What do wetlands, asbestos containing materials (ACM) and open regulatory violations all have in common? Answer: if ignored, these business environmental risks can turn an otherwise sound investment in commercial real estate into a bad one. Anyone involved in the...
Environmental Due Diligence
5 Things You Should Know About Phase I Environmental Site Assessments
As a real estate purchaser, developer, or seller, you may wonder: "Do I really need a Phase I environmental site assessments (ESA) before purchasing property?" The answer is simple: yes! As we explain on this page, a Phase I ESA looks into the history of a property....
Second Circuit: Late Notice To Insurer Bars Coverage For Environmental Claims
How important is it that timely notice of an environmental claim be given to your insurance carrier? And just what is "timely"?A federal appeals court in New York recently answered, "it's very important," and "timely" means as soon as practicable (but more than...
Two Decades Later, New York Proposes First Major Amendments to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA)
On January 17, 2017, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released proposed amendments to SEQRA - the department's first major revisions to such regulations in more than two decades. The proposed amendments follow recent efforts by the DEC...
City Council Members Seek to Redefine “Reside” in Local Lead Paint Law
New York City's lead-based paint law (Local Law 1 [1982]) requires landlords to remove lead-based paint in any apartment unit in which a child under 6 years of age resides. The issue in Yaniveth R. v. LTD Realty Co. was whether a child "resides" in an apartment...
Perfluorinated Chemicals: Emerging Contaminant, Emerging Liability
Despite - even because of - their useful properties, perfluorinated chemicals ("PFCs") are increasingly thought to be dangerous for the environment, and potentially humans. PFCs are manmade substances with the ability to repel both water and oils, and are responsible...
EPA Clarifies What Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Procedure Satisfies its All Appropriate Inquiries Rule
As most folks in the commercial real estate industry know, the Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser exemption from liability under the federal Superfund law is a very useful tool. Accordingly, a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is standard practice for nearly every...
Sustainability Embraced by Real Estate Investment Industry
"Sustainability" and "development" do not often go to the dance together, but that may be changing. Today's real estate investors are embracing their interconnection, and encouraging environmental social governance (ESG) within the industry. With the rise in...
Sellers Beware: Unauthorized Petroleum Tank Repair Ruled a Breach of Environmental Warranty
Everyone's heard of the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for," but Sunoco, Inc. might be ready to coin a new phase, "Be careful what you warrant."In 2009, Sunoco, Inc. sold an Oneida County-based Marcy Terminal to Superior US Holdings, Inc. Given that it was an oil...
Key Limits Imposed on State Authority to Order RCRA Corrective Action Under a Treatment, Storage or Disposal Facility Permit
Can a party who is not the holder of a certain environmental permit be required to perform the obligations set out in that permit? The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation thought so, and argued as much in the case of a property owner who had...
