The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (“Fourth Circuit”) addressed in a June 25th Opinion an issue involving arranger liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability...more
Legislation (“SB 125”) was introduced into the Maryland General Assembly (2024 Session) that would require the seller of any residential property located within 0.5 miles of a National Priority List (“NPL”) Superfund...more
On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published two proposed rules in the Federal Register that would expand the EPA’s authority to address certain per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in a January 31st Opinion a dispute between two Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“Superfund or...more
As this nation prepared to celebrate the Independence Day long weekend, many were preparing for the July 1, 2022, reinstatement of the Superfund chemicals tax (the Superfund Tax). The Superfund Tax is an excise tax imposed on...more
The Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (“ASTSWMO”) issued a February 2022 report titled: Best Practices to Ensure State Collaboration in Superfund (“Report”) ...more
I undertook an Arkansas Environmental Federation webinar held by the organization’s Land and Sustainability Committee on May 20th titled: Solid and Hazardous Waste/Recycling Administrative/Judicial Developments: 2020-2021...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that only settlements that explicitly resolve liability under CERCLA trigger the contribution provisions of section 113 of CERCLA. I have previously commented on the Court’s tendency to...more
EPA has promulgated a final rule declining to impose final assurance requirements on the electric power, petroleum and coal manufacturing, and chemical manufacturing industries to clean up spills of hazardous substances. ...more
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), also known as the Superfund law, imposes strict, joint and several, and retroactive liability. Over time, many companies and their legal...more
A United States District Court (Western District of Washington) addressed the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) request for access to real property in King County, Washington to undertake certain...more
I undertook a presentation on April 17th at the Arkansas Environmental Federation Regulated Waste Seminar titled: Solid and Hazardous Waste Judicial/Regulatory Developments: 2018 – 2019 - The discussion addressed...more
Last month’s decision in Ohio v. Breen was the most blatantly, obviously, and incontrovertibly wrong Superfund decision I have ever come across. How wrong was it? Saints/Rams level wrong. The case involved Superfund claims...more
In a very interesting – and extremely rare – case, Emhart Industries has successfully defended itself against a unilateral administrative order issued by EPA under CERCLA, on the ground that key decisions made by EPA were...more
You're looking through your mail one morning when you see it: a certified letter from EPA. The letter requests information about your company's operations over the last 20 years. It includes paragraph-after-paragraph of...more
Liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) results from “releases” of hazardous substances. The term “release” is usually used in the context of something spilled or...more
Determining when a person has “arranged” for the disposal of a hazardous substance has long been difficult. The Supreme Court brought some clarity to the issue in Burlington Northern, when it said that...more