Natural Resource Damages & Environmental Justice
Environmental Agencies, Superfund Cleanups, and Managing Enforcement Actions
What are PFAS and Why Should We Care?
Volatile Times in Vapor Intrusion Regulation: A Legal and Technical Update
In a unanimous decision issued on April 7, 2025 in In re Appeal of the N.J. Dep’t of Environmental Protection’s Denial of Request for Adjudicatory Hearing, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the Department of...more
The Knesset Finance Committee, headed by MK Alex Kushnir (Yisrael Beitenu), recently approved a mechanism for compensation for the rehabilitation of industrial waste damages caused by Rotem Amfert (of the ICL Group). The...more
On September 10, 2021, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a Compliance Advisory announcing updated deadlines and filing requirements for “business concerns” that are engaged in soil and fill...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
On April 24, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) adopted a temporary rule modification that grants extensions to certain site remediation timeframes under the Administrative Requirements for the...more
Maine is taking several major steps in addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The Maine PFAS Task Force just issued its final report, which included a significant number of recommendations that are likely to...more
A recent unpublished New Jersey Appellate decision highlights the inadvisability of open-ended agreements to obtain final remediation documents in connection with a sale of New Jersey property. ...more
A new environmental issue could have a major impact on airports. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is in the process of performing investigations at a number of federal, state, and local facilities...more
Pierce Atwood LLP offers this summary of Maine Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) standards as a convenience in evaluating PFAS and tracking Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulatory and Maine...more
On Friday afternoon March 22, 2019, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced in a memorandum to licensed facilities that land apply, compost, or process biosolids (i.e., wastewater treatment sludge)...more
Maine’s Voluntary Response Action Program (VRAP) was enacted in 1993 to encourage the cleanup and redevelopment of Maine’s contaminated properties....more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (“Court”) addressed in an October 5th opinion a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) liability issue. See Pa. Dep’t of Envtl,...more
Mainers interested in the question “how clean is clean?” – not to mention the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) – heavily rely on the Maine Remedial Action Guidelines (RAGs) for Sites Contaminated with...more
The Brownfields Tax Credit program was due to expire on August 5, 2018. However, on May 31, 2018, Governor Baker signed the Housing Bond Bill, H4536, which, among other things, extended the Brownfields Tax Credit program for...more
The New Jersey Appellate Division recently lessened the rigidity by which an innocent purchaser may be eligible for a so-called “Innocent Party Grant” to cover costs associated with the remediation of contaminated property....more
Last week, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced a new Response Action Outcome (RAO) Notice, which allows Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs) to issue an RAO for a site with...more
We can expect the trend seen in Massachusetts and some other states of reevaluating and reopening previously closed sites to address the vapor intrusion pathway to grow. Massachusetts is the latest state to reevaluate...more
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection plans to begin contacting some owners of properties with closed trichloroethylene (TCE) remediation sites and requiring them to conduct testing, following a review of...more
On October 3, 2014, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“PADEP”) unveiled a new draft policy that would strengthen its compliance and enforcement protocols for both unconventional and conventional oil and...more
On August 29, 2014, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) released “Evaluation of Risk-based Decision Making,” a report prepared by CDM Smith under contract to the state. DEEP has now...more
Parties that find themselves responsible for the remediation of contaminated property in New Jersey do not have to wait for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) to approve a final cleanup plan...more
Over the last several years, under the direction of Governor Rick Scott, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has embarked on an aggressive program to streamline regulatory processes across program areas,...more
After several years of formal and informal proposals, the Remedial Action Guidelines (RAGs) have finally been revised, and are now effective, thanks to action by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). ...more