Young/Sommer Attorneys Lecture at Annual New York State Association of Towns Meeting
Posted on March 2, 2012
Attorneys from Young/Sommer presented classes on a variety of subjects at the annual New York State Association of Towns meeting recently held in New York City.
- Joe Castiglione and Rob Panasci lectured on “Passing the Buck (or Sharing It): Provisions and Tips for Towns to Save Costs on Some Everyday Municipal Issues.” The course discussed statutory provisions and practical tips to help towns avoid or share the costs of various municipal functions, including inter-municipal agreements, municipal review of certain applications, Freedom of Information Law compliance, sewer and water services, and real property tax certiorari proceedings.
- James Muscato presented a continuing legal education class on the scope of the new Article 10 power plant siting law and its implications for municipalities. In his presentation, Mr. Muscato noted that that 2011 law applies to all types of electric generating facilities with a capacity of 25 megawatts or larger and that this new, lower threshold will likely increase the number of municipalities affected by Article 10. Mr. Muscato also noted that the Article 10 process will significantly alter a municipality’s control over the review process relative to SEQRA.
- Municipalities face a host of environmental compliance obligations arising out of their day-to-day activities. At the Association of Town’s meeting, Dave Brennan, Beth Morss and Kevin Young offered a continuing legal education program entitled “Basic Environmental Compliance: A Primer for Towns.” The class provided an overview of the environmental compliance issues confronting towns, addressing such diverse topics as hazardous, universal and electronic waste handling and disposal, spill reporting and response, petroleum bulk storage compliance, stormwater management and permitting for town facilities, pesticides, boilers and open burning, among others.