superfund

My Article on Why Joint Liability Should No Longer Be the Default Standard Under CERCLA

When Congress enacted the federal Superfund law in 1980, it provided that liability should be governed by evolving notions of common law. The Second Restatement of Torts was in effect at the time the law was passed and favored imposition of joint liability when two or more parties created a common harm. However, there has […]

My Article on Why Joint Liability Should No Longer Be the Default Standard Under CERCLA Read More »

EPA Issues Guidance For Continuing or Suspending Response Actions During COVID-19 Crisis

In our post discussing EPA’s Enforcement Discretion guidance, we mentioned that EPA was working on guidance for performing remedial actions during the Covid-19 crisis. On April 10th, EPA issued its “Interim Guidance on Site Field Work Decisions Due to Impacts of COVID-19” (Interim Guidance) to regional offices when determining to continue, reduce, or pause on-site

EPA Issues Guidance For Continuing or Suspending Response Actions During COVID-19 Crisis Read More »

Bank Enters Into Settlement With EPA For Contaminated NY Site

EPA entered into a settlement agreement with the Bank of India (Bank) as part of an innovative settlement to facilitate the sale and reuse of an abandoned facility in Cortland, NY. The settlement was published in the today’s Federal Register .The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day comment period. The settlement involves the Buckbee-Mears

Bank Enters Into Settlement With EPA For Contaminated NY Site Read More »

Acquisitions Bring CERCLA Liability to Banking Conglomerate

From a purely legal standpoint, the recent ruling In Tennessee v. Roane Holdings Ltd., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143703 (E.D.TN 12/14/11) was not unusual. The court ruled on a motion to dismiss that a party who had entered into an administrative order on consent could not bring a cost recovery action under CERCLA section 107

Acquisitions Bring CERCLA Liability to Banking Conglomerate Read More »

Recent EPA PPAs Require Financial Assurances

EPA recently published notice of two proposed prospective purchaser agreements (PPAs) . PPAs had been a critical tool for brownfield development prior to the 2002 CERCLA amendments that added the bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP) defense. Following the 2002 amendments, EPA issued guidance that indicated that the agency would only issue PPAs in special circumstances since the BFPP was

Recent EPA PPAs Require Financial Assurances Read More »

EPA Region 2 Office Officially Recognized NYC Brownfield Program

EPA recently recognized the NYC brownfield cleanup program-the first time a municipal cleanup program has received such status.  The recognition under section 104(k) of CERCLA means that the City’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) is an “eligible entity” which may apply for and use federal brownfield investigation and cleanup grants and loans. It is important to note that this

EPA Region 2 Office Officially Recognized NYC Brownfield Program Read More »

Scroll to Top