Dusted Off Your Disability Claims Procedures Yet?
We’re more than a month into Spring now even if it doesn’t feel that way outside every day. If you haven’t had a chance to start your Spring cleaning at home yet, let’s get in the mood by starting on your Spring cleaning at work. We’re assuming if you’re behind schedule at home, you might…
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SC Manufacturer Liability Protection Act Limits Nuisance Actions Against Manufacturing Facilities
On February 8, 2018, the SC General Assembly passed A132, R136, H3653, the Manufacturer Liability Protection Act, legislation that limits the ability of residents near manufacturing facilities to claim that the facility is creating a nuisance as long as the facility is following the law and has current permits. Under the law, a manufacturing facility…
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“Special prosecutor calls on judge to recuse herself in S.C. Statehouse misconduct case”
The Post and Courier BEAUFORT — A special prosecutor questioned the impartiality of a judge in the Statehouse corruption case and asked her to step aside during a tense courtroom exchange Wednesday in which they blamed each other for a central figure in the investigation walking away with no jail time. Circuit Judge Carmen Mullen refused…
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“After Quinn’s probation, dismay, joy and wondering: What’s next?”
The State South Carolina’s four-year-long investigation into State House corruption suffered an embarrassing black eye Monday, producing an eight-minute-long legal “whimper.” Former state Rep. Rick Quinn — whom a prosecutor dubbed the “worst of the worst” in the Legislature — was sentenced Monday to probation and community service, and the political strategy firm run by…
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Meliah Bowers Jefferson Chosen for Liberty Fellowship
GREENVILLE, SC (January 10, 2018) – Wyche attorney Meliah Bowers Jefferson has been selected to participate in the Liberty Fellowship Class of 2019. The Liberty Fellowship is a leadership initiative founded by Anna Kate and Hayne Hipp, Wofford College, and The Aspen Institute. Participants are chosen from across South Carolina based on their proven leadership abilities and…
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Ted Gentry Named to the GLOW Lyric Theatre Board of Directors
GREENVILLE, SC (January 3, 2018) – Wyche Attorney Ted Gentry has been named to the GLOW Lyric Theatre (GLOW) Board of Directors. GLOW seeks to produce nationally recognized work that is socially relevant through a wide array of opera, operetta, and musical theatre performances. Additionally, GLOW instills an appreciation of musical theatre and operetta…
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Stephen Layne Joins Wyche
GREENVILLE, SC (November 16, 2017) – Stephen Layne has joined Wyche as an associate, focusing his practice on transactional matters with an emphasis on corporate law. Prior to joining Wyche, Layne served as a law clerk to the Honorable Mary Geiger Lewis, United States District Judge in Columbia, SC. He is a summa cum laude…
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Ted Gentry Named to the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees
GREENVILLE, SC (November 14, 2017) – Wyche Attorney Ted Gentry has been named to the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees (SCICU). SCICU seeks to advance higher education through fundraising, scholarships, and research, and by facilitating collaborative activities among the member institutions. Additionally, SCICU encourages policies that support higher education. The SCICU…
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Wyche Recognized as a 2018 “Best Law Firm”
GREENVILLE, SC (November 8, 2017) – Wyche has been named a Tier 1 “Best Law Firm” in 18 practice areas by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® in 2018. The selection is based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes client and lawyer evaluations, peer reviews from leading attorneys in each practice area, and review of additional information…
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DHEC Issues Emergency Orders in Advance of Hurricane Irma
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s (DHEC) Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management has implemented its emergency operations plan in preparation for Hurricane Irma. DHEC issued emergency orders to local governments to allow beachfront property owners to conduct minor renourishment, sand scraping or sandbag installation to provide temporary protection. These emergency…
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Twenty-Two Wyche Attorneys Named to the 2018 Best Lawyers® List
GREENVILLE, SC (August 17, 2017) – Best Lawyers® has recognized 22 Wyche attorneys as The Best Lawyers in America© 2018. Best Lawyers also named four Wyche attorneys “Lawyer of the Year.” Rita Bolt Barker is the 2018 Greenville Environmental Law “Lawyer of the Year,” Greg English is the 2018 Greenville Environmental Litigation “Lawyer of the…
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Twelve Wyche Attorneys Recognized as Greenville’s “Legal Elite”
GREENVILLE, SC (August 1, 2017) – Greenville Business Magazine has recognized 12 Wyche attorneys as being among the area’s “Legal Elite.” Greenville Business Magazine collects nominations from Greenville-area attorneys to determine the best lawyers in twenty practice areas for its “Legal Elite” list. The attorneys chosen for the list received the largest number of nominations…
