NYSDEC has finally issued its long-awaited amendments to the Part 375 Regulations governing the state Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP). The proposed revisions were published in today’s State Register and are available from the agency website. The regulations reflect NYSDEC’s interpretation of the changes brought about by the 2015 BCP amendments. The agency actually developed the […]
NYSDEC Proposes New Brownfield Regulations Read More »
On October 6, 2021, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) proposed Released new water quality guidance values (GVs) for emerging contaminants Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and 1,4-Dioxane (1,4-D). The new guidance values are established in a draft addendum to Technical and Operational Guidance Series (TOGS) 1.1.1: Ambient Water Quality Standards and Guidance
NYSDEC Proposes New Water Quality Guidance Values for Emerging Contaminants 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 »
In a prior Post, we discussed that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed executive budget for Fiscal Year 2022 provided an extra two years for owners of brownfield projects that received COCs between March 20, 2010 through January 1, 2012 to claim the qualified tangible property tax (QTP) credit. The extension was intended to provide relief to
Much like with the Great Recession of 2008, the Covid crisis has caused many brownfield projects to stall. As a result, BCP projects that received their Certificate of Completion (COCs) in 2010-11 are at risk of losing the right to claim the tangible property tax credit since the ten year period to put the property
A state appeals court overturned a lower court decision and ruled that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) had improperly denied a Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) application. In the Matter of Wythe Berry, LLC v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2020 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7234 (App. Div.-2nd Dept. 11/25/2020).
NY State Appeals Court Rules NYSDEC Improperly Denied BCP Application Read More »
The New York City Office of Environmental Remediation released an update to its Searchable Property Environmental E-Database (SPEED 2.0) environmental mapping tool in April. SPEED is a useful due diligence tool that allows users to obtain environmental information at a city, borough, neighborhood or site level. All of SPEED’s data is regularly updated to provide
OER Launches Revised Searchable Property Environmental E-Database (SPEED 2.0) Read More »
For the second time this week, the United States Supreme Court surprised environmental groups when it held in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund that the Clean Water Act permitting requirements applied not only to direct discharges of pollutants from point sources but also to discharges to groundwater that are the “functional equivalent” of
Supreme Court Rules Discharges To Groundwater Could Require Clean Water Permit Read More »