Read how Chesapeake Legal Alliance staff, volunteer attorneys, and our community partners are working to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and its communities.
By: Will Halnon “Originally, when I first got involved, I knew nothing,” says John Wyss, a patent, antitrust and trade regulation attorney, and partner at Wiley Rein LLP (Washington, D.C.), who over 12 years ago decided to volunteer his time and legal skills to what would become a decade-long litigation battle over a proposed housing […]
By Evan Isaacson The 2022 Maryland legislative session will be remembered as a landmark year for environmental legislation. The headline, of course, is the passage of the “Climate Solutions Now Act,” a title that adequately reflects the urgency with which the bill’s provisions try to address Maryland’s impact on climate change. Many bills are more […]
Championed by CLA, the House version of a new Maryland bill has now passed the state Senate, garnering enough bi-partisan support to soon become law. This groundbreaking legislation requires the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to hire a significant number of new staff to supplement its enforcement division and clear the Department’s substantial backlog of […]
To say that it’s been an unusual year is an understatement! The pandemic has impacted every facet of life, and the 2021 Maryland General Assembly Session was no exception. Public participation, which is key to our democratic process, was limited to remote access this year. Despite all of the limitations, elected officials and advocates overcame […]
By Evan Isaacson, Director of Policy & Research CLA staff and a volunteer attorney (and board member) assisted the Chesapeake Bay Commission and its Maryland members, including Delegate Stein and Senators Elfreth and Guzzone, in drafting and developing the Clean Water Commerce Act (CWCA) of 2021. This significant new legislation reauthorizes, modifies, and doubles in […]
By: Angela Haren, Senior Attorney, Director of Legal Innovation A powerful part of many environmental laws is the ability for the public to step in and enforce against polluters when the government fails to do so. The vast number of pollution violations coupled with government agency funding constraints or unwillingness to enforce, means that many […]
By: David Reed Since the 1970s, as the nation’s clean water and air laws developed into a robust suite of environmental protection programs, feedlots, or concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), have been regulated under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Recent growth in the CAFO industry has caused more attention to be given to this regulatory […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 11, 2021 Contact David Reed, Co-Director, Chesapeake Legal Alliance (202) 253-5560, Kathy Phillips, Assateague COASTKEEPER, Assateague Coastal Trust, (443) 235-2014, Landmark Win for The Bay Court Orders Maryland to Stop Ammonia Pollution Flowing to the Chesapeake Bay In […]
What does the Maui case mean for the Chesapeake Bay? By: Evan Isaacson & Angela Haren On April 23, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved an important Clean Water Act issue that has divided lower courts. The 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA or Act) protects our nation’s surface waters from direct discharges of pollution. The […]
In a victory for Deep Cove Creek, and after 25 hearings over the course of 2 years, the Anne Arundel County Board of Appeals dismissed the pending appeal regarding Snyder Development’s efforts to build its disputed housing development within the Resource Conservation Area (RCA) of the Critical Area in Churchton, Maryland, effectively ending Snyder’s attempts […]