Wiley Veterans in Law: Hard-Hitting Reflections on Service, Challenges, and Advocacy
Environmental Agencies, Superfund Cleanups, and Managing Enforcement Actions
PFAS: Increasing Regulations and Managing Legal Liability
The Current and Future Landscapes of EPA Criminal and Civil Enforcement
Protecting Against Environmental Risks
[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
On December 15, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency published a final rule recognizing ASTM E1527-21 as the new standard for performing a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (“ESA”)....more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") adopted an updated standard of practice for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments on December 15, 2022. The updated standard adds more refined investigation and...more
It's been just almost two months since the historic Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (PACT Act) was signed into law by President Joe Biden on August 10, 2022. Based on pervasive television...more
Abstract - Determining the amount of restoration needed to compensate the public for injury to natural resources is central to estimating natural resource damages (NRDs). Formal restoration scaling methods have not...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the process of rulemaking to adopt a new national standard for Phase I environmental site assessments. While the EPA had hoped to adopt the new Phase I standard more...more
For many years, it has been standard practice for prospective purchasers and even tenants to conduct a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (“ESA”) before acquiring a new property interest. This is for two important reasons:...more
As covered in my previous post, the ASTM International (ASTM) released a revised standard for conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (Phase I ESAs) – ASTM E1527-21. While the E1527-21 standard has been available...more
Governor Cuomo’s FY 2022 Budget provides relief to participants in the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) that risk losing their Tangible Property Tax Credit due to pandemic-related and other delays....more
Maine’s Voluntary Response Action Program (VRAP) was enacted in 1993 to encourage the cleanup and redevelopment of Maine’s contaminated properties....more
Congratulations! Your company just bought a large commercial property to manufacture its widgets. Unfortunately, you just received a notice from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) that the previous owner...more
Suggestions to Texas lessors after ExxonMobil v. Lazy R Ranch, et al: Claiming that you were not aware of contamination from oil spills you’ve know about for 20 years is a tough sell, and suing your long-time lessee for...more
Asarco LLC v. Noranda Mining, Inc., 844 F.3d 1201 (10th Cir. 2017). In a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) contribution action, the Tenth Circuit ruled that a mining company, whose...more
The cost to obtain liability protection under Maine’s very popular Voluntary Response Action Program (VRAP) will soon increase. Effective January 1, 2018, the cost of Maine DEP assistance in reviewing a voluntary response...more
On May 9, 2016, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed into law the Contaminated Property Redevelopment Act (the “Act”). The goal of this Act is to allow purchasers in Kansas to acquire real property with pre-existing...more
Asarco LLC v. Goodwin, 756 F.3d 191 (2nd Cir. 2014) – A reorganized company (Asarco) sought contribution for payment of environmental claims from beneficiaries of trusts created under John D. Rockefeller’s will. The...more
On August 27, 2014, the Superior Court of New Jersey ruled in favor of Puritan Oil against a New Jersey property owner, finding that where the oil company had already taken steps to remedy contamination it caused on...more
On June 9, 2014, the United States Supreme Court, in CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, ruled that an individual state’s statute of repose is not preempted by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of...more
On June 9, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in CTS Corp. v. Waldburger et al. that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA, or the “Superfund” law), which preempts state statutes...more
The Supreme Court’s decision in CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, No. 13-339, 573 U.S. __ (June 9, 2014), sends a strong message to lower courts that the oft-repeated refrain that CERCLA is a “remedial statute” that must be...more
On June 9, in CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, et al., No. 13-339, the U.S. Supreme Court held 7-2, that the Fourth Circuit erred in holding that CERCLA Section 9658 applied to the application of the North Carolina statute of repose,...more
Even Superfund lawyers are likely to find the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday in CTS Corporation v. Waldburger to be of limited interest. Unable to reach an agreement about a federal “toxic tort” cause of action, Congress...more
The United States Supreme Court today ruled that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA"), enacted in 1980 to "promote the timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites," does not...more
On June 9, 2014, the United States Supreme Court decided CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, No. 13-339, holding that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) does not preempt state...more
The specter of environmental harm used to frighten courts and spawned a generation of decisions extending Superfund liability to virtually any party with a nexus to a site that was contaminated. One case that signaled just...more
Energy production in the United States is at an all-time high. In 2013, an average of 7.5 million barrels of oil were pumped every day, which bested the previous production record (2012) by one million barrels. Domestic oil...more