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
This week’s highly anticipated decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal in Qualex-Landmark Towers Inc v 12-10 Capital Corp, 2024 ABCA 115 [Qualex] limits the application of Orphan Well Association v Grant Thornton Ltd, 2019...more
The Appeals Court of Massachusetts addressed in a November 3rd opinion an issue arising out of environmental remediation associated with a property redevelopment project. See Starr Cap. Partners, LLC v. Toll Bros., Inc., 101...more
In natural resource damage assessments (NRDAs), both injury to resources and the beneficial effects of restoration actions unfold over time, sometimes over periods spanning multiple generations. To make losses and gains...more
After the real estate boom in the Southeast over the past few years, there are fewer and fewer examples of clean and pristine land available for commercial or industrial use. That means more properties at risk for...more
Abstract - Determining the amount of restoration needed to compensate the public for injury to natural resources is central to estimating natural resource damages (NRDs). Formal restoration scaling methods have not...more
As a general rule, the law will not allow plaintiffs to sit on legal rights indefinitely. Superfund actions are no exception. The 6th Circuit recently applied this principle, finding a declaratory judgment of liability...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 February 1, 2021, the Government of Alberta launched Period 5 and Period 6 of the Site Rehabilitation Program (SRP), including additional information within the updated Site Rehabilitation Guidelines....more
The Canadian Institute’s advanced conference on Contaminated Sites Liability & Litigation Risk takes a deep dive into the most critical challenges affecting land developers, real estate and legal professionals, and...more
The federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”), also known as the Superfund law, has been used successfully to clean up abandoned industrial sites across the country....more
Purchasing contaminated property in Ohio became a little less risky this week. Purchasers can now obtain protection under both federal and state law from costly remediation orders imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection...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
A case currently pending before the United States Supreme Court may significantly impact legal rights of potentially responsible parties (PRPs) involved in the cleanup of Superfund Sites. The case was brought in Montana State...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
On February 6, 2019, the Alberta Court of Appeal (ABCA) released its first ever decision on section 218 of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA), which may extend limitation periods applicable to...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
Because of the increasing frequency of significant, often multimillion-dollar, environmental claims against businesses and individuals under environmental statutes such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that California was entitled to pursue its costs for remediating contaminated property from a buyer in a tax sale who took title to the property long after the contamination...more
A federal court in Alaska assessed responsibility against the City of Fairbanks (City) for remediation costs found necessary to clean up property it previously owned. The court concluded that the City should have mitigated...more
The Sixth Circuit has affirmed an order confirming an arbitration award regarding indemnification obligations for environmental cleanup owed by William Farley toward the Eaton Corporation arising out of the 1986 sale of an...more
Forest Oil Corporation v. El Rucio Land and Cattle Inc. et al deserves your attention for four reasons: You won’t see another one involving damage to a rhinoceros pen...more
Operators shutting down coal-fired plants would be wise to plan ahead for potential future remediation obligations – aka the “reopener.” Predicting these obligations may be quite difficult, but operators can implement...more
On May 9, 2016, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed into law the Contaminated Property Redevelopment Act (the “Act”). The goal of this Act is to allow purchasers in Kansas to acquire real property with pre-existing...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
Everyone is familiar with the two little words - “as is” - that pop up in real estate contracts. The “as is” clause is a means of allocating risk between seller and buyer. Generally, a seller who sells property “as is” will...more