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Wyche Expands Its Team of Top-Flight Attorneys
GREENVILLE, SC (June 21, 2017) – Wyche, P.A. has added three new attorneys as it expands to meet growing client needs. Josh Lonon joins as Special Counsel, bringing 13 years of commercial real estate experience. Matthew Couvillion and McKinley Hyman have joined Wyche as associates. Josh Lonon advises a diverse set of clients on sophisticated…
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Wyche Hosts a Panel Event to Discuss Building Resilient Organizations and Communities
GREENVILLE, SC (May 23, 2017) – Wyche, P.A. sponsored a panel discussion on Thursday, May 18th in Greenville, S.C. to explore the nature of resilience, starting with the otherworldly courage shown in the aftermath of the Mother Emanuel shooting in Charleston, S.C. Moderator and Wyche attorney Meliah Bowers Jefferson engaged with panelists Jennifer Pinckney –…
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Wyche, P.A. Recognized as a Leading Law Firm by Chambers USA
GREENVILLE, SC (May 9, 2018) – Chambers USA (“Chambers”) has recognized Wyche and 10 of its attorneys in the 2018 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Wyche’s Corporate/M&A, Litigation, Environment, and Real Estate practices have been ranked among the best in South Carolina. The following Wyche attorneys have been recognized for their…
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President Trump Orders Review of National Monuments
If you’re planning a family vacation to tour the most recently designated national monuments, you might want to expedite that trip. On Wednesday, President Trump signed an Executive Order instructing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review any national monument created since January 1, 1996, that spans at least 100,000 acres, or “where the Secretary determines…
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Sixteen Wyche Attorneys Recognized by South Carolina Super Lawyers
GREENVILLE, SC (April 27, 2017) – Super Lawyers, a rating service of outstanding lawyers, has recognized 16 Wyche attorneys in its 2017 South Carolina Super Lawyers Magazine. The magazine features attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. Super Lawyers highlights Wallace Lightsey as one of the top 10 lawyers in South Carolina. Along with…
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Wyche Launches Storytellers: A Digital Community of Ideas
GREENVILLE, SC (April 25, 2017) – Greenville, SC-based law firm Wyche has launched an online platform for intellectual inspiration. Visitors to wyche.com/storytellers will find book, video, and article recommendations designed to spark curiosity and growth. Topics range from inspirational to irreverent, with only one rule: no legal content. While a law firm may seem like…
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Book Review: Becoming Wise
Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippett Recommended By: Maurie Lawrence Courageous Questions/ Intellectual Scavenger Hunt A guarantee to shed light on something important to you. A guarantee to synthesize in useful ways lots of complex ideas from many sources. A guarantee to bring implications to how you…
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Book Review: Being Mortal
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande Recommended By: Wallace Lightsey One of the best, and most inspiring, books that I have read recently is “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End,” by Atul Gawande, a surgeon and writer who practices medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in…
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Book Review: Everybody Matters
Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family by Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia Recommended By: Rita Bolt Barker I recently read “Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family,” by Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia. The book rejects the traditional notion that employees are fungible, to be…
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Book Review: The Song Machine
The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory by John Seabrook Recommended by Chris Schoen Some people love pop music, some people hate pop music, and a lot of us hate the fact that we love pop music. If you have ever asked the fundamental question, “why is this dumb song stuck in my head?” let…
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Book Review: Switch
Switch by Chip Heath & Dan Heath Recommended By: Jo Watson Hackl I first read Switch as part of a Liberty Fellowship Summit to address some of the challenges facing our state as it moves forward. It has quickly become one of my favorites and I’ve used its principles to effect change in both business and non-profit…
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Book Review: This Republic of Suffering
This Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust Recommended By: Marshall Winn Look, I’m an English major and I like to read really dense novels, and often experimental ones. But this is my book to recommend. This is Civil War history, but that is an overly simplified description. Drew Gilpin Faust, who is President of…
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Book Review: The Art of War
