News and Events Involving Environmental Law, Published by Chicago Environmental Attorney Dave Scriven-Young
of Peckar & Abramson, P.C. -- (312) 881-6309
  • Contractors and Owners Will Have an Easier Time Identifying Regulated Wetlands Following U.S. Supreme Court Opinion

    Posted by on May 27, 2023
    Contractors understand how difficult it can be on a technical level to do work in or near wetlands or other environmentally-sensitive areas. Such work is even more difficult due to complex, ever-changing regulations coming from the federal government under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). The CWA applies to “navigable waters”, which are defined as “the waters of the United States.” To dete...
  • Illinois Passes $45 Billion Capital Plan Including Money For Green Infrastructure

    Posted by on July 22, 2019
    Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker recently signed into law a $45 billion capital infrastructure plan dubbed “Rebuild Illinois”.  This plan allocates $33.2 billion for transportation, including $11 billion for the Illinois Department of Transportation’s multi-year plan and $14 billion for other road and bridge projects.  It also includes $4.7 billion for mass transit, $1 billion for passenger...
  • New Law #7: Increased Penalties for Violations of Rivers, Lakes, & Streams Act

    Posted by on January 5, 2016
    Continuing our countdown of new Illinois environmental laws taking effect on January 1, 2016 is Public Act 99-0073, which increases penalties for violations of the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act and permits the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to issue orders requiring remedial actions. (more…)...
  • Model Stormwater Ordinance Contains Ideas to Prevent Flood Damage

    Posted by on November 7, 2015
    The Illinois Department of Natural Resources, in collaboration with Illinois State Water Survey, developed a model stormwater ordinance to help Illinois communities manage flooding and combat flooding-related damages in urban areas.  The ordinance was developed as a result of a report that found increasing extreme precipitation events and that an increasing number of flood claims are occuring o...
  • Court: Vehicle Registration Surcharge to Support Illinois DNR is Constitutional

    Posted by on August 18, 2015
    In Illinois, a $2 surcharge to fund the Department of Natural Resources is added to motor-vehicle registration fees, and this surcharge was challenged as being unconstitutional.  In Friedman v. White, the Illinois Appellate Court for the Second District affirmed a trial court's ruling granting a motion to dismiss a complaint seeking a ruling that the DNR surcharge violated the uniformity clause ...
  • US EPA Creates Great Lakes Advisory Board

    Posted by on June 4, 2012
    U.S. EPA recently announced in a press release the creation of an advisory board to support federal agencies with the implementation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the updated Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The new board, the federal government’s first advisory committee on Great Lakes ...
  • Federal District Rules Clean Water Act Claim Not Viable Against Village

    Posted by on November 26, 2010
    The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently granted a motion to dismiss in Lobrow v. Village of Port Barrington, Case No. 10 C 3004, a case in which the plaintiff alleged that a subdivision was developed without required wetlands permits under Clean Water Act section 404. Citing the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Froebel v. Meyer, 27 F.3d 928 (7th Cir. 2000), th...

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