Since taking office, President Joseph R. Biden has confirmed his commitment to addressing environmental issues. On April 9, 2021, he proposed allocating $14 billion toward initiatives to fight climate change, including large cash injections for environmental regulation and science research.1 With an increase in funding and a renewed commitment to environmental justice, we might see a jump in environmental liability claims in bankruptcy filings. This article provides a brief overview of environmental liability and how such liability is affected by a responsible party’s bankruptcy filing, touching on the dischargeability of claims, including through abandonment of assets, priority claims and successor liability in the § 363 sale context.

Originally Published in the ABI Journal, Vol. XL, No. 7 - July 2021.