On September 6, 2022, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published a proposed rule to designate Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the Superfund.
These two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been linked to various adverse…
For more than 200 years, the Lower Hackensack River (“River”) has been a hub for industrial operations in and around Bergen and Hudson Counties. More recently, concentrations of various contaminants in excess of EPA cleanup standards have been found in the sediment lying on the riverbed. According to EPA, concentrations of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (“PAHs”), polychlorinated…
Recently, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (“CRC”) announced that it would begin accepting applications for Class 1 (cultivator), Class 2 (manufacturer), and Test Laboratory licenses under the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act on December 15, 2021. Class 5 (retailer) license applications will be accepted beginning March 15, 2022. Although the details…
This week, there are two cases before the Supreme Court of the United States that environmental and energy attorneys and other industry stakeholders should be watching closely. The cases cover a broad range of concerns – including the CERCLA statute of limitation, eminent domain, sovereign immunity, and the 11th Amendment – and are as…
In November, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a granting of summary judgment by the District Court for the District of New Jersey. The Court of Appeals determined that the current property owner’s claim for contribution pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) was untimely because the statute of limitations for contribution claims begins to accrue when the party seeking contribution administratively settles its liability. That decision, Cranbury Brick Yard, LLC v. United States of America, fills one of the statutory gaps that exists in CERCLA.
The site in the case was a weapons manufacturing facility in Cranbury, New Jersey. During World War II and the Korean War, Unexcelled Manufacturing Co. manufactured bombs, anti-aircraft ammunition, grenade fuses, and other high-powered weapons for the U.S. Military. Following an investigation of the site by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), a directive identified several responsible parties, including the former owner of the site and the U.S. Navy.
Continue Reading Third Circuit Fills Gap Left by CERCLA
On August 23 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law A5293, which amends the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA). The amendments are wide ranging and include exemptions from direct oversight, authorization to use surety bonds as remediation funding sources, and a requirement that the person responsible for conducting the remediation respond to public inquiries regarding the status of a remediation.
Continue Reading New Jersey’s SRRA Amended: What’s Changed?
The United States 8th Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided that a tire company and its affiliate could be held liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act at 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq. (“CERCLA”) for selling property knowing that the contaminated buildings thereon would be demolished. Dico, Inc. (“Dico”) owned…
Are you in a case where an on-site and off-site groundwater plume of dry-cleaning solution (perchloroethylene or PCE) or other hazardous substance is intersected by sewers through which the used and disposed solution flowed? If so, the case of Mission Linen Supply v. City of Visalia (2019 WL 446358) bears your close review.
Based on…
