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Blockchain has come to U.S. Real Estate
Earlier this year a precedent setting property sale in Vermont was the first real estate transaction in the United States using blockchain, portending a new era in the sale of land and improvements....
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St. Petersburg is Bold in Mandating Envision
The City of St. Petersburg, Florida passed a progressive ordinance last week mandating that City infrastructure projects and newly constructed and renovated City building be third party certified as...
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LEED Prerequisite Now Prohibits Smoking Cannabis
The U.S. Green Building Council issued a LEED Interpretation in 2018 ruling, “smoking of cannabis is considered a form of smoking for the purposes of both the interior and exterior smoking provisions...
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On the 25th Anniversary of Lead Based Paint Disclosures
Use of lead is not new. Lead was one of the first metals discovered by man and was in use before 3000 BC. Beginning in 753 BC, the ancient Romans used lead for making water pipes and kitchen cookware....
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Resilience is the Future of Real Estate and USGBC Spells it RELi
Last Friday, Hudson Yards, the largest private real estate development in the country opened, but what the $25 Billion project may become best known for is that is designed for resilience from its...
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LEED Credit is Designed to Eliminate Illegal Wood in Buildings
The U.S. Green Building Council is being applauded for the release last week of the new pilot credit intended “to reduce the risk that illegally sourced, harvested or traded wood products are used in...
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Tenants Order Phase l to Avoid Hazardous Substance Liability
It has been a year since the omnibus spending bill signed on March 23, 2018 amended the Superfund law, for first time making clear that tenants can qualify as bona fide prospective purchasers,...
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Nurdles are the Environmental Calamity of 2019
A year ago, I thought a nurdle was a cricket term for a score by deflecting the ball rather than striking it. But in the last twelve months I learned that a nurdle is also a term for a small, lentil...
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Maryland Bans Polystyrene and Enacts 31 other New Environmental Laws
The Maryland General Assembly, the state’s legislative body meets in regular session for 90 days each year beginning the second Wednesday in January to act on more than 2,500 pieces of legislation. On...
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Maryland Appellate Court Upholds Local Government Pesticide Ban
Last week the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the state’s intermediate appellate court, overturned an earlier circuit court decision, reinstating a Montgomery County ordinance significantly...
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Recycled Restaurant Waste Cooking Oil Can Trigger Insurance Pollution Exclusion
In a case having broad implications given the wide mandatory recycling of restaurant waste cooking oil across the country, in a decision filed on April 29, 2019, a federal appeals court held that...
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GSA Reviews more than 100 Green Building Systems and Selects 5
Section 436(h) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires the General Services Administration’s Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings to complete a review of high performance...
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EPA Cancels Pesticide Registrations to Save the Bees
In a rare move, the EPA issued product cancellation orders for certain pesticides effective May 20, 2019. The pesticides contain neonicotinoids that, despite their widespread use have become...
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Maryland Reverting to Certifiable In Lieu of Certified Green Building
In response to an act of the Maryland legislature in 2018, the state is proposing a watershed revamp of its current mandatory green building requirements for new public school buildings. The public is...
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Brownfield Laws can Save Green Building and the Planet
It is widely accepted that the greenest building is one already built. So, why then on the 20th anniversary of many state brownfield programs, is there so little correlation between green buildings and...
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Net Zero Lawsuit Filed Against Home Builder
A lawsuit has been commenced in Maryland alleging that two net zero homes are not. The facts are gleaned from a review of the court pleadings and are instructive for everyone buying or selling a green...
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USGBC Wants You to Comment on the Next Version of LEED
The U. S. Green Building Council is looking for the future of LEED and has officially opened a call for feedback and ideas for the next version of LEED. This is an opportunity for anyone and everyone...
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Cannabis Manufacturer Charged with RCRA but No CDS Violations
In a criminal case that says significantly more about the prosecution than the indictment on its face, the Federal government is prosecuting a leading cannabis industry manufacturer and distributor for...
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State Law Trumps on Location of Solar Panels
“Here comes the sun, and I say, It’s all right” is how a new decision on solar energy generating stations by Maryland’s highest court begins, quoting The Beatles song, “Here Comes the Sun.” This case...
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Radon Caused More Than 21,000 Deaths Last Year
Radon causes more than 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the U.S. every year. Despite that it is totally preventable, radon is the number one lung cancer killer in nonsmokers. Radon is widely described as...
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