Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment: Solutions for Navigating an Uncertain Legal Landscape
Online via WebEx
Partner Sophia Lee and Associates Frank L. Tamulonis and Stephen C. Zumbrun will present a discussion of Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment (“ERA”) at a Blank Rome-hosted live webinar on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. (EST).
Recent case law involving the Amendment has the potential to impact current and future projects across the Commonwealth. A unique Constitutional Amendment, it declares the citizens’ rights to clean air and pure water, and names the Commonwealth the trustee of natural resources. For four decades, Pennsylvania’s courts and administrative boards had utilized a familiar three-part test when assessing ERA claims that, among other things, balanced the environmental harms and benefits of a project. That all changed in 2017 when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the decades-old test, and now projects are facing closer scrutiny.
Sophia, Frank, and Stephen will give an overview of the Amendment and its development over the years, talk about the current legal landscape in the wake of significant recent court decisions, and provide practical advice to project proponents regarding where to go from here.
Please contact Alexandra Sevilla for more information about this event.