Several years ago we reported on Community Action & Environmental Justice v. Union Pacific Corporation, in which a California District Court held the dispersion into the air of particulate matter that reaches the ground or water did not constitute a “disposal” subject to RCRA but, instead, was subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act.  That District Court opinion was affirmed in 2014, in Community Action & Environmental Justice v. Union Pacific Corporation, 764 F.3d 1019 (9^th Cir. 2014).  Yesterday, in the case of Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, No. 15-35228 (9^th Cir. July 27, 2016), the Ninth Circuit expanded this analysis of the relative roles of our environmental laws by holding that a party who disperses air pollutants that eventually settle into the ground or water are not arrangers liable under CERCLA as they have not “disposed of” hazardous substances under the Act. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Air, Arranger Liability, Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser, California, CERCLA, Clean Air Act, Contamination, Decisions of Note, Emissions, Hazardous Air Pollutants, Ninth Circuit, RCRA, Superfund

Yes, it sounds like something your 12 year old daughter would call her friend, but here we’re talking about the Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser defense to CERCLA joint and several liability.  MGKF Partner Jonathan Spergel recently wrote about this defense for the Association of Corporate Counsel.  You can find his article, along with others written by MGKF attorneys, at ACC’s Green House Counsel webpage.

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser, CERCLA, Cleanup, Cost Recovery, Green House Counsel, Real Estate, Superfund