EPA will publish a final rule in the federal register on December 15th amending its All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) Rule by recognizing ASTM E1527-21 as a method for complying with AAI and withdrawing the reference to ASTM E1527-13. The rule will become effective 60 days from the date of publication in the federal register. The […]
EPA To Publish AAI Update Withdrawing Reference to ASTM E1527-13 Read More »
In our prior blog, we announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) would publish a proposed rule and direct final rule proposing to amend and amending the All Appropriate Inquiries rule (“AAI”) to reference the revised ASTM E1527-21 ‘‘Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process’’ (“E1527-21”) and allowing it to
Expect Adverse Comments as EPA Drops Ball on ASTM Recognition Read More »
The ASTM E1527-21 is now official! It was approved on November 1st after three years of development. I served as the co-chair of the legal sub-committee. Among the changes: Key terminology revisions: The terms “Recognized Environmental Condition” (REC); “Controlled Recognized Environmental Condition” (CREC); and “Historical Recognized Environmental Condition (HREC) have been strengthened to reduce misclassifications of
New Phase 1 Standard is Approved by ASTM Governing Body! Read More »
The Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has long struggled with interpreting the scope of CERCLA liability, often issuing poorly-reasoned and inconsistent decisions. This trend continued with its recent opinion in Von Duprin vs Moran Electric Service, Inc., et al, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 26726 (7th Cir. 9/3/2021) where the court issued a number
A property owner failed in its bid to qualify as a CERCLA bona fide prospective purchaser because its phase 1 did not contain the environmental professional certification required by the section 40 C.F.R. § 312.21(d) of EPA’s All Appropriate Inquires (AAI) rule. In Von Duprin LLC v. Major Holdings, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 26726 (7th
Property Owner Fails to Qualify as BFPP Because Phase 1 Did Not Contain EP Certification Read More »
Last month, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued its Action Plan to address concerns about perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) which have increasingly being detected in drinking water systems. The action plan has the potential to significantly increase liability for manufacturers and users of products containing or treated with these compounds..
EPA PFAS Action Plan will bring back the fun in Superfund Read More »
On November 6th, ASTM announced that it has published its E1527-13 Phase 1 Standard for Environmental Site Assessments. Upon publication of a new ASTM standard, the prior version becomes obsolete. In a normal transition, environmental consultants would transition to using the new E1527 version like they did with the E1527-94, E1527-97 and E1527-00. However, this is not
Should Consultants Use ASTM E1527-13 Prior to EPA Recognition? Read More »
A majority of justices found that the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution in National Federation of Independent Businesses v Sebelius. The Commerce Clause is the underpinning for the jurisdiction of the federal government to enact and enforce environmental laws such as CERCLA and RCRA. Thus,
Obamacare Survives But Will CERCLA or RCRA? Read More »
Last week, we discussed due diligence for transactions involving purchases of equity interests in entities that own property that are in technical default of the mortgages. This post discusses potential environmental liability for fractional ownership interests in the underlying property. First year saw students are taught in Real Property Class that property ownership consists of
Environmental Liability and “Fractional” Property Interests Read More »
The second our series of recent cases involving the due care element of the CERCLA third party defense is State of New York v Adamowicz, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102988 (E.D.N.Y. 9/13/11) where a property owner was unable to establish that it exercised due care despite spending over $1MM addressing environmental concerns at its site.
Owner Incurs $1MM On Cleanup But Ct Says No “Due Care”-Owner Waited Too Long to Act Read More »