CERCLA Archives

Category: CERCLA

June 14, 2018 • CERCLA, New York

NY’s Highest Court Makes it Clear – NYS DEC Has Authority to Unilaterally Remediate Hazardous Waste Sites

In October 2016, New York’s Appellate Division held that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) overstepped its boundaries when it unilaterally undertook the remediation of FMC’s site in Niagara County, New York. FMC Corp. v. New York State Dept. of Envtl. Conservation, 143 A.D.3d 1128 (3d Dept. 2016). NY’s highest court – the Court of Appeals – smacked … Continued

May 23, 2018 • CERCLA

Environmental Due Diligence for Corporate Transactions: The Bona Fide Purchaser and the All Appropriate Inquiry Rule

A few months ago we posted our first blog on environmental due diligence, and as promised, we will continue to post on this important subject. This week we will focus on the popular, yet oft-mistaken, bona fide purchaser exception and the all appropriate inquiries rule (AAI rule) under CERCLA. In purchasing property, a buyer will … Continued

March 15, 2018 • CERCLA, Legislation

Superfund Alert: The Latest Proposed Changes to CERCLA

On February 12, 2018, President Trump’s Administration published its Infrastructure Plan (Plan) aimed at fixing America’s infrastructure. Within the Plan are several proposed changes to the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (also known as Superfund). The first proposed change is to expand funding eligibility for revitalization projects under CERCLA. Currently, CERCLA … Continued

September 6, 2017 • CERCLA

Bankruptcy Court Approves $43 Million Coal Cleanup Deal

On Tuesday, September 5, 2017, a bankruptcy court in Missouri approved a $43 million settlement between the reorganized Peabody Energy Corp., which is a coal producer, and the federal government. The settlement related to CERCLA liability incurred by one of Peabody’s affiliate companies, Gold Fields Mining LLC. Peabody acquired responsibility for Gold Fields’ pollution liability … Continued

United States Environmental Protection Agency sign on the Clinton building

August 3, 2017 • CERCLA, EPA

The EPA’s Action Plan to Restore a Cornerstone of its Mission

In May, E. Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator, issued a memo about prioritizing the Superfund Program and establishing a commission to expedite the identification and revitalization of superfund sites. CERCLA created the Superfund Program in 1980, but efforts to revitalize superfund sites have lately been delayed by red tape, funding issues, bankruptcies, and court proceedings. In … Continued

May 19, 2017 • CERCLA, Ohio

CERCLA Update – Watch Out for Inadequacies in Allegations; Pleading Requirements to Satisfy a “Disposal”

Late last year, in our Law360 article “Definition Of ‘Disposal’ Limits CERCLA’s Applicability,” we analyzed an Ohio District Court’s pleading requirements to state a claim for liability under CERCLA. The plaintiffs’ initial complaint in that case had been dismissed because it failed to sufficiently allege “active human conduct” causing hazardous substances to be “discharged, deposited, … Continued