Fresh off its hotly anticipated August 2014 decision upholding the right of municipalities to zone oil and gas extraction operations out of their towns, the New York State Court of Appeals is set to weigh in on another oil and gas extraction issue. This latest matter...
Real Estate Transactions & Environmental Law
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...
Soil Vapor Intrusion Concern Prompts EPA to Support Revision to Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Protocol
The health threats posed by physical contact with contaminated soil or groundwater are well known. But increasingly, state and federal regulators are recognizing that harmful vapors from such contamination can be drawn into nearby buildings and pose a threat to the...
Can Entering Into a CERCLA Consent Decree Preclude Subsequent Cost Recovery Actions?
Congress enacted the Superfund Act, whose formal name is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA, in 1980 to promote the clean up (remediation) of properties, typically abandoned landfills or other sites, that had been...
Environmental Due Diligence in Real Estate Transactions Blog Series: Part IV – Working with Environmental Consultants
In our series highlighting the tools of environmental due diligence in real estate transactions, we've covered the basics of (1) what is "environmental due diligence," (2) what are the important environmental provisions you need in a purchase and sale contract, and...
Environmental Due Diligence in Real Estate Transactions Blog Series: Part III – Environmental Site Assessments and Compliance Audits
So now you've selected your property and have a proper purchase and sale agreement in place; what do you do next?A. Protecting Yourself from Potential LiabilityUnder CERCLA (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) there is a broad...
Environmental Due Diligence in Real Estate Transactions Blog Series: Part II – Contract of Sale of Real Property
In our first post in this blog series, we explained exactly what is meant by the term "environmental due diligence" in real estate transactions and discussed some of the "tools" of environmental due diligence. In this post, we'll cover in detail one of those tools:...
Revised Standards for Phase II Environmental Site Assessments
So far, in the Environmental Law Blog, we've discussed what to do before you purchase a contaminated property (see here) and what to do after you've purchased a contaminated property (see here), but there is a step that often takes place...
