Corporate and Real Estate Transactions

New DEC Interactive Map Expedites Environmental Due Diligence

Air Pollution, Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence, Hazardous Waste, oil spills, Underground Storage Tanks, water, Water Pollution, wetlands / By

Performing environmental due diligence has become easier with the launch of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation DECInfo Locator. Until the launch of this website, consultants and attorneys seeking information about contaminated sites had to file requests under the state Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). The limited NYSDEC FOIL staff usually took weeks […]

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Remedial Program Reform Proposals for EPA Administrator Pruitt

Brownfields, CERCLA, Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities, Environmental Due Diligence, Hazardous Waste, Lender Liability, PCBs / By

Regulatory reform is at the centerpiece of the Trump Administration’s plan to stimulate economic growth. During the presidential campaign, candidate Trump vowed to rollback a variety of Obama Administration Climate Change Initiatives but said little about EPA remedial programs such as the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or superfund). Based on

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THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence / By

The collective wit and wisdom from three decades of practicing environmental law (in no order of importance). 1.Thou shall not call the environmental lawyer the day before the closing 2. Thou shall not accept without further inquiry a Phase 1 reports that says there are no RECs 3. Thou shall be concerned when the Phase

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Court Dismisses Action Against DEC For Breach of VCA

Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Navigation Law, oil spills, Underground Storage Tanks / By

A 20-year old voluntary cleanup agreement (VCA) was the subject of the dispute before the New York Court of Claims in Alaskan Oil, Inc., v. State of New York, Claim No. 116072 Motion No. CM-81863 (Ct. Claims 7/25/16). In this case, claimant Alaskan Oil Inc. acquired approximately 40 properties owned by Parrish Energy Fuels, Inc.,

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NY Court of Appeals Finds PRP Letter Triggers Contractual Indemnification

CERCLA, Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence, Hazardous Waste / By

The New York State Court of Appeals held that a PRP letter issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) was sufficient to trigger an indemnity obligation under a purchase and sale agreement. While lower courts have found PRP letters to constitute “suits” within the meaning of  a Comprehensive General Liability policy

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Principal New York State Environmental Laws Impacting Commercial Leasing Transactions

Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence, Hazardous Waste, New York Brownfield Cleanup Program, Underground Storage Tanks / By

Parties to commercial leasing transactions frequently overlook environmental issues because they believe that tenants who do not use large quantities of hazardous chemicals will not be exposed to significant environmental liability. Consequently, the parties may do little to no environmental due diligence and use obsolete or boilerplate lease provision that do not specifically allocate environmental

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Lender that Sold Contaminated Property Agrees to $1.4MM Settlement

CERCLA, common law, Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities, Environmental Due Diligence, Lender Liability / By

We have previously reported on instances where banks have incurred cleanup costs in connection with properties they have sold.  For some examples, click here, here, here, here and here The latest installment of this saga involves Bank of America (BOA) which agreed to pay $1.4MM as part of a settlement involving a dry cleaner property that a

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Do Clients Have To Complete Consultant Questionnaires To Comply With AAI?

CERCLA, Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence, Lender Liability / By

The short answer is no. Environmental consultants routinely submit environmental questionnaires to property owners and their clients as part of the phase 1 process. Some consultants tell their clients that they are obligated to complete the questionnaire to be able to comply with EPA’s All Appropriate Inquires (“AAI”) rule. A few go as far as

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Does A Phase 1 Have To Be Issued To The Person Seeking To Comply With AAI?

CERCLA, Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence / By

Purchasers who want to be able to assert the CERCLA Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser (BFPP), Innocent Landowner (ILO) or Continuous Property Owner (CPO) landowner liability protections (LLPs) need to conduct a pre-acquisition investigation that complies with EPA’s All Appropriate Inquires (AAI) rule. A question that is surfacing with surprising frequency is if the phase 1

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