The Art of War by Sun Tzu Recommended By: Troy A. Tessier This is one of the classics. A book on military strategy and tactics, but the wisdom in it is much more broadly applicable, and many business leaders find it to be a helpful resource in running a successful company and competing in the…
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Book Review: A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again
A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace Recommended By: Ted Gentry If it is possible to be at once deeply amused and deeply uneasy, then that’s how I felt upon reading David Foster Wallace’s acclaimed essay, A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again. A Supposedly Fun Thing chronicles and dissects Wallace’s experience…
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Book Review: John Adams
John Adams by David McCullough Recommended By: Henry Parr David McCullough’s John Adams is so good that I hated to come to the end. After a slow start, the book gives a compelling account of the wisdom, strengths and weaknesses of the people who formed our nation. This is a must for anyone with any remote interest…
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Blog Review: McMansion Hell
Blog Recommendation by Ted Gentry Works don’t have to be pretentious to be profound, and they don’t have to be utterly earnest to have an impact. Having a good laugh is often reason enough to read something, but humor is better when it is infused with a message. A reader might find the way to…
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Blog Review: McMansion Hell
Blog Recommendation by Ted Gentry Works don’t have to be pretentious to be profound, and they don’t have to be utterly earnest to have an impact. Having a good laugh is often reason enough to read something, but humor is better when it is infused with a message. A reader might find the way to…
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Book Review: A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again
A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace Recommended By: Ted Gentry If it is possible to be at once deeply amused and deeply uneasy, then that’s how I felt upon reading David Foster Wallace’s acclaimed essay, A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again. A Supposedly Fun Thing chronicles and dissects Wallace’s experience…
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Book Review: John Adams
John Adams by David McCullough Recommended By: Henry Parr David McCullough’s John Adams is so good that I hated to come to the end. After a slow start, the book gives a compelling account of the wisdom, strengths and weaknesses of the people who formed our nation. This is a must for anyone with any remote interest…
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Trump Directs Review of EPA’s Waters of the US Rule
On Tuesday, President Trump fulfilled a campaign promise to reduce and scrutinize environmental regulations and signed an executive order directing the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers to review the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule, a key Obama Administration regulation intended to more clearly define which waterbodies fall within the jurisdiction…
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Stream Protection Rule Repealed
Acting under the authority of the little-known Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn rules passed in the previous 60 working days, yesterday President Trump signed legislation repealing the Office of Surface Mining’s Stream Protection Rule, a key Obama administration regulation aimed at protecting waterways from coal mining waste. The regulation stated that coal…
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DOL Seeks Delay of Its Appeal of Injunction Halting Overtime Rule
On November 22, 2016, the new overtime rules (described at the end of this update) were put on hold after a federal judge sitting in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the Department of Labor’s regulation extending mandatory overtime protections to white collar employees from taking effect. The revised overtime regulations were set to…
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General Assembly to Consider Reauthorization of State Conservation Bank
Reauthorization of the State Conservation Bank is before the General Assembly this year, with the current authorization set to expire in 2018. Since its founding in 2002, the State Conservation Bank has been the vehicle for protection of some 290,000 acres in South Carolina, including wetlands, forests, farmland, and historic sites. The Bank funds both…
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Wyche Adds to Its Roster of World-Class Attorneys
GREENVILLE, SC (January 3, 2017) – Wyche, P.A. has added four new attorneys to the firm as it expands to meet growing client needs. Michael Brearley, Camden Navarro Massingill, and Chris Schoen have joined Wyche as associates. Chad LaBruyere has joined Wyche as an Of Counsel attorney, bringing 12 years of private practice and in-house…
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Trump Taps Oklahoma AG to Lead EPA
President-elect Trump announced today that he will nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. As Oklahoma’s AG, Mr. Pruitt has been a frequent opponent of EPA initiatives, joining Oklahoma in a lawsuit with numerous other states challenging the Administration’s Clean Power Plan. Widely regarded as an ally of the energy…
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Possible Trump Picks for EPA Administrator
