Larry Schnapf, Author at Schnapf LLC

NYSDEC Adds New Categories of Sites To Database To Chagrin of Some Property Owners

Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities, Environmental Due Diligence, Hazardous Waste, New York Brownfield Cleanup Program, oil spills / Larry Schnapf

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) recently announced that it had added approximately 1,950 sites to its Environmental Site Remediation Database Search database of sites that are subject to one of the agency’s remedial programs. The NYSDEC said it was adding these additional sites to facilitate real estate transactions and address the […]

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You Say “Removal”, I Say “Remedial”

CERCLA / Larry Schnapf

In 1990, a municipality in Long Island installed a granulated activated carbon (“GAC”) adsorption system at a cost of $1.25MM to remove volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) that had been detected in two public drinking water wells. When the GAC proved ineffective in reducing the VOCs to the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), the municipality commenced construction

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NYS Tax Department Rules on Eligibility of Post-COC Costs for BCP Tax Credits

Brownfields, New York Brownfield Cleanup Program / Larry Schnapf

During the Great Recession, many brownfield sites in the lost their project financing. In New York, sites that were remediated and received a Certificate of Completion (COC) remain valuable because owners have ten years to develop the sites and claim the lucrative qualified tangible property (QTP) tax credit (explained below). As market conditions have stabilized,

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CERCLA “Discovery Rule” Playing Important Role in Toxic Tort Cases

CERCLA, common law, Environmental Due Diligence, vapor intrusion / Larry Schnapf

State statutes of limitations (SOL) establish the time period when an injured party may bring a lawsuit seeking compensation for damages. In general, the SOL “clock” will start when a claim “accrues” (e.g. when all of the required elements of the cause of action have been satisfied. Because of the long latency period between exposure

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NYDOH Lowers PCE Recommended Action Level For Vapor Intrusion

vapor intrusion / Larry Schnapf

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) recently reduced its air guideline value for PCE from 100 to 30 micrograms per cubic meter of air (30 mcg/m3). Three other ways of expressing the new guideline are 0.03 milligrams per cubic meter of air (0.03 mg/m3), 4.4 parts per billion (ppb) or 0.0044 parts per

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Ct Allows Claim Agst Consultant For Missing Contamination at Lowe’s Site To Proceed

Brownfields, consultant malpractice, Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence, environmental insurance, oil spills, Underground Storage Tanks / Larry Schnapf

Some time ago, we discussed the $14MM lawsuit filed by Lowe’s Home Centers against a consultant. Lowe’s alleged that the consultant failed to identify all areas that had been contaminated with PCBs and the store opening was delayed because of complications associated with the previously unknown PCB-contaminated soil was improperly disposed. The matter eventually settled Another

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Cal Appeals Ct Revives VI Toxic Tort Case

oil spills, vapor intrusion / Larry Schnapf

In the latest installment of the saga involving the infamous Ujima Village Apartment complex that was abandoned because of vapor intrusion from a former petroleum storage facility, a California appeals court ruled in Doris Alexander v. ExxonMobil, 2013 Cal. App. LEXIS 768 (Ct. App.-2nd Dist. 9/24/13) that a trial court improperly dismissed a group of

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NJ Shopping Center Owner Waits Too Long to Bring Spill Act Claim

Corporate and Real Estate Transactions, Environmental Due Diligence, NJ Spill Act, oil spills, Underground Storage Tanks / Larry Schnapf

Commercial property owners and asset multi-family buildings usually retain property managers firms to handle the daily operations of properties ranging from leasing, record-keeping, routine maintenance and emergency repairs. We previously discussed on how the importance of property managers understanding environmental issues, particularly the nuances of the requirements heating oil tanks for multi-family buildings. A recent New

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Time to Revisit AAI EP Definition?

CERCLA, Environmental Due Diligence / Larry Schnapf

Many environmental lawyers, consultants and professional organizations were deeply disappointed when EPA bowed to pressure from other government agencies and severely weakened the definition of Environmental Professional (EP) in its “All Appropriate Inquires” (AAI) rule that was published on November 1, 2005. The EP definition in the proposed AAI rule included minimum levels of education

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More Prominent Role for Environmental Risk Management in Revised OCC Handbook

Environmental Due Diligence, Lender Liability / Larry Schnapf

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has been updating its Comptroller’s Handbook to reflect changes to supervisory policy as well as to implement the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The Comptroller’s Handbook is a collection of booklets divided into five handbook series that contain OCC procedures for

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