Last year, the brownfield community was rattled by the Ashley II decision of United States District court for the District of South Carolina holding that a brownfield developer failed to comply with the requirements of the Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser defense. The court ruled the developer did not comply with its post-closing continuing care obligations […]
No Further Action (NFA) letters have become an important tool in transactions involving contaminated properties. Contracting party often use issuance of an NFA letter has the mechanism for establishing that a party has satisfied its obligations under an agreement. Issuance of an NFA letter often also operates as a release of statutory liability and may
Court Allows Claims To Proceed Despite NFA Letter Read More »
In the wake of the Great Recession, many foreign investors are buying bulk quantities of condominium units at what they perceive to be distressed prices for projects located in certain gateway cities such as Miami and New York. Frequently, these condominium projects are developed on brownfield sites. In phased transactions where multiple buildings are constructed
The New York City Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) will be announcing new financial benefits and other incentives for its landmark NYC Brownfield Program at a workshop on November 9th. The new benefits will include the following: New: $590,000 in Federal grants to be available for environmental investigation New: Certification now available to enable deduction of cleanup
NYC Brownfield Program To Announce New Financial Incentives Read More »
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 »
A New Jerseyappellate division court ruled that a property owner is entitled to have an administrative hearing regarding the rescission of a no further action (NFA) letter by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). In the Matter of Crompton Colors, Inc., No. A-0778-09T1 (App. Div. 10/27/11) In this case, Hartz Mountain Industries acquired
NJ Court Remands Recission of NFA Letter Read More »
Buyer agreed to purchase former oil field in 1996 to develop for residential complex. Contract included 40 pages detailing remedial obligations of parties. Buyer had five years to complete investigate of property and inform seller of contamination. If cleanup exceeded $30MM, seller could take over cleanup. Contract also provided that after completion of sellers’ corrective
Earlier this year, I discussed the BNY Mellon v Morgan Stanley Mortgage Corp where the defendant/mortgage originator has been sued by the CMBS trust for a $80MM shopping center loan where methane gas issues led to a default. See detailed post at: http://lschnapf.blogspot.com/2011/07/cmbs-lender-kept-in-case-over-questions.html Now we have another case involving a $35MM development loan where a
$35MM Landfill Brownfield Project Derailed By Methane Gas Read More »