As President-Elect Trump slowly selects members of his cabinet, speculation mounts on his likely candidates for EPA Administrator. According to some media sources, the short list includes the following: Myron Ebell: Mr. Ebell is leading Trump’s EPA transition team. He is the Director of the Center of Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
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DOL Rule Blocked
By Camden Navarro Massingill On November 22, 2016, a Texas federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the Department of Labor’s regulation extending mandatory overtime protections to white collar employees. The revised white collar overtime regulations were set to go into effect on December 1, 2016. Under the new regulations, the standard salary…
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Jo Hackl Receives the Greenville County Bar Association’s Tommy Thomason Award
GREENVILLE, SC (November 21, 2016) – Wyche attorney Jo Hackl has been honored by the Greenville County Bar Association with the prestigious Tommy Thomason Award. The award was established in 1993 to recognize the Greenville lawyer who best exemplifies compassion, unshakeable integrity, strong personal values, dedication to the community, humility, and diplomacy. As the Greenville…
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Maurie Lawrence Elected Chair of Wyche Executive Committee
GREENVILLE, SC (November 17, 2016) – Maurie Lawrence has been elected Chair of Wyche’s Executive Committee by the firm’s membership. As Chair of the Executive Committee, Lawrence will be responsible for the firm’s overall leadership and direction. She succeeds Ted Gentry, who served as Chair of the Executive Committee for the past three years. “Maurie…
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The DOL’s New Overtime Rule Is Upon Us
By Wyche Attorney Camden Navarro Massingill After much anticipation – and some wishful thinking that the day might never come – the effective date of the Department of Labor’s Final Overtime Rule, December 1, 2016, is rapidly nearing. As a reminder, the new regulations increase the standard salary level for the exemption from overtime requirements…
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Tenenbaum to join board of S.C. Institute of Medicine and Public Health
Columbia, SC (October 4, 2016) — Columbia attorney Inez Tenenbaum will join the board of directors of the South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health, an independent entity that promotes nonpartisan solutions to health-care policy. The IMPH describes itself as “an informed, neutral, nonpartisan convener and provider of evidence-based information relevant to policy decisions…
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U.S. News – Best Lawyers® Recognizes Wyche as a 2017 “Best Law Firm”
GREENVILLE, SC (November 1, 2016) – Best Lawyers ® Wyche has been named a Tier 1 “Best Law Firm” in 18 practice areas by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® in 2017. The selection is based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes client and lawyer evaluations, peer reviews from leading attorneys in each practice area,…
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EPA Releases Environmental Justice Plan
It feels great to be back in action in the blogosphere. (Forgive our absence; we were migrating servers.) The US Environmental Protection Agency is also back in action in the environmental justice arena. As background, environmental justice is defined as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin,…
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Inez Tenenbaum Joins Wyche
COLUMBIA, SC (October 27, 2016) – Inez Tenenbaum, former Chairman of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and former South Carolina State Superintendent of Education, has joined Wyche, P.A. Tenenbaum will focus her practice at Wyche on consumer product safety and risk management, working particularly with manufacturers and retailers of consumer products to…
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John Moylan and Wyche Named The State’s Best
COLUMBIA, SC (October 23, 2016) – John Moylan has been named The State’s Best Attorney and Wyche, P.A. has been named The State’s Best Law Firm by The State newspaper. Nominations are collected for the award and winners are determined based upon readers’ votes. Only one attorney and one law firm in South Carolina are…
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Wyche Central to Bringing World-Class Hotel to the Heart of Greenville
GREENVILLE, SC (October 20, 2016) – Wyche, P.A. has agreed to sell its current location to The Kessler Collection in a deal that the law firm believes will add to its legacy of positively transforming the community. The Kessler Collection will locate its artistically inspired Grand Bohemian Hotel Greenville where Wyche currently sits overlooking Falls…
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“Hospital wars: Palmetto Health to fight Sisters of Charity $50 million suit”
The State Palmetto Health hospital systems made it clear Friday it will fight the $50 million lawsuit brought against it earlier this week by Sisters of Charity Providence Hospitals Legacy Corp. “Palmetto Health will vigorously defend the integrity of our organization and our people against this action,” the hospital said in a statement released Friday…
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Let’s Do a Word Association: Copyright … Copycat … Catwoman … Batman … Batmobile!
