This blog features case law related to real estate, land use, zoning, and municipal law in Pennsylvania

Tag: Environmental Protection Agency

In Re: Appeal of Penneco Envtl. Sols., LLC from the decision of the Zoning Hearing Bd. of the Borough of Plum, No. 931 C.D. 2018 (Pa. Commw. Ct., March 8, 2019).

In this appeal from Allegheny County, the Commonwealth Court reaffirmed the principal that under Pennsylvania law, municipalities may not require a party to obtain permits from outside agencies before granting zoning relief. The Court held that in such a scenario, the appropriate procedure is to condition approval of the zoning relief upon the applicant receiving such permits, as opposed to denying the application outright.

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Supreme Court Holds that Approved Jurisdictional Determinations by Army Corps of Engineers Are Final Agency Actions and Subject to Judicial Review

In this case involving the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251–1387, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked to determine (1) whether the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) grant of an approved jurisdictional determination (JD) is a final agency action and (2) whether, in the absence of judicial review, Hawkes Co. (Hawkes) had alternative remedies. The Court held that the grant of an approved JD is a final agency action. Furthermore, it held that Hawke was without alternative remedies besides judicial review.

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