Hamlin Law LLC

05/25/2023

The ARIDIFICATION of the West.

This week, the Department of the Interior announced that three states have agreed to reduce their allotment of water from the Colorado River.

But supply is not the only issue... if the solution to pollution is dilution, now with the opposite, other problems arise...

"'Now, more and more rapidly, I’m seeing the same well that I just tested three years ago — it doesn’t even look like the same well' because levels of contaminants have risen so much, said Zahringer, who also serves as a member of the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission. At her own drinking well, the arsenic level jumped from 13 to 20 µg/L this year, she said."

---

"Since arsenic is not limited to private wells, public agencies have responded, too: The city of Alamosa built a new water treatment plant in 2008 to bring its arsenic levels into compliance with federal standards. In 2020, the state of Colorado sued an Alamosa mushroom farm for exposing its workers to arsenic in tap water."

"At the High Valley Park mobile home community in Alamosa County, a well serving 85 people has exceeded legal arsenic levels since 2006, when the Environmental Protection Agency tightened its standard from 50 to 10 µg/L. At the most recent test in February, the concentration was 19 µg/L."

As the West grapples with a megadrought, its driest spell in at least 1,200 years, rising levels of arsenic — a known carcinogen — in Colorado’s San Luis Valley offer clues to what the future may h…

06/04/2021

Keeping our eye on the ball.

(The Center Square) — A proposal to tax Maine's top earners is working its way through the state Legislature, but critics say it will hurt the state's economy as it

12/08/2020

According to state sales tax figures.... "Sales of medical ma*****na alone totaled nearly $222 million through October, making cannabis the state's most valuable agricultural commodity."

"The state’s year-to-date numbers do not include recreational ma*****na, which totaled $1,409,442 in October, the first month of legal adult-use sales."

"Much of this natural market growth occurred as a direct result of legislative reforms sought by caregivers, like allowing caregivers to open stores, eliminating the qualifying condition list, allowing caregivers to hire more employees, codifying the right of caregivers to open shops and allowing medical ma*****na growers to sell to each other, which created a wholesale market for medical ma*****na products."

Sales of medical ma*****na alone totaled nearly $222 million through October, making cannabis the state's most valuable agricultural commodity.

09/29/2020

Attorney Jim Wade reminds us to keep track of our home office expenses this year!

IR-2020-220, September 23, 2020 — During Small Business Week, September 22-24, the Internal Revenue Service wants individuals to consider taking the home office deduction if they qualify.

01/13/2020

"Use or possession of live fish as bait is now PROHIBITED under the General Fishing Law in the North Zone. The use of all other legal forms of bait (including worms and dead baitfish/smelts), artificial lures, and artificial flies is PERMITTED under General Law."

“Maine's 2020 Fishing Laws now available online - download a copy today! https://t.co/TndCgRwqIV”

04/27/2018

Maine's progress in implementing numeric protections from nutrient pollution? Check out the map. NONE.

Meanwhile, very large projects can be constructed by destroying natural areas which protect the quality of our state's waters, resulting in the double impact of runoff pollutants and surfaces combined with less protective natural area filters.

Because our state has not implemented such protections, destructive projects can be said to meet state requirements. It's impossible to run afoul of environmental protections that don't exist.

The progress states are making towards the development of numeric criteria for phosphorus and nitrogen pollution.

12/11/2017

So your family has been holding on to a small, vacant piece of real estate for decades. You never really got around to building anything on it and have decided now is the time to develop. Surprise, your lot is smaller than your town’s minimum lot size for single family homes. Further, even a small

11/15/2017

The battles continue, where the land meets the sea...

A Canadian company has been blocked from harvesting in intertidal zones.

09/25/2017

Maine is positioned to ride the wave of increased North Atlantic trade...

Portland – Eimskip, the Icelandic steamship company that calls on the International Marine Terminal (IMT) in Portland, Maine, today announced that they will increase port calls to weekly service beginning December 1, 2017. This will result in a 45% increase in ship calls, from 36 to 52 ships per yea...

08/16/2017

DUE DILIGENCE with environmental compliance.

It is important.

Just last month, in July, Maine's DEP resolved three cases that serve as cautionary tales.

For several different kinds of violations involving water pollution, the costs of civil fines and supplemental environmenatl projects were over $24,000 for an earthworks construction specialist, and over $68,000 for a company that owns five concrete plants in Maine.

These costs are in addition to those of the required corrective actions.

If you are concerned about the state of compliance for your company's actions, be proactive - engage in a Due Diligence Review and Compliance Update to help protect against state penalties!

Contact Hamlin Law LLC to get started!

08/11/2017

...liking this company...

"Wadsworth, who is LEED-accredited as a professional, also has design and construction certification through the U.S. Green Building Council. As a Green Professional-certified instructor, she teaches employees best practices for creating green and efficient buildings."
..and I love this... trailing punch lists on construction jobs are the worst:

"Unlike other companies that shift project managers to new jobs before the punch list is complete — a potentially jarring experience for clients — Wadsworth keeps managers on the project through the closing period."

Faced with an enormous hive of 100,000 honeybees found in the walls of a renovation project, other general contractors might have called the exterminator.

08/08/2017

Artists and scholars will speak at the conference Thursday and Friday in Waterville about how art has helped preserve land throughout America, including in Maine.