Effective February 13, 2024, prospective purchasers and ground tenants of commercial and industrial property seeking liability protections under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act...more
We can now talk about the proverbial elephant in the PFAS room that has been lingering for a while. On April 19, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will list the so-called "forever chemicals"...more
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia (“Court”) addressed in an April 27th Order issues arising out of an environmental services agreement. See Thiele Kaolin Company v. Environmental Resources...more
ASTM E1527-21 to Replace ASTM E1527-13 - On December 15, 2022, U.S. EPA published in the Federal Register its final rule updating its AAI Rule, recognizing ASTM E1527-21 as a method for meeting the AAI requirements for...more
Most businesses understand the need to conduct environmental due diligence when buying or selling real estate, but many businesses may not have a good understanding of how to investigate and mitigate the potential risk posed...more
On August 26, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced that it is proposing to designate perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (“PFOS”) as Hazardous Substances under the...more
A growing concern in many mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is the potential for environmental risks. Whether you are looking to acquire a manufacturing site or even just a tract of land for future construction, some...more
In mid-March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a direct final rule approving ASTM International (ASTM) Standard E1527-21 as an additional standard meeting the all appropriate inquiry (AAI) component for...more
Join Ulmer for a Live Webinar on the New Phase I ESA Standard and Solving Environmental Problems During Real Estate Transactions - The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) released an update last November to the...more
Conducting environmental due diligence and considering a project’s impact on the environment are essential in acquiring or permitting utility-scale solar projects in Virginia. This was underscored by the Virginia Department...more
On March 14, 2022, EPA published a Direct Final Rule and a Proposed Rule that would incorporate ASTM International’s (“ASTM”) updated standard for conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (“Phase I ESAs”) into EPA’s...more
Live Webinar: A Deeper Dive into Environmental Due Diligence - Join Ulmer attorney David A. Meyer for a live webinar on Wednesday, September 15, at 2 p.m. (ET), as he continues the conversation on environmental due...more
Changes are on the way for ASTM’s Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (“Phase I”) standard, the almost 30-year-old lynchpin of the transactional due diligence process. The American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”)...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential for impacting prospective purchasers of real estate from performing due diligence. The Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser (BFPP), the Innocent Landowner (ILO), and the Contiguous Property...more
Introduction - Vapor intrusion has emerged as an important legal, scientific, and policy issue over the last decade. With this issue’s growing importance, it is prudent for persons acquiring, leasing, or developing...more
Your business has taken off, and you've been searching for that perfect 7,500 square foot building on an acre of land close to town, with parking and a view, and you've finally found it. Mission accomplished, right? Not...more
With increasing concern and attention being raised by regulatory agencies and the public on protecting building occupants from exposure to vapor intrusion (VI)-related contaminants, parties acquiring and developing property...more
When parties to an M&A deal consider most environmental risks, they essentially seek the same goals that they seek with respect to other liabilities in the deal. M&A sellers, particularly private equity sellers, seek to avoid...more
Purchasers of commercial real estate must meet a new standard to qualify for liability protection under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and analogous state laws. Since...more
It is not often that one discovers that a senior housing facility was once an oil exploration complex or the site of a former dry cleaner but it does happen, and while your company may get comfortable with the acquisition and...more
There is no shortage of environmental matters to navigate when buying a company or facility. Environmental counsel must first lead a diligence effort that delineates the target’s environmental footprint and then suss out the...more
A new Phase I environmental site assessment standard has been approved for use in 2014, providing the most current set of environmental site assessment practices for real estate and many M & A transactions. The new Phase I...more