George Barris, the creator of the 1966 Batmobile and many other classic custom cars, died at the age of 89 last fall. Barris and his brother opened Barris Kustoms in Los Angeles after World War II, and their unique and creative customizing work on cars brought them attention in the Southern California auto scene. Success…
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DTSA, UTSA, SCTSA … What’s the Big Deal?
Wyche Inside IP By Wallace K. Lightsey On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed into law the “Defend Trade Secrets Act,” or “DTSA,” creating for the first time a federal civil remedy for trade secret misappropriation. In an era of increasingly contentious partisan politics, the DTSA received a level of bipartisan support in the…
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“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you …” And here’s your birthday present: A lawsuit!
Wyche Inside IP By Wallace Lightsey According to the Guinness Book of Records, “Happy Birthday to You” is the most recognizable song in the English language. Certainly it has to be one of the most, if not the most, frequently performed songs in history. But did you know that there is a company that claims…
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Stairway to a Heavenly Defense Verdict, for Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Sorry, Justin Bieber!
Wyche Inside IP By Wallace Lightsey In June, a Los Angeles jury decided that Led Zeppelin did not commit copyright infringement in its rock classic, Stairway to Heaven, considered by many to be the greatest rock song ever recorded. The song was accused of infringing a 1967 song called Taurus by the band Spirit, which had…
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Administration Rolls Out Final Emissions Standards for Big Trucks
EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation finalized new emission and fuel efficiency standards yeterday for “medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.” These categories include not only 18-wheelers but also buses, vans, and large pickup trucks among others. According to EPA, the vehicles covered account for only 5% of road traffic but 20% of emissions and fuel…
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Best Lawyers® Recognizes Wyche Attorneys Among the Best in America
GREENVILLE, SC (August 16, 2016) – Best Lawyers® has recognized 21 Wyche attorneys as The Best Lawyers in America© 2017. Best Lawyers also named four Wyche attorneys “Lawyer of the Year.” Jo Watson Hackl is the 2017 Greenville Corporate Law “Lawyer of the Year,” Cary Hall is the 2017 Greenville Business Organizations (including LLCs…
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EPA Finalizes Formaldehyde Rule Regulating Composite Wood Flooring and Furniture
When I hear the word formaldehyde, my mind drifts back to the specimens preserved in my middle school biology classroom. But last week I was reminded that formaldehyde is used in many other applications, including in adhesives in composite wood flooring and furniture. You might be wondering why an environmental law blog is concerned with…
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Wyche Attorneys Named Among Greenville’s “Legal Elite”
GREENVILLE, SC (August 3, 2016) – Greenville Business Magazine has recognized 17 Wyche attorneys as being among the area’s “Legal Elite”. Additionally, the following Wyche attorneys have been recognized for receiving the top number of attorney votes in their fields: Mark Bakker (Labor & Employment), Rita Bolt Barker (Insurance), Cary Hall (Tax), Wallace Lightsey (Intellectual…
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“Scramble: Seven candidates for one open S.C. Supreme Court seat”
The State Five judges from across the state and two private attorneys are running for a vacancy on the five-member S.C. Supreme Court that will open up in January upon the retirement of Chief Justice Costa Pleicones. The two private attorneys are John Nichols and Matthew Richardson, both of Columbia. The judges seeking a seat…
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EPA Makes It Easier for Citizens to Report Environmental Violations
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance has made it easier for citizens to report environmental violations. It has established a website for reporting suspected environmental violations. With a few strokes on the keyboard, users can submit information about a suspected violation (such as the suspected violator’s name and location and…
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Trader Joe’s Settles Clean Air Act Violations
It’s impossible to imagine that anyone could ever dislike Trader Joe’s. After all, it is the go-to source for such pantry necessities as cookie butter. But the US Environmental Protection Agency was less than impressed with the company’s failure to (a) repair leaks of the ozone-depleting coolant R-22, which the company’s stores use to…
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TSCA Reform: Congress Passes First Major Environmental Legislation in More Than 25 Years
The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) is being reformed by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. TSCA regulates the manufacture, transportation, sale and use of thousands of chemicals, so this is big news for anyone who makes and/or uses chemicals, which is all of us. TSCA 2.0 is…
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“Lawsuit forces better treatment for SC’s abused, neglected kids”
