A recording of PFAS, REACH and Other Chemical Regulatory Issues the second webinar in our two-part 2022 Chemicals Workshop webinar series, in partnership with the Ohio Chemistry Technology Council (OCTC), is now available. In this session, we provided an overview of the rapidly evolving landscape related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including the proposed … Continue Reading
In a landmark action, US EPA recently proposed to designate two of the most widely used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as “Superfund.” If finalized, this rule would require entities to report releases of those PFAS substances and would authorize US … Continue Reading
On June 16, Ohio Governor DeWine signed into law H.B. 168, which creates a “bona fide prospective purchaser” (BFPP) affirmative defense to liability for performing investigative or remedial activities that arise out of release or threatened release of hazardous substances. Ohio follows a number of other states that have similarly enacted a BFPP defense or … Continue Reading
On April 20, 2020, the US Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Gregory Christian. In short, the Court held that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) does not strip Montana state courts of jurisdiction over landowners’ claims for restoration damages; but the Court also held … Continue Reading
Two months ago, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Gregory Christian. The case is critically important to environmental lawyers in the United States because it may alter the operation of Congress’s Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) scheme for environmental remediation. CERCLA gives EPA broad … Continue Reading
On July 19, 2019, the D.C. Circuit issued its decision in Idaho Conservation League v. Wheeler, upholding US EPA’s decision not to issue financial responsibility requirements for the hardrock mining industry under Section 108(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The requirements, if adopted, would have cost the hardrock mining industry … Continue Reading
When President Trump signed the omnibus spending bill on March 23, 2018, he also enacted the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development Act of 2018 (BUILD Act) (not to be confused with the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018—yet another BUILD Act of 2018). Among the several provisions within the BUILD … Continue Reading
New water supplies in the western United States are likely to come from a panoply of non-traditional sources, including storm water capture, waste water recycling, desalination, infrastructure efficiency improvements, and other conservation measures. One potential new water source for municipalities is contaminated groundwater requiring environmental remediation, that, but for its low quality, could be used … Continue Reading
An important consideration for purchasers of US commercial property is establishing Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser (“BFPP”) liability protection to mitigate the risk of liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et. seq. Because the current owner of a property where a release of hazardous substances has occurred … Continue Reading
On June 26, the US Supreme Court denied New Mexico’s petition seeking to institute an original action against Colorado for the 2015 Gold King Mine spill. An original action in the US Supreme Court is a lawsuit between states. Invoking that rarely used procedure, New Mexico sought to hold Colorado liable for the Gold King Mine spill. … Continue Reading
On December 1, 2016, US EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy complied with a court order and signed a proposed Superfund rule to require facilities in the hard rock mining industry to provide financial assurance for cleanup and related environmental costs, as required by Section 108(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). 42 … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd., addressed whether, “[w]hen a smelter emits lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury compounds through a smokestack and those compounds contaminate land or water downwind, . . . the owner-operator of the smelter [can] be held liable for cleanup costs and natural resource damages under … Continue Reading
As 2015 came to a close, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals quietly notified the parties in a decades-long environmental dispute that, in April 2016, the court will hear arguments in a case that could reshape CERCLA liability forever. The basis for the pending appeal is a district court order holding that air emissions could … Continue Reading
The US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington recently held in Anderson v. Teck Metals, Ltd. that CERCLA displaces federal common law claims for public nuisance based upon the standard for displacement set out by the US Supreme Court in American Elec. Power Co., Inc. v. Connecticut and the Ninth Circuit in Native Village of Kivalina v. Exxon … Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs’ Attorney Christopher D. Thomas recently authored an article addressing the crucial legal issues CERCLA practitioners can expect will be at the front and center of hazardous substance litigation in the next several years. The law review article was first published by Arizona State Law Journal, Volume 46, Special Issue and is available here.… Continue Reading
On August 8, 2014, a coalition of environmental groups filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus to the D.C. Circuit seeking an order that US EPA “has unreasonably delayed issuing financial assurance rules” under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Section 108(b), 42 U.S.C. 9608, and directing US EPA to finalize the rules under this … Continue Reading
In Asarco v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 15285 (8th Cir. 2014), the Eighth Circuit affirmed the lower court in Asarco LLC v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108852 (D. Neb. Aug. 2, 2013), dismissing the contribution, breach of contract, and declaratory judgment claims brought by Asarco against Union Pacific … Continue Reading
On July 14, the Sixth Circuit joined five other Circuits in holding that parties who have settled their Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) claims with the government are foreclosed from seeking cost recovery from other potentially responsible parties (PRPs) under CERCLA § 107. In Hobart Corp. v. Waste Management of Ohio, Inc., … Continue Reading
The US Supreme Court has again reiterated that the federal Superfund law should be interpreted narrowly and plainly, this time while addressing the statute’s impact on state tort theories arising from releases of hazardous substances. In CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, the Court held that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not preempt … Continue Reading
The US Supreme Court recently announced it will hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Waldburger v. CTS Corp., No. 12-1290 (4th Cir. 2013) involving the preemption of state statutes of repose by Section 9658 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). In Waldburger, the Plaintiffs sued CTS Corporation for nuisance after discovering their lands were … Continue Reading
On December 30, 2013, US EPA issued its final rule approving use of ASTM E 1527-13 Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments to satisfy the All Appropriate Inquiry (AAI) requirements under CERCLA Section 101(35)(B). The rule is effective immediately. As expected and reported in our prior frESH law blog, US EPA clarified that “today’s rule … Continue Reading
On August 15, 2013, USEPA published a direct final rule in the Federal Register approving use of new ASTM Standard E 1527-13, “Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process” to satisfy the All Appropriate Inquiry (AAI) requirements under Section 101(35)(B) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and set forth in 40 CFR … Continue Reading
In the first appellate court ruling to address the post-closing obligations of a party asserting the Superfund bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP) defense, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed that a South Carolina brownfields developer forfeited the defense because of its failure to exercise due care with regard to existing contamination. … Continue Reading
On December 5, 2012, USEPA issued revised guidance under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) that expands protections for tenants that might otherwise be held liable for cleanup and remediation costs at leased properties. This guidance replaces USEPA’s prior 2009 guidance. When Congress amended CERCLA with the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act … Continue Reading
