[Webinar] Growing Greener: Navigating Environmental Laws in the Cannabis Industry
Facing bellwether trials in the Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) multi-district litigation (MDL) later this year for claims brought by public water systems due to the alleged per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)...more
On April 19, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced that it is designating perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (“PFOS”) as Hazardous Substances under the...more
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has designated PFOA and PFOS as "Hazardous Substances" under CERCLA, marking the agency's first use of Section 102(a) authority and signaling potential widespread industry impact...more
On April 19, 2024, EPA issued its long-awaited Final Rule officially listing two key per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or so-called “forever chemicals,” as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency kicked off the New Year by strengthening its guidance for investigating and cleaning up lead-contaminated soil at residential properties, especially in areas where children live and...more
On Jan. 2, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) rang in the new year by publishing a Proposed Rule updating the Ground Water Quality Standards (GWQS) for 65 of the 73 constituents currently regulated...more
Working as part of a transactional team here at Burns & Levinson, the attorneys in the Environmental Group assist with due diligence activities and provide guidance on contractual language to document accurate representations...more
When considering the establishment of an estate or trust to hold title to real property, it is important to segregate potentially contaminated property from other assets Unfortunately, once title vests in an estate or...more
Typically, final remediation documents (no-further-action letters, response action outcomes, and the like) signal the end of remediation at a contaminated site. Upon receipt of the documents, responsible parties can often...more
Costs to clean up environmentally impacted real estate have continued to increase. A variety of factors have caused this trend including: listing of new contaminants, enhanced focus on contamination pathways like vapor...more
In the absence of binding federal standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) in soil, several states have started the process of regulating PFAS in soil themselves. These regulations have implications for site...more
In my last blog, I discussed the seminal ruling in Chisholm’s-Village Plaza, LLC v. Travelers Insurance Co., et al.; No. 2:20-cv-00920-JB-KRS, in which the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico analyzed...more
On June 5, 2023, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) published in the New Jersey Register that effective immediately, the NJDEP has enacted interim groundwater, migration to groundwater, and soil...more
New York has proposed an amendment that would permit settling parties, in tort claims, to pursue contribution claims for the costs of remediating PFAS contamination. As means of encouraging settlements in civil lawsuits, New...more
...Normally, a court will treat a business entity and its liabilities as separate and distinct from its owners. The alter ego doctrine allows the corporate veil to be pierced, and results in holding the owners liable for the...more
The Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (“ASTSWMO”) issued a December 2022 guidance document titled: Technical Assistance Resources to Support the Reuse of Brownfield Sites (“Guidance”)...more
The Washington State Department of Ecology (“WSDE”) issued a December 2022 document titled: Draft Guidance for Investigating and Remediating PFAS Contamination in Washington State (“Guidance”)...more
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection posted interim soil remediation standards for several per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (collectively PFAS) to include perfluoro nonanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorooctanoic...more
To continue combating environmental contamination, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issued new regulations this week, which take immediate effect for four Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances...more
Last month, a federal court judge in the Eastern District of Washington concluded that deposition of aerial emissions from a smokestack could support a claim for arranger liability under Washington’s cleanup statute, the...more
Consent decrees play a major role in environmental litigation. This week, Maine People’s Alliance v. Holtrachem Manufacturing Company, one of the nation’s longest-running cases under the Resource Conservation and Recovery...more
The Mississippi Court of Appeals addressed in a May 31st opinion a dispute over responsibility for environmental contamination between a lessor and a lessee. See Biloxi Dock & Ice, LLC v. Back Bay Fuel and Ice, LLC, 2022 WL...more
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed into law a ten-year extension of the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), including its tax credits as part of the 2022-23 NYS Budget (Budget) (Part LL of Assembly Bill...more
The New York Supreme Court – Appellate Division (Second Department) (“Court”) addressed in an October 20th Decision & Order (“Decision”) alleged damages associated with the remediation of oil contamination. See Bennett v....more
On August 5, 2021, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued new guidance on contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). New Jersey’s regulated...more