The State A negotiated settlement that parties said will better the lives of South Carolina’s vulnerable children was filed Friday in federal court. The settlement comes almost 18 months after Children’s Rights, a national child safety watchdog group, and the Columbia-based Appleseed Legal Justice Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of 11 children, alleging long-running…
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SCOTUS Addresses WOTUS
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has ruled that property owners have a right to immediate judicial review of jurisdictional wetlands determinations made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. On May 31, 2016, SCOTUS issued an 8-0 opinion in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Company. The Corps had determined that Hawkes…
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Chambers USA Recognizes Wyche as a Leading Law Firm
GREENVILLE, SC (May 27, 2016) – Chambers USA (“Chambers”) has recognized Wyche and 14 of its attorneys in the 2016 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Wyche’s Corporate/M&A, Environment, Labor & Employment, Litigation, and Real Estate practices have been ranked among the best in South Carolina. The following Wyche attorneys have been…
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Methane Emissions Rule Finalized
Methane emissions from oil and gas wells are the latest target of the Obama administration’s plan to combat climate change. A final rule on these emissions was issued yesterday, and it will require oil and gas companies to curb emissions from new, modified and reconstructed wells and storage tanks but not older wells and tanks.…
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Beach Monitoring Season Begins May 1
Warmer weather has come to South Carolina, but don’t confine your preparations for your next beach vacation to gym time, finding the right bathing suit, and stocking up on suntan lotion. Make sure the water you will be enjoying is healthy for swimming by checking out DHEC’s nifty South Carolina Beach Access Guide. The beach…
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Twenty Wyche Attorneys Recognized by South Carolina Super Lawyers
GREENVILLE, SC (April 22, 2016) – Super Lawyers, a rating service of outstanding lawyers, has recognized 20 Wyche attorneys in its 2016 South Carolina Super Lawyers Magazine. The magazine features attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. Super Lawyers highlights Wallace Lightsey as one of the top 10 lawyers in South Carolina. Along with…
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Celebrate Earth Day
Happy Earth Day! Time to don your recycled party hats and celebrate. Today more than 150 world leaders will meet at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to sign the Paris Agreement, a landmark commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For its part, the United States has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2025…
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SC House Wants to Bag the Bag Bans
Several communities in South Carolina, including Isle of Palms, have banned single-use plastic bags and other containers or are considering such bans, because of the containers’ adverse impacts on the environment, particularly marine and wildlife. The SC House wants these communities (and any others out there considering similar bans) to bag the bag bans and…
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EPA Announces Safer Choice Label for Cleaning Products
While the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot help you make good choices in every aspect of your life (like whether enjoying all those Friday morning donuts at the office was truly a good idea), it has released its “Safer Choice” label to help you make safer choices when purchasing cleaning products. If a product…
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Glass Recycling Ends in Upstate South Carolina
The glass (recycling industry) is not half full these days. Upstate South Carolina citizens will no longer be able to recycle household glass because there are no remaining materials recovery facilities (known as MRFs in the waste management industry) to accept the glass. Upstate Forever has prepared a detailed summary of why glass recycling has…
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Atlantic Coast Removed from Offshore Drilling Plan
The federal government did an “about-face” today, reversing a 2015 proposal to open up stretches of the Atlantic Ocean, including the continental shelf off the coast of South Carolina, for offshore oil drilling as soon as 2021. We previously blogged about the proposal last year, noting that numerous environmental groups as well as local governments…
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EPA Releases Drinking Water Mapping Tool
If the drinking water issues in Flint, Michigan have you thinking twice about enjoying a refreshing glass of water from your tap, consider using the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Drinking Water Mapping Application to Protect Source Waters, known as DWMAPS. This online mapping tool offers the public, water system operators, and state and federal agencies…
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SCOTUS Halts Clean Power Plan
A divided US Supreme Court yesterday halted implementation of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. We have previously blogged about the Clean Power Plan on numerous other occasions—so you may know all you wish to know about it for now—but it represents the federal government’s most aggressive action yet to combat climate change. Under the…
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EPA Seeks Faith Community’s Assistance to Reduce Food Waste
