Law Commons^™

The Perils Of Relying On Fema Flood Maps In Real Estate Transactions, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan

Faculty Scholarship

A standard part of due diligence before real estate transactions is ascertaining whether the property is prone to flooding. The usual method has long been to rely on the 100-yearold flood maps of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Such reliance is highly misleading. FEMA flood maps can be seriously out of date. They also reflect only historic conditions, not future flooding as a result of sea level rise and extreme precipitation. Moreover, large parts of the United States are not mapped at all.

Biden Administration Will Reverse Many Trump Environmental Policies, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan

Faculty Scholarship

When Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is inaugurated as the 46^th President of the United States on January 20, he will reverse many of the environmental actions taken by President Donald Trump. Some of this he can and probably will do immediately, possibly on Inauguration Day; other actions will have to go through administrative processes that will take several months, at least. The Trump Administration neither secured nor repealed almost any environmental legislation even while Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate, and little it did in this area is irrevocable.

New York Environmental Legislation In 2019, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan

Faculty Scholarship

In 2019, with the Democrats newly in full control of the State Senate, the Assembly and the Governor’s office, New York adopted more environmental legislation than it had in more than a decade. This included a sweeping climate change statute, a new environmental justice article in the Environmental Conservation Law, and a statewide ban on plastic carryout bags. This annual survey reports on these developments and numerous other laws targeting environmental concerns.

New York’S New Statute On Siting Renewable Energy Facilities, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan

Faculty Scholarship

As part of a massive budget bill signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on April 3, New York has adopted the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act (AREGCBA). It completely revamps the process under which large-scale renewable energy facilities and associated transmission lines receive state and local approvals.