News And Seminars From Rich & Henderson
September 2025
Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS)
The Maryland General Assembly adopted the Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) program as part of the State’s Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. BEPS came into effect on December 23, 2024, requiring owners of commercial or multifamily residential buildings 35,000 square feet or larger to report annual energy consumption, with benchmarking beginning in 2025, as well as meet interim greenhouse gas emission reduction targets beginning in 2030. Administered by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), BEPS aims to reduce on-site greenhouse gas emissions from covered buildings 20% by 2030 and achieve net-zero direct emissions by 2040. Building owners must collect whole-building energy data, coordinate with tenants and utilities, and obtain third-party verification of their reports every five years. Additionally, BEPS introduces compliance obligations, potential retrofit costs, and long-term operational planning tied to emissions and energy reduction standards set by MDE. The law has prompted a lawsuit by the Maryland Building Industry Association challenging it on federal preemption grounds under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
Right to Farm
Rich & Henderson, P.C., represented amicus curiae in the recent case of In re: Foster Farm, which is the first Maryland Supreme Court case to address Maryland’s Right-to-Farm laws. The dispute concerned the stockpiling and application of biosolids at a farm on the Eastern Shore. The Maryland Supreme Court’s decision, written by the Honorable Judge Watts, largely rested on the specific facts at issue between the parties in dispute between the parties and the particulars of the local Talbot County Code provisions at issue. The Honorable Judge McDonald filed a concurrence and the Honorable Judges Eaves and Killough dissented. The Maryland Supreme Court ultimately concluded that the County Agricultural Resolution Board’s determination—that the stockpiling and application of biosolids were generally accepted agricultural practices—was not supported by substantial evidence. The Court recognized that there remain several interesting, outstanding, and unresolved issues in how to interpret and apply Maryland’s Right-to-Farm laws. This case is probably the first of several more Right-to-Farm cases to come. Rich & Henderson, P.C. has been involved in other Right-to-Farm matters in Maryland.
September 2024
The Maryland Supreme Court has granted a petition for writ of certiorari in the case of In the Matter of Cheryl Lewis et al, Case No. 951, Sept. Term, 2023. That case resulted in the first reported decision in Maryland on Maryland’s Right-to-Farm law. The Maryland Supreme Court will now review and give its view on the issues presented. The issues encompassed within the Maryland Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari can be found at: https://www.mdcourts.gov/scm/petitions/202409petitions.
June 2024
Timothy Henderson, Peter Hershey, and Jeff Hershey were among the instructors of the recently held “Maryland Water Laws and Regulations” seminar offered through HalfMoon Education, Inc. The course covered a variety of topics ranging from wetlands and waterways, to riparian rights, to new and developing trends in Maryland environmental law. The brochure and additional information on the course is available at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/halfmoonseminars.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/22093037/24-MDWLAWSR-6-14-WEBR-LL-1.pdf.
May 2024
The Maryland Appellate Court just released Maryland’s first reported decision on Maryland’s Right-to-Farm law. The decision confirms the protections available to farmers from neighboring complaints under Maryland’s Right-to-Farm law. The case is In the Matter of Cheryl Lewis et al, Case No. 951, Sept. Term, 2023. The decision can be found at: https://www.mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/cosa/2024/0951s23.pdf.
Articles
ENDANGERED SPECIES AND DEVELOPMENT LAWS
By James J. Doyle, III and Timothy R. Henderson
March 2005, Reproduced with permission from MSBA
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