Climate Law Blog

Five months after Superstorm Sandy, the recovering northeast region continues to debate whether to rebuild in the most vulnerable coastal areas or whether to retreat and leave those lands as protective buffers.   A decision to engage in managed retreat would face significant legal, political, and practical challenges, but, according to a panel convened at Columbia [...]

By Shawna Ganley. While the Clean Water Act prohibits discharge of pollutants into waterways, EPA regulations make exceptions for certain discharges in the event of extreme weather events, such as 10-year and 25-year storms.  These exceptions run the gamut from toxic pollutants such as DDT, to waste from factory farm effluent holding ponds, runoff from [...]

by Anne Siders WNYC radio announced this morning that Mayor Bloomberg, as part of his post-Sandy recovery effort, is considering purchasing waterfront homes that were damaged by Sandy.   The plan would use some portion of the $1.8 billion in Community Development Block Grant funding that has been earmarked for New York City to purchase damaged [...]

A coalition of energy, environmental and community interest organizations, led by Center for Climate Change Law, filed a formal petition with the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) requesting that the commission use its regulatory authority to require all utility companies within its jurisdiction to prepare and implement comprehensive natural hazard mitigation plans to address [...]

by Michael Gerrard A great deal has been said about what Hurricane Sandy was. Quite a few superlatives have appropriately been used. But I would like to list six things that Hurricane Sandy was not: 1. Hurricane Sandy was not a worst case event.   It was a Category 1 hurricane when it hit New York. [...]

Monday, a regional Italian court convicted six scientists and a government official of manslaughter for failing to adequately warn local residents prior to the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake that killed 309 people.   Defendants have been sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay 7.8 million euros ($10.2 million) in damages and costs.  In addition, [...]

Yesterday, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and National Wildlife Federation filed a petition with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that would require states to incorporate climate change assessments in their hazard mitigation plans. FEMA administers several federal mitigation grant programs under the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Management Act, including the Hazard Mitigation [...]