Environmental Agencies, Superfund Cleanups, and Managing Enforcement Actions
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
The United States District Court (M.D. Florida) (“Court”) addressed in an August 29th Order an insurance coverage issue involving a petroleum release from an underground storage tank (“UST”). See L. Squared Industries, Inc.,...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
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Univar Solutions USA Inc. (“Participant”) entered into a June 30th Elective Site Clean-Up Agreement (“ESCA”). See LIS 21-075. ...more
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a site-specific review that has broader implications for Superfund site cleanups with radionuclide contamination. The EPA is reviewing a Trump-era decision on...more
On May 17, 2021, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) promulgated a comprehensive amendment of the remediation standards that determine when remediation of New Jersey contaminated sites has been...more
Following the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian, commentators warned the decision would allow a new category of state law actions challenging EPA-approved clean-ups. One year...more
Washington's Department of Ecology (Ecology) is now accepting applications for its new Expedited Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) under the Model Toxics Control Act. For the right site, the highly anticipated expedited VCP...more
Prior to April 2020, it seemed clear under prevailing federal case law that a disgruntled person could not use a state court lawsuit to change an environmental remedy approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)...more
Landowners seeking restoration damages in state courts, at sites where there is a cleanup remedy previously selected by EPA, may pursue such claims only if they first obtain EPA approval for the proposed restoration work....more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced a landmark decision under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Act), also known as the Superfund program. In the case of Atlantic...more
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian (Slip Op. No. 17-1498) confirmed the broad statutory definition of "Potentially Responsible Party" (PRP) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
In Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian, a decision issued on April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that state courts may hear state common law claims seeking to compel remediation beyond what the U.S....more
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not preclude Montana residents from bringing state common law claims to recover the...more
The United States Supreme Court recently decided a case that will create considerable uncertainty for companies involved with cleanups under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA,...more
On April 20, 2020 the United States Supreme Court handed down an important decision on the reaches of settlements involving the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or “Superfund”)....more
On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-anticipated opinion in Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian (No. 17-1498), holding that landowners whose properties are contaminated by neighboring Superfund sites...more
On April 20, 2020, in Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian (ARCO v. Christian or ARCO), the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal Superfund law does not preclude individuals from filing state claims for further cleanup of...more
The Situation: The U.S. Supreme Court recently considered, in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian, whether the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Recovery Act ("CERCLA") deprives Montana state courts of...more
Notwithstanding that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (more commonly known as “Superfund”) has been around for 40 years, and the fact that numerous cases have made their way to the...more
The U.S. Supreme Court stepped into the long-simmering debate about the rights of residential homeowners affected by Superfund response actions, ruling that they are indeed bound by the federal statute’s ban against...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has a history of rendering muddled decisions when interpreting key environmental statutes, and with its decision in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian et al., history repeats itself....more
In Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian, the United States Supreme Court recently held that a state court had jurisdiction over landowners’ state common law claims against Atlantic Richfield Company related to the Anaconda...more
Summary - Private landowners at a federal Superfund site cannot use state law claims to require additional remediation without advance EPA approval, based on a limitation in the Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a near unanimous decision in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian which involves a group of landowners’ attempt to fashion their own clean-up remedies under state law at a...more