On August 15, 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed and "direct final" rule that expands the options available to parties seeking to qualify for certain defenses to liability under Superfund and other... Read More

My partner Dean Pappas and I recently had an article published by Best's Review (February 2012) that looks at the potential risks that arise from hydrofracking operations, and the extent to which a typical homeowner's insurance policy covers the... Read More

By Steven M. Siros, Partner, Jenner & Block In 1992, a consent decree was entered into between U.S. EPA and two PRPs to address contamination at an NPL site in Mountain View, California. In June 2001, U.S. EPA certified completion of remediation... Read More

In an opinion strictly interpreting the statutory text of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the U.S. Supreme Court limited the scope of a CERCLA provision that is designed to extend state law claims for... Read More

By Gabrielle Sigel, Partner, Jenner & Block In long-running litigation regarding one of the costliest Superfund cleanups in the country, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin reversed a decision it reached just 5 months... Read More

By E. Lynn Grayson , Partner, Jenner & Bloc EPA Region 4 and the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (KYDEP) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support and strengthen efforts to achieve cleanups... Read More

By Allison A. Torrence The U.S. Supreme Court has denied cert in the widely-followed case of Bernstein v. Bankert , No. 13-568, [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ], declining to review the Seventh Circuit's ruling on the... Read More

A recent Seventh Circuit decision rejected a PRP's efforts to obtain interagency memorandum and other communications between the Environmental Enforcement and the Environmental Defense Sections within the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ"... Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified the preemptive power of CERCLA, holding that CERCLA does not preempt state statutes of repose, even though it does preempt certain state statutes of limitation. On June 9, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in the case... Read More

Within hours of the Supreme Court's decision in CTS Corporation v. Waldburger , [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ], finding that that CERCLA's "discovery rule" did not preempt North Carolina's 10-year statute... Read More

Since 1980, Team Enterprises, LLC leased space in a shopping center in Modesto, California, where it operated a dry cleaning store. From 1980 to 2004, Team used PCE in its dry cleaning equipment, and the machines generated wastewater containing PCE. Team... Read More

By William A. Anderson, II In new guidance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has expanded the classes of tenants that, in the exercise of its enforcement discretion, it may consider Bona Fide Prospective Purchasers (BFPPs) on a site-specific... Read More

By Steven M. Siros, Partner, Jenner & Block U.S. EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response ("OSWER") recently issued revised guidance relating to the use of institutional controls at Superfunds sites and other contaminated... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — (Mealey’s) The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ], agreed to take up a case to decide if the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred in reviving claims brought by North... Read More

By E. Lynn Grayson , Partner, Jenner & Block EPA has released guidance on the use of institutional controls at CERCLA, RCRA and UST sites. The guidance titled Institutional Controls: A Guide to Planning, Implementing, Maintaining and Enforcing... Read More