Some of the more interesting CERCLA cases involve lawsuits between current and former property owners. Usually, the current owner assumes it qualifies as bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP) or for the Innocent Landowner (ILO) Defense and sues the defendant/former owner for cost recovery. The defendant/former owner invariably files counterclaims alleging the current owner/plaintiff is not […]
Much of the focus of the 2021 revisions to ASTM Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment Standard E-1527 was to clarify the custom and practice for performing historical investigations-particularly for adjoining properties. Unfortunately, for an architectural firm that dabbled in the phase 1 marketplace these clarifications came too late. In Hathaway Homes, Phase II Limited Partnership
In February 2024, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) updated the decision matrices to its “Guidance for Evaluating Soil Vapor Intrusion in the State of New York” (” VI Guidance) to include 13 volatile petroleum compounds . Previously, the NYSDOH decision matrices only assessed potential human health risks for contaminated vapors associated with
NYSDOH Revises Vapor Intrusion Guidance to Add Volatile Petroleum Compounds 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 »
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 »
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC”) has received numerous inquiries about issues arising with the execution of Brownfield Cleanup Program (“BCP”) agreements and amendments because of the Covid19 pandemic. In response, the NYSDEC has issued the following guidance: The DYSDEC will grant reasonable extensions of time for the execution of Brownfield Cleanup
Performing environmental due diligence has become easier with the launch of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation DECInfo Locator. Until the launch of this website, consultants and attorneys seeking information about contaminated sites had to file requests under the state Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). The limited NYSDEC FOIL staff usually took weeks
New DEC Interactive Map Expedites Environmental Due Diligence Read More »
A 20-year old voluntary cleanup agreement (VCA) was the subject of the dispute before the New York Court of Claims in Alaskan Oil, Inc., v. State of New York, Claim No. 116072 Motion No. CM-81863 (Ct. Claims 7/25/16). In this case, claimant Alaskan Oil Inc. acquired approximately 40 properties owned by Parrish Energy Fuels, Inc.,
Court Dismisses Action Against DEC For Breach of VCA Read More »
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has made extensive changes to its regulations pertaining to the handling and storage of petroleum and hazardous substances. Specificially, the revisions were made to the Petroleum Bulk Storage (PBS) regulations (6 NYCRR Parts 612-614), the Chemical Bulk Storage regulations (6 NYCRR Parts 596-599), the Used Oil
NYSDEC Adopts Revised Petroleum and Hazardous Substance Bulk Storage Regulations Read More »
Parties to commercial leasing transactions frequently overlook environmental issues because they believe that tenants who do not use large quantities of hazardous chemicals will not be exposed to significant environmental liability. Consequently, the parties may do little to no environmental due diligence and use obsolete or boilerplate lease provision that do not specifically allocate environmental
Principal New York State Environmental Laws Impacting Commercial Leasing Transactions Read More »