Mid-Atlantic Environmental Law Center (MAELC)

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The Mid-Atlantic Environmental Law Center ( “MAELC” or “the Center”) is a 501(c)(3) public interest organization that seeks to restore and protect the environment by providing legal services to help solve environmental challenges in the Mid-Atlantic region by working with non-profit environmental organizations and individuals in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.  The Center aims to ensure that environmental requirements are met, and that legislation and regulations are adequately implemented by the responsible federal, state, and local agencies.  The Center is located at the Delaware Law School in Wilmington, DE and has a long history of collaborating with the School’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic.

STAFF

Executive Director

Kenneth T. Kristl is the Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic and an Associate Professor of Law at the Delaware Law School.  Professor Kristl received his undergraduate degree in 1981 from the University of Notre Dame, where he was Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude.  Professor Kristl received his JD degree from IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1984, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Chicago Kent Law Review and graduated 1st in his class.  Ken is a member of the bar of the Supreme Courts of Illinois (1984), Pennsylvania (2008), and Delaware (2008).

After graduation from Chicago Kent, Professor Kristl served a judicial clerkship with the Honorable William C. Lee in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana from 1984 – 1986.  After the clerkship, he worked in the Chicago, Illinois office of Winston & Strawn in the firm’s Litigation and Environmental departments, from 1986 – 1994 as an associate and from 1994 – 2004 as a partner.  While at Winston, Professor Kristl worked on commercial and environmental litigation, including trials in federal and state courts, as well as administrative proceedings, arbitrations, and mediations.  In May 2004, he resigned from Winston & Strawn in order to take his current position at Delaware Law School. In January 2015, he took on the official title of Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Environmental Law Center.

Email: ktkristl@widener.edu

Office: 302.477.2053

 

Fellow

Hannah received her B.A. from Boston University in 2010, with a degree in Political Science, and her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law -Camden in 2014, where she graduated cum laude and was the recipient of the Neil Wise Environmental Award. While at Rutgers she participated in the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace University and was an Associate Managing Editor of the Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion.

She has spent time interning with the Clean Air Council, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and Lieberman & Blecher. She is currently an Associate Member of the Delaware Valley Environmental Inn of Court.

E-mail: hgleone@ widener.edu

Office: 302.477.2072

 

 

Current Work

Among the projects that MAELC is pursuing are the following:

Potomac River Watershed Protection

The Center is working with the Potomac Riverkeeper and the Clinic to perform compliance sweeps of National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems (“NPDES”) permits in the Potomac River Watershed. Each semester, the Center will perform a sweep of a portion of the watershed and will take further action, if necessary, to ensure that all permitees are fully complying with their NPDES permits.

Lower Delaware River Watershed Protection

The Environmental Endowment for New Jersey (“Endowment”) has given the Center a generous grant to do work in the Lower Delaware River Watershed. With these funds, the Center will:

  • Perform compliance sweeps of NPDES permits in the Lower Delaware River Watershed.
  • Review local storm water regulations and permits in Delaware.
  • Monitor Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations permits and access and review inspection reports and monitor inspection protocols in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
  • Monitor coastal zone activity in Delaware and monitor legal issues affecting the coastal Zone.

NPDES Permit Compliance in Delaware

With help from the GreenWatch Institute, the Center is able to monitor compliance with NPDES permits in the state of Delaware. We will take legal action, when necessary, to ensure that facilities comply with their water pollutant discharge permits and are held accountable for violations of the Clean Water Act.

Wilmington Urban Agriculture Initiative

The Center will be working with community organizations across New Castle County to develop a resource guide that will serve as a legal resource to help individuals and community groups navigate the maze of laws that govern urban agriculture projects in the City of Wilmington.

 

MAELC PUBLICATIONS

As part of its mission, MAELC seeks to provide relevant legal analyses on issues of concern.  Here are some of the fruits of that approach:

NPDES_Permits_Citizens_Guide_PA_for_web – a guide to help PA citizens understand and participate effectively in the NPDES permitting process for discharges into waterways

NJPDES_Citizens_Guide_Final – a guide to help NJ citizens understand and participate effectively in the NPDES permitting process for discharges into waterways

White_Paper_-_DE_Stormwater_Regulations – an analysis of DE’s 2013 and 2014 revisions of its stormwater regulations

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