Natural Resource Damages & Environmental Justice
Environmental Agencies, Superfund Cleanups, and Managing Enforcement Actions
What are PFAS and Why Should We Care?
Volatile Times in Vapor Intrusion Regulation: A Legal and Technical Update
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (“Court”) addressed in a January 28th Opinion issues arising under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C....more
In a move much anticipated by the real estate, environmental, financial, and business communities, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) released this week its Release-Based Cleanup...more
The Superior Court of Connecticut (“Court”) in a December 20th Memorandum of Trial Decision (“Memorandum”) addressed an issue arising out of the proposed sale of an industrial facility. See Candor Capital LLC v. Leeder Realty...more
In April 2023, the EPA issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) requesting input on the designation of seven PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“U.S. EPA”) has revised the standards by which real property purchasers, lessees and environmental professionals should conduct a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (“Phase I...more
On December 1, 2021, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (“VDEQ”) announced via a notice on its Brownfields website that it stopped accepting applications for Bona Fide Prospective Purchase (“BFPP”) and other...more
Thirty-one years after enactment of CERCLA, most environmental practitioners take for granted that remedies at federal and state Superfund sites will include a blend of removal and institutional controls (ICs). This comes...more
Purchasing contaminated property in Ohio became a little less risky this week. Purchasers can now obtain protection under both federal and state law from costly remediation orders imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection...more
In support of the State Water Resources Control Board’s (State Board) efforts to investigate and evaluate the public health effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the San Francisco Regional Water Quality...more
In 1980, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), frequently referred to as Superfund. This legislation was passed in response to mounting concerns regarding...more
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today, December 3, in a CERCLA case that could have ramifications for environmental law practitioners around the country. The case, Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian (“the...more
The Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) has been cleaning up contaminated sites in Washington State for 30 years. On December 10, 2019, Beveridge & Diamond and the Environmental Law Institute will be hosting a seminar (MTCA 30)...more
Last month’s decision in Ohio v. Breen was the most blatantly, obviously, and incontrovertibly wrong Superfund decision I have ever come across. How wrong was it? Saints/Rams level wrong. The case involved Superfund claims...more
Is a purchaser of contaminated property on the hook for environmental cleanup costs that take place prior to the time the property was acquired? In Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection v. Trainer Custom Chemical,...more
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C.A. § 9601, known as CERCLA or the Superfund law, was enacted in 1980 during the final days of the Carter administration. It was intended to...more
A United States District Court (Eastern District of California) addressed in a June 27th decision an issue involving the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) terms “Owner” and...more
In a decision issued last month, the Washington Supreme Court narrowed “owner or operator” liability under the Model Toxics Control Act, RCW 70.105D (MTCA). In Pope Resources, LP v. Wash. Dept. of Natural Resources, the court...more
In an opinion tilting against the weight of precedent elsewhere, the Montana Supreme Court held that private landowners could pursue common-law claims to clean-up their properties beyond what EPA required in its selected...more
The National Priorities List (“NPL”) is EPA’s list of the most contaminated sites in the country that warrant cleanup under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, (“CERCLA” a/k/a...more
As every litigator knows, evidence almost always tells a story that is untidy and riddled with loose ends. This was illustrated by a recent innocent landowner case in California — Coppola v. Smith. There, a company had...more
It is generally the rule that a lessee who does not operate the property it rents will not be liable under CERCLA except in the unusual circumstance where the lessee qualifies as an “owner” of the property. Typically, this...more