Environmental and Natural Resources Lawyers in the USA

The Obama administration has been cracking down on environmental regulations, particularly with regard to global warming. Faced with this increased pressure, the coal and electric industries are applying a new legal strategy they believe will allow them to take advantage of a loophole and prevent most EPA enforcement measures.

Have you purchased a piece of land only to discover after the sale that there was pollution on the property? Are you thinking of selling a house and wondering how much you need to disclose? Understanding the laws related to environmental disclosures can mean the difference between a costly lawsuit and a smooth transaction.

Shale formations are an invaluable resource when it comes to natural gas and oil. The side effects of drilling in these shale deposits, however, can be costly. Shale is a type of rock which is made out of mud, clay, and fragments of other minerals. Shale is characterized by the thin layers make up the rock, meaning it can easily splinter and flake.

Environment laws protect our natural resources by regulating businesses that have the potential to impact them. Due to the importance of these laws, the Environmental Protection Agency was formed as a federal agency whose main task is to control and decrease pollution by researching potential hazards, monitoring companies that may cause environmental harm, setting standards of practice to minimize environmental impact and enforcing punishments for those who violate environmental regulations.

As part of their efforts to prevent the injurious consequences of high greenhouse gas emissions, legislators in California passed regulations requiring producers, refiners, and importers of diesel and gasoline to reduce their carbon footprint by 10 percent over a decade. In late December, a federal judge issued an injunction preventing California from enforcing its rules on the grounds that California's regulations were in violation of the Commerce Clause in the United States Constitution.

Over the years, as high levels of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) were discovered in water supplies throughout California and other states and the environmental and personally injurious health risks of the chemical studied, several lawsuits were filed against the oil companies responsible for the contamination. However, multiple legal issues concerning liability arose throughout the course of the litigation, explains an attorney.

When buying renewable energy credits (RECs), purchasers should make sure to negotiate a short but critical set of REC-focused representations and warranties. These representations and warranties are promises regarding the REC itself or the seller’s ownership of the REC.

California law imposes a strict liability rule in dog bite cases, which means that an owner is always liable for any personal injury caused by his or her dog, even in situations where a dog has not bitten before, explains a lawyer. While owners may be held liable for their dogs under California's dog bite statute, as well as under negligence rules and the negligence per se doctrine, holding animal control responsible for a dog attack becomes a much more complicated proposition.

Legal Practice Optimization or Law Practice Optimization (LPO) is the answer of the legal technology industry to the challenge the world faces for an eco-friendly work environment. It may be relatively new to many but this innovative way of managing the workplace is the first step any lawyer should take if they are keen to ensure the existence of a healthy planet for their children.

In the State of California, every dog owner is legally required to have their pet vaccinated regardless of the animal’s health condition. Certain animal rights advocates and an assemblyman think that the present animal regulation laws in California are not pro-animal at all.