More food waste is sent to landfills and incinerators than any other waste, including plastics and metals combined. In 2013, 37 million tons of food waste were generated and thrown into landfills or incinerators. In addition to the volume it takes, food in landfills emits methane. To help reduce food waste, EPA has joined Miriam’s…
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Latest Toxics Release Inventory Issued
Industrial facilities can give themselves a pat on the back. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s recently released 2014 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), only 16% of the 25 billion pounds of toxic chemical waste managed at the country’s industrial facilities was released to the air or water or placed in some type of land…
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Say Goodbye to Microbeads
While many of you were taking down your holiday lights, President Obama signed into law the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 (catchy title, right?). Just when we thought Congressional members could agree on nothing, the ban on microbeads sailed through both the House and Senate with relative ease. Why? Probably because microbeads, plastics used as…
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Tommy Wyche Lives on in Music, Legacy
By Henry Parr As seen in the Greenville News January 17, 2016 This Saturday, Jan. 23, will be the first anniversary of Tommy Wyche’s death. Tommy is known for his significant contributions to the revitalization of Greenville and conservation of the Upstate, but many do not realize that Tommy was also an artist, a musician and an…
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Inez Tenenbaum joins board of Safe Kids Worldwide
COLUMBIA, SC (December 22, 2015) – Inez Tenenbaum has been named to the board of Safe Kids Worldwide, an international nonprofit working to prevent childhood injury, the number-one cause of death for children in the United States. Tenenbaum was the ninth Chairman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, serving from June 2009 through November…
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The Top 3 Environmental News Stories of the Month
Running out of topics to impress your friends and family with at holiday gatherings? Consider incorporating some of the latest and greatest news stories from the world of environmental law. Paris Climate Change Deal Reached: Leaders from nearly 200 countries around the world inked a landmark climate change deal in Paris, committing to reduce greenhouse…
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EPA Launches eDisclosure Portal for Self-Disclosure of Environmental Violations
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched its new eDisclosure Portal, which will modernize the implementation of the agency’s self-disclosure policies. Through its Audit Policy and Small Business Compliance Policy, EPA has long encouraged businesses to self-disclose civil environmental violations, offering penalty mitigation and other incentives for companies that discover, promptly disclose and expeditiously…
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Greenville Selected for Inaugural Envision America Smart Cities Initiative
Envision America, a White House initiative aimed at developing “smart cities” to address climate change and improve city services and energy efficiency through technology and project planning, has selected Greenville, SC as one of its first ten cities to participate in the inaugural program. Greenville joins Cambridge, MA, Dallas, TX, Los Angeles, CA, Milwaukee, WI,…
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If you are thinking, “I should copyright that,” you probably already have.
Wyche Inside IP By Wallace K. Lightsey I often hear people –many of them lawyers – refer to “copyrighting” something they have written or created in some other form. The truth is, copyright protection arises automatically and immediately at the moment of creation, which means the time that an original work of authorship is first…
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SC Dam Assessment Complete
As we explained in our October 19 blog, DHEC has undertaken an assessment of all Class One and Class Two dams in South Carolina in the wake of the record rainfall and flooding during October. That assessment is now complete, and DHEC has issued emergency orders requiring the repair of some 75 dams statewide. In…
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Awards & Accolades
Wyche at Work’s employment practice group is honored that its success continues to be recognized by the most prestigious law firm ranking publications including, Chambers USA, Best Lawyers®, and South Carolina Super Lawyers. Wyche at Work’s employment practice group has been named a Greenville “Best Law Firm” by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® in 2016.…
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U.S. News – Best Lawyers® Recognizes Wyche as a 2016 “Best Law Firm”
GREENVILLE, SC (November 2, 2015) – Wyche has been named a Tier 1 “Best Law Firm” in 18 practice areas by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® in 2016. The selection is based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes client and lawyer evaluations, peer reviews from leading attorneys in each practice area, and review of…
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Tenenbaum, Tanner honored for leadership
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – University of South Carolina Athletic Director Ray Tanner and former state Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum are being honored for their leadership in South Carolina. The two are among three South Carolinians being honored on Tuesday in Columbia at the Fifth Annual Dick & Tunky Riley Legacy of Leaders event. The…
