On March 21st, I spoke at the Chicago Bar Association's "Environmental Law & Practice" seminar, featuring excellent speakers providing updates on the main environmental statutes, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (also known as "EPCRA") and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as "CERCLA" or "Superfund").

If you or someone you know is interested in a career in environmental law, the Environmental Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section is organizing a "Careers in Environmental Law" seminar.  It will take place on February 28th from 3 pm to 4:30 pm at the Chicago Bar Association, 321 S. Plymouth Court (or via webcast).  A networking reception will immediately follow the seminar. You can find registration details here and more information below.  Thanks to our reception sponsors Weaver Boos Consultants and Precision Discovery for their support!

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9091886.htm Chicago, Illinois (PRWEB) January 16, 2012 Dave Scriven-Young, a Chicago environmental attorney at Peckar & Abramson, P.C., was recently selected as a "Rising Star" in environmental law by Illinois Super Lawyers Magazine. "I would like to thank Illinois Super Lawyers for naming me a 'Rising Star' for 2012," said Scriven-Young. "Particularly, I am honored to be one of only three attorneys named as a 'Rising Star' in the environmental law category." This is the second year in a row that Scriven-Young was selected as a "Rising Star".

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency recently released its 4th Annual Air Quality Report, which summarizes air quality data collected in calendar year 2010. Data in the Report is presented for the six criteria pollutants (those for which air quality standards have been developed - particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead) along with some heavy metals, nitrates, sulfates, volatile organic and toxic compounds. Monitoring was conducted at over 80 different site locations collecting data from more than 200 instruments.

Here's your Illinois environmental news update for this morning from across the internet: (1) State of Illinois sues the City of Markham for allegedly violating the IL Environmental Protection Act by not having a backflow contamination control in its water supply system for at least six months. http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8494027 (2) Illinois EPA officials have told Maeystown, IL officials that babies younger than 6 months should not drink the water there because nitrate levels are too high. http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/295564/3/EPA-issues-water-warning-in-Maeystown

Here's your Illinois environmental news update for this morning from across the internet: (1) Plaintiffs seek information from Illinois EPA in suit alleging weed killer atrazine contaminates Greenville's drinking water.  They hope that the information will help defeat summary judgment motions filed by defendant Syngenta Crop Protection Services. http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/240773-tillery-seeks-raw-water-data-from-iepa-to-support-claims-defense-says-evidence-should-have-existed-before-lawsuit-was-filed (2) Illinois EPA could make a decision soon on whether to certify the completion of post-closure of the Land and Lakes Company's landfill in Buffalo Grove. http://www.journal-topics.com/news/article_5040b7b0-37c9-11e1-b490-0019bb30f31a.html

Here's your Illinois environmental news update for this morning from across the internet: (1) Mayor Emanuel and ComEd predict that the $1.1 billion investment in smart grid infrastructure will create 2,400 jobs. http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2012/january/mayor_emanuel_andcomedannounce2400jobswillbecreatedthrough11bill.html (2) The South Beloit City Council voted to apply for an Illinois EPA revolving loan for $20,000 for brownfield cleanup and remediation at a former foundry site. http://www.beloitdailynews.com/news/south-beloit-city-council-makes-plans-to-finish-cleanup/article_84f51372-36e6-11e1-acc4-001871e3ce6c.html