Zoning, Planning & Land Use › Commercial Real Estate › Toxic Torts

Fourth Circuit Brownfields Decision Stops Short Of Worst-Case Outcome

In a closely watched Superfund case decided April 4, 2013, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals interpreted the scope of landowner liability protections Congress put in place in 2002 to "promote the cleanup and reuse of...more

EPA Lifts Threat of CERCLA Liability for Some Tenants of Brownfields

Tenants who lease currently or formerly contaminated property can now benefit from protections from cleanup liability that were once available only to purchasers of such property. EPA announced its new policy in a December...more

Brownfield Tenants Gain CERCLA Liability Protection

Good News: Brownfield Tenants Gain CERCLA Liability Protection - In December 2012, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidance Memo set out a new EPA enforcement policy. In sum, on a discretionary basis, the EPA...more

EPA Guidance Further Clarifies The Protections Available To Tenants Under Superfund’s BFPP Defense

As part of an evolving effort to encourage the redevelopment of brownfield properties, the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA” or “Superfund”) was amended in 2002 to provide...more

National Academy of Sciences Group Recommending Methods to Facilitate Transition of Cleanup Programs from Problem Identification...

The National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), today released a report, “Alternatives for Managing the Nation’s Complex Contaminated Groundwater Sites” (available from the National Academies...more

CERCLA Investigations That Really Are At Risk

Site owners who conduct environmental investigations of potential releases of hazardous substances in the expectation that they will be able to recover their costs from the party whose operations gave rise to that threatened...more

Rockies Express Pipeline, LLC v. Burtle, No. 11-1219 (U.S. 7th Cir. Aug. 21, 2012)

U.S. 7th Circuit affirmed district court's exclusion of expert's valuation of property

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the district court's exclusion of expert evidence regarding valuation of property. In the recent case, Rockies Express Pipeline, LLC v. Burtle, No. 11-1219, 2012 WL...more

Smart Second Looks Save Years, Dollars In Resolving Environmental Claims

Environmental contamination disputes often drag on for many years and sometimes for decades, often resulting in repeated, costly and inconclusive field investigations and sampling. Particularly for large NPL sites under long...more

CERCLA's Easily Confused Statutes of Limitations

Deciding statute of limitations issues in CERCLA cases is not always a straightforward matter as the recent 54 page opinion in American Premier Underwriters Inc. v. General Electric Company illustrates. There, a federal court...more

Shawn Collins - Five Things to Do if your Water or Neighborhood is Polluted

This is an interesting article by Shawn Collins detailing the five things you should do if your neighborhood is, or may be, polluted. These typically arise in water or groundwater contamination cases, with chemicals or...more