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Lawsuits Follow Finalization of Clean Power Plan
On Friday of last week, EPA’s Final Clean Power Plan was published in the Federal Register, starting the clock for legal challenges to the Plan to be filed. We have previously blogged about the Clean Power Plan in August 2015 and June 2014, but the rule became final only this past week. As we have explained…
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Federal Appeals Court Issues Nationwide Stay of EPA’s “Waters of the United States” Rule
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a nationwide stay of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s “Waters of the United States” Rule, which was issued in May and intended to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act. The Rule has been subject to numerous challenges throughout the country and, prior to the Sixth Circuit’s stay,…
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DHEC Issues Emergency Orders on Dams
On Friday, October 16, DHEC announced that it was issuing emergency orders requiring remedial actions at some 63 dams statewide. This decision follows the record flooding in South Carolina in early October, during which some 36 dams failed. Most of the dams subject to the emergency orders are in the Midlands, which saw some of…
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Corps Institutes Emergency Permitting Procedures
The US Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District (Corps), which has jurisdiction over South Carolina projects, has initiated emergency permitting procedures in response to conditions resulting from erosion and storm damage caused by Hurricane Joaquin. Some activities may proceed under Nationwide Permit #3, which authorizes the repair, rehabilitation, or replacement of structures or fills destroyed or…
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Final Revisions to Agricultural Worker Protection Standard
EPA has rolled out a final rule revising the 1992 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS). As we explained in our blog post about the draft rule in February 2014, the WPS protects the nation’s 2 million farm workers from risks that accompany the use of pesticides. Changes in the final rule include annual mandatory training…
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Final Revisions to Agricultural Worker Protection Standard
EPA has rolled out a final rule revising the 1992 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS). As we explained in our blog post about the draft rule in February 2014, the WPS protects the nation’s 2 million farm workers from risks that accompany the use of pesticides. Changes in the final rule include annual mandatory training for…
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EPA Announces New Ozone Standard
On Thursday, October 1 EPA announced a final rule setting a new standard for ground level ozone. The new limit of 70 parts per billion is significantly lower than the current level of 75 parts per billion but not as low as the draft rule EPA initially proposed in late 2014 of between 65 to 70…
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Regulation “A+” and Venture Capital Financing
Prepared by Andrew B. Coburn As seen in Business Black Box Q4 2015 Edition In 2012, Congress passed the JOBS Act with the intent of making it easier for start-ups and smaller companies to raise capital. At the time, Regulation A was an existing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulation that provided the rules for one type…
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Meliah Bowers Jefferson Named National Spokesperson for the American Heart Association
GREENVILLE, SC (October 1, 2015) – The American Heart Association (AHA) has selected Wyche attorney Meliah Bowers Jefferson as a national spokesperson for its “Go Red For Women” movement. As an AHA national spokesperson, Jefferson will share her personal experience with battling heart disease to raise awareness of heart disease and to promote prevention through…
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EPA Issues Final Rule on Clean Water Act Electronic Reporting
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized its rule requiring Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) users to electronically report data. States will have time to transition from paper reporting to electronic reporting. Most facilities subject to effluent monitoring requirements will be required to begin submitting data electronically one year following the…
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Lawsuit: Gov. Haley, DSS agree to give more protection to foster children
By John Monk and Jamie Self The State Under pressure from a federal class action lawsuit, Gov. Nikki Haley and S.C. Department of Social Services Director Susan Alford have agreed to make major changes in how South Carolina’s foster children are protected by the state’s child-welfare agency. Numerous children have died or been abused in recent years…
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David Anna Named One of Greenville’s “Best and Brightest 35 and Under”
GREENVILLE, SC (September 28, 2015) – Wyche attorney David Anna has been recognized as one of Greenville’s “Best and Brightest 35 and Under” by Furman University and Greenville Business Magazine. The list highlights young Greenville leaders for accomplishments in their careers and their commitment to making a difference in the community. Candidates are nominated for…
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