State Agency Permitting

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The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“PADEP”) recently announced the availability of its draft 2024 version of the PAG-02 NPDES general permit for stormwater discharges associated with construction activities for comment. The current version of the PAG-02 permit, which was issued in December 2019, is set to expire state-wide on December 7, 2024. PADEP is accepting comments on the draft 2024 PAG-02 permit through April 8, 2024.Continue Reading Construction Stormwater Update: Draft PAG-02 Permit Open for Comment

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This is a guest post by Andrew Notarfrancesco, Vice President of JEM Group

For most people, a primary residence is the largest investment they will make over their lifetime. Therefore, it’s no surprise that people will be curious, critical, or even opposed to any type of real estate development in their community which they feel could have an adverse impact on the place they chose to live. This is frequently the case with affordable housing, where the age-old ‘not in my backyard’ stigma often stems from beliefs that low-to-moderate income neighbors could undermine the local quality of life and security.Continue Reading Better Housing and Building to Improve Lives

Thank you for following our Land Use Blog throughout 2020.  Without spending too much time on the past, please enjoy our Top 5 posts of 2020!

TOP 5 POSTS OF 2020

  1. Jon Andrews, Looking Through the Kaleidoscope – Land Use in Pennsylvania
  2. Claudia Shank, Simplified Zoning: Paradox or New Paradigm?
  3. Peter Wertz, Water Flows Downhill

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On May 4th, 2020 ,the Governor’s Office issued new guidance for businesses as they become authorized to restart in-person operations pursuant to the Administration’s phased red-yellow-green plan.  The guidance, which can be found here, includes a series of mandatory protocols designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 between and among employees and customers.  These protocols are binding upon “[a]ll businesses in all industries and sectors of the economy (including non-profit entities), in the Commonwealth, that are permitted to conduct-in person operations…unless they are otherwise more stringently regulated under separate industry-specific guidance”.

Recently, the Governor’s Office announced that twenty-four Pennsylvania counties will transition to the “yellow” phase on May 8th, thereby authorizing businesses in those counties to restart in-person operations on a limited basis. 
Continue Reading May 8 Opening: Guidance (Portions Mandatory) From The Commonwealth For Businesses

On April 22, Governor Wolf announced an amendment to his standing shutdown and shelter in place order that permits construction projects to resume statewide on May 1st.  This news comes just days after the Governor’s office released its “Plan for Pennsylvania,” which authorized “limited construction” activities beginning on May 8th.  Per…

Steve Matzura, Andrew Levy and Austin Wolfe recently issued a client alert updating our clients on newly required safety measures for COVID-19 in the workplace.  The first half of the alert is below, but you should contact one of the authors for more details or the full alert.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued an Order effective April 15 requiring social distancing, cleaning, use of masks for employees and visitors, and other mandatory mitigation protocols for businesses authorized to maintain in-person operations during the ongoing COVID-19 emergency (except for healthcare providers). This Order expands on the Department of Health’s prior order effective April 6 that required building safety and cleaning measures for certain businesses.  Employers have only a few days to comply with the April 15 Order, as it becomes enforceable on April 19, 2020 at 8:00 PM.
Continue Reading Workplace Regulations: PA Newly Required Safety Measures for COVID-19

Thank you to our friends at Capitol Buzz and the McNees Government Relations Group (MSSG) for a great update on bills working their way through the PA General Assembly, which affect public meetings and hearings, construction activities and more.  A few highlights are below, but you should read the entire Capitol Buzz post.

On Tuesday, along strict party lines, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a Republican-sponsored proposal to allow many businesses impacted by Gov. Tom Wolf’s business shutdown order to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The House passed Senate Bill 613, which includes language introduced by House Republicans last week to reopen the state’s workforce while practicing social distancing and other mitigation efforts outlined by the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The legislation was sent
Continue Reading Updates On Public Meetings & Hearings, Construction Activities, and More from the General Assembly

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“PADEP”) recently announced the availability of a process for requesting temporary suspensions of environmental permitting and regulatory compliance obligations.  Regulated entities experiencing difficulties due to COVID-19 in meeting the terms and conditions of their environmental permits or complying with environmental regulatory provisions should consider submitting a form request to PADEP for relief.  Completed forms must be submitted to RA-EPCOVID19SuspReq@pa.gov.  While PADEP’s offices remain closed, program staff continue to work remotely to process submitted requests.

Unless a temporary suspension is granted
Continue Reading PADEP Responds to COVID-19: How to Ask PADEP for a Temporary Suspension of Environmental Compliance Obligations

Overview of Force Majeure
With COVID-19 headlines dominating the news cycle, and with no end in sight to the uncertainty that the virus brings, affected businesses are wise to consider whether the current pandemic qualifies as a “force majeure.”  In the last few weeks, the Chinese government has issued “force majeure certificates” to domestic businesses as a way of shielding companies from breach of contract claims, American businesses are sending mass e-mails to customers explaining that the virus prevents the company’s performance or operations, and businesses in an array of industries have sent formal inquiries to their service providers seeking confirmation of continued performance.

What is “Force Majeure”
The defense of force majeure will excuse a party’s performance under a contract if
Continue Reading Force Majeure Provisions and the Impacts of COVID-19

Please see below regarding the Governor’s order from our Government Relations and Labor & Employment Groups.  Do not hesitate to contact anyone at McNees with questions, including how this order might apply to your job site, project approvals or your office.  McNees is a full service law firm that remains operational, remotely and in compliance with the Governor’s order.  We are ready and able to continue to support our clients’ needs during this trying time.

UPDATE: Latest on Gov. Wolf’s Closure Order amid COVID-19 Outbreak

 As detailed in a special edition of Capitol Buzz sent on Thursday evening, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all “non-life-sustaining” businesses throughout Pennsylvania to physically close their operations in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The new directive, which went into effect at 8 p.m. on Thursday evening, contains the threat of enforcement action
Continue Reading Governor Wolf’s Closure Order