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
On Friday,19 April 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule to designate two common per-and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid...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
In my last blog, I noted that there is no case law under CERCLA analyzing whether an insurer may rely upon the absolute pollution exclusion to avoid the duty to defend where a complaint for cost recovery alleges joint and...more
If your organization has not already started thinking about PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), there's no time like the present. PFAS refers to a family of man-made, environmentally persistent chemicals (often...more
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Remediation (“TDEC”) and Germantown JV, LLC (“Germantown”) entered into a January 12th Brownfield Voluntary Agreement (“BVA”). The BVA addresses a...more
The General Assembly gave Connecticut an early Halloween present during the first week of October when both houses of the legislature passed H.B. 7001, An Act Revising Provisions of the Transfer Act and Authorizing the...more
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (“Court”) addressed in a November 18th Order a cost recovery action involving cobalt contamination. See Quantum Labs, Inc. v. Maxim Integrated Prods....more
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) and Jiles Clay Smith d/b/a S & S Farms (“S & S”) entered into an August 31st Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of a No-Discharge Water...more
The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey (“Court”) addressed in a June 20th opinion several issues associated with a landowner’s lawsuit alleging damages caused by coal tar originating from an adjacent...more
Ninth Circuit Issues Major Cercla Decision Finding That Arranger Liability Cannot Be Based On Contamination Deposited On A Site By The Wind - Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, No. 15-35228, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 13662 (9th...more
The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) recently rolled out significant changes to its Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). The VCP covers the largest number of cleanup sites in Washington and is a key part of many...more
Decision finds operator of a lead and zinc smelter not liable as an “arranger” under CERCLA for aerial deposition of heavy metals. On July 27, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously held...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
For the past several years, the rapid growth of oil and natural gas production from shale and other unconventional sources has prompted vocal and often sensationalized concerns regarding the potential for migration of gas...more
Last Thursday residents of Kanawha County reported a foul licorice odor in the air. State and local officials traced the smell to a leak from a 35,000-gallon above ground storage tank along the Elk River. The chemical had...more
To paraphrase Shakespeare, United States v. Sterling Centrecorp, Inc., is a great feast of legal argument. The PRP in that case purchased the assets of a mining company whose operations in California had caused releases of...more
In EPEC Polymers, Inc. v. NL Industries Inc., Civ. Action No. 12-3842 (D.N.J. May 24, 2013), defendant NL Industries Inc. owned property on one side of the Raritan River, where it produced and discharged waste to the river. ...more