The original goal of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was to clean up highly contaminated dump sites. Its provisions weren't meant to deal originally with your everyday contaminated parcel that is the subject of...
Year: 2018
Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Onondaga Lake Contamination Suit Citing Federal Preemption
Even the best factual cases are no match for the principle of federal preemption, as residents of Camillus, New York learned the hard way.On May 25, 2018, the Second Circuit affirmed the Northern District of New York's judgment dismissing the lawsuit filed by Camillus...
Soil Cleanup Tracks Under NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program – Know the Difference
How should you determine the extent of soil cleanup at a proposed brownfield site? For applicants of the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), that decision ultimately depends on several factors, including funds available for site remediation and the...
NYSDEC Will Use Discretion in Enforcing Revamped Solid Waste Regulations
Sometimes, administrative agencies listen when people voice their concerns about new regulations. In September 2017, the Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC") completely revamped the State's solid waste regulations, in an effort to make it easier for...
New York Federal Court Holds Consent Order Fails to Resolve CERCLA Liability, Allows Cost Recovery Action Under Section 107
Consent orders can be a useful tool to resolve liability under the federal Superfund Law (a/k/a CERCLA) (read our recent blog post on this very point). In a recent case filed in the Northern District of New York, plaintiffs, Cooper Crouse-Hinds ("CCH") and Cooper...
Environmental Organizations Challenge DEC’s Statewide Permit for Industrial Facilities
Does everyone agree that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC") is properly doing its job of protecting the environment in the state? Apparently not. Sometimes activists conclude that the agency's actions are not in the best interest of...
What Tenants Need to Know about Indoor Air Contamination Associated with Soil Vapor Intrusion
In September 2008, then Governor David A. Paterson signed legislation adding a new section to the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL 27-2405) requiring property owners or owners' agents (such as management companies) to notify tenants of any test results related to...
The Power of a Consent Order and a Consent Decree
How valuable is a consent order or a consent decree, and what is the difference? First, the basics: a consent order is typically an administrative agency contract with a private party, but is not filed in a court as part of a litigation. Despite not being filed in a...
Statute of Limitations Prevents Long Island Homeowners from Recovering Damages from Environmental Contamination
What could be more frustrating than learning that your property has been damaged from contamination, but you can't recover any money because you didn't start legal action soon enough? That's what happened to 100 homeowners in a hamlet of Bay Shore who claimed injuries...
Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Moving Forward After Dismissal of Lawsuit About Environmental Review
Providing affordable housing and protecting the environment are important considerations in many New York City real estate projects that (at first blush) seem to be incompatible with one another - how can a developer balance the two? This is a challenging question...