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Voluntary and Brownfields Remediation Programs: An Overview of the Environmental Law Institute's 1998 Research

Editors' Summary: One of the most important legal tools in the effort to remediate the nation's contaminated sites is state law that applies to such cleanups. In 1989, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) conducted a study of this law, and last year, it completed its most recent update of that study. In this Article, two ELI Senior Attorneys discuss the results of that update as it concerns two key aspects of site remediation—voluntary and brownfield cleanup programs.

American Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Compagnie Bruxelles Lambert: A New Line of Defense for Parent Corporations

Editors' Summary: With their often substantial assets, parent corporations make attractive targets for parties seeking to remedy environmental harm. However, by challenging a court's jurisdiction over the parent, the parent may force a change of forum or, ultimately, a dismissal of the claims. This Article examines the scope of a parent's liabilities for the actions of its subsidiaries and discusses the jurisdictional issues.

Petroleum Waste Sites Revisited: Oiling the Gears of the CERCLA/RCRA Suit

One of the more daunting tasks facing environmental practitioners over the past decade or two has been the recovery of cleanup costs and related relief at sites contaminated with petroleum substances. Parties seeking relief face significant hurdles under the federal environmental statutes. The key federal environmental cost-recovery statute, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) often provides little help because of its petroleum exclusion.

Minnesota v. Kalman W. Abrams Metals, Inc.

The court holds that a state may only recover from responsible private parties the nonarbitrary portions of response costs it incurred cleaning up lead-contaminated soils under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Minnesota Environmental Response...

Seneca Meadows, Inc. v. ECI Liquidating, Inc.

The court holds that the owner of a contaminated landfill may only recover response costs from alleged generators of hazardous waste through a contribution action under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §113. The court first holds that the owner of the l...

Bedford Affiliates v. Sills

The court holds that a landowner that is a potentially responsible party (PRP) under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §107(a) cannot maintain a §107(a) action against another PRP, but can seek contribution from that PRP under CERCLA §113(f). The lando...

United States v. Glens Falls Newspapers, Inc.

The court holds that a newspaper cannot intervene in Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) litigation to vacate a consent order mandating that settlement negotiations between CERCLA parties remain confidential. The court first holds that the presumption of pu...

AT & T Global Info. Solutions Co. v. Union Tank Car Co.

The court holds that a grandparent corporation is derivatively liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for its subsidiary's actions in arranging for the disposal of toxic waste at a solvent reclamation site in Granville, Ohio. Several potential...

Harbor Gateway Commercial Property Owners' Ass'n v. EPA

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) listing of the Del Amo site in Los Angeles, California, on the national priorities list (NPL) was invalid. The court first holds that the proposal for listing the site on the NPL failed to comply with the Omnibus Consolidated Re...

M.R. (Vega Alta), Inc. v. Caribe Gen. Elec. Prods., Inc.

The court holds that it has subject matter jurisdiction over property owners' Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) claim against private companies for response costs relating to the contamination of their water supply, but the court does not have jurisdictio...