Environmental Agencies, Superfund Cleanups, and Managing Enforcement Actions
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in a January 31st Opinion a dispute between two Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“Superfund or...more
Partner Jane Borthwick Story talks about EPA Superfund sites, sorting out a company’s responsibilities related to a cleanup, how previous transactions can relate to liability, and the value of a long-term relationship with...more
Initially enacted in 1980, the Superfund chemical excise taxes apply to the sale or use of certain chemicals and substances to fund a federal cleanup program for hazardous waste sites. While the initial tax program expired...more
We’ve all read about the recent reinstatement of the taxes that fund the Comprehensive Environment Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The new taxes are hitting the books as of July 1, 2022....more
The Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed Aug. 10, contains a provision that would bring back an excise tax that expired in 1995 on a lengthy list of raw chemicals. House Democrats also want it to cover crude...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 June 11, 2021, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a law, HB 2377, intended to make the insurance policies of dissolved Oregon corporations and limited liability companies available to fund contaminated site cleanups. The...more
The U.S. Supreme Court will once again wade into the scope and meaning of CERCLA, granting Guam’s petition for certiorari in Territory of Guam v. United States, No. 20-382, petition for cert. granted (U.S. Jan. 8, 2021). This...more
The rhetoric of enforcement under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601-75, plays well in public. The government seeks “cleanup” and makes “the polluter pay.”...more
The US District Court for the Central District of California issued an opinion on December 10 in the decades-long fight between the US Environmental Protection Agency and several oil companies over payment of the United...more
States sue over rollback of fuel efficiency standards - Bullet The San Diego Union-Tribune – May 27 - California, joined by nearly two dozen other states, the District of Columbia and the City of Los Angeles, on...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, 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
Given the billions of dollars that have been spent at federal Superfund sites, and the billions still to come, it is fascinating how relatively little attention has been devoted to the case of Atlantic Richfield Company...more
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today, December 3, in a CERCLA case that could have ramifications for environmental law practitioners around the country. The case, Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian (“the...more
Welcome to the second 2019 issue of Product Lines – our quarterly e-newsletter that focuses on toxic torts and products liability issues. For this edition, we are reporting on several important and timely legal issues. As...more
In a “case of first impression,” U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit,texascapitol sitting in Austin, in TCEQ v. Exxon Mobil Corporation, et al., issued an important decision interpreting the scope of the Texas Solid...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) recently issued the Record of Decision (“ROD”) for the lower 8.3 miles of the Lower Passaic River, which sets forth EPA’s $1.38 billion remedy. Potentially Responsible...more