging EPR Program Moves From Law to Reality
Maryland’s latest environmental mandate is no longer just a legislative concept. It is becoming an operating program. In 2025, Maryland enacted Senate Bill 901, establishing an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework for packaging and paper products. Governor Wes Moore signed the legislation on May 13, 2025. Now the Maryland Department ...
Exposomics – The New Environmental Risk You Have Not Heard About
For decades, environmental risk focused on the visible and catastrophic: spills, smokestacks, contaminated properties, while doling out punishments after the damage was done. Now a quieter and potentially far more consequential ‘ecological meets human health’ issue is moving to the center of scientific and commercial attention: exposomics. Businesses should pay ...
Clean Water Isn’t a Constitutional Right? Fifth Circuit Says No
Can a government be held constitutionally accountable when it supplies contaminated drinking water, and then tells residents the water is safe? According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the answer is not under the U.S. Constitution’s Due Process Clause. In a significant September 4, 2026, en ...
