DEC Reports Increase in Brownfields Applications and Approvals; NYS Bar’s Efforts to Improve the Program Overall

| September 13, 2011

The DEC reported that it received 46 Brownfields Cleanup Program (“BCP”) applications during 2010-2011, an increase of 15% from the previous year.  DEC approved 38 of those applications, up from 26 from the year before. This is good news both for developers and property owners, as well as for our communities and the environment.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Proposes Amendments to Environmental Assessment Forms

| March 15, 2011

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) recently proposed amending its Short and Long Environmental Assessment Forms (“EAFs”), and is accepting public comment on the revised forms through April 8, 2011. These forms are used in the environmental review process that is required under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”), ECL §§ [...]

Update on Brownfields Program Eligibility: The First Department Upholds the Supreme Court’s Rejection of DEC’s Use of a “But-For” Test

| October 8, 2010

Late last year, the First Department, in the Matter of East River Realty v. N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2009 NY Slip Op 9381, 68 A.D.3d 564 (N.Y. App. Div., 1st Dep’t Dec. 17, 2009), upheld a Supreme Court ruling that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC”) cannot use a “but-for” [...]

The First Department Upholds the Supreme Court’s Rejection of DEC’s Use of a “But-For” Test in Determining Eligibility under the Brownfield Program

| April 12, 2010

The First Department, in the Matter of East River Realty v. N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2009 NY Slip Op 9381 (N.Y. App. Div., 1st Dep’t 2009), recently upheld a Supreme Court ruling that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC”) cannot use a “but-for” test in determining

New York’s Highest Court Overturns a DEC Brownfield Cleanup Program Eligibility Determination – Part II.

| March 31, 2010

Continuing with our prior post, this post discusses the Court of Appeal’s ruling in In the Matter of Lighthouse Pointe Property Associates, LLC v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,  2010 NY Slip Op 1377,  2010 N.Y. LEXIS 35, (Ct. App. Feb. 18, 2010), and the implications of that decision. Court of Appeals’ Decision [...]

New York’s Highest Court Overturns a DEC Brownfield Cleanup Program Eligibility Determination – Part I.

| March 30, 2010

On February 18, 2010, New York’s highest court overturned the DEC’s denial of an upstate New York development’s application for admission into the State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program (“BCP” or “Program”).  In the Matter of Lighthouse Pointe Property Associates, LLC v.

EPA lists Gowanus Canal on the National Priorities List

| March 10, 2010

On March 2, 2010, the EPA listed the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn on the National Priorities List (NPL), making it a federal Superfund site.  The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation urged EPA to consider

The Southern District of New York cites to Burlington Northern in an Apportionment Case.

| January 13, 2010

In a recent decision in In Re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (“MTBE”) Products Liability Litigation (“In re MTBE”), No. 00 MDL 1898, and related case City of New York v. Exxon Mobil Corporation, No. 04 Civ. 3417 (S.D.N.Y. July 14, 2009), the District Court for the Southern District of New York relied

New York State Court of Appeals Makes Significant SEQRA Standing Ruling

| October 28, 2009

On October 27, 2009 the New York State Court of Appeals made the most important decision regarding standing in SEQRA cases in perhaps the last 18 years.  The court ruled in Save the Pine Bush v. Common Council of City of Albany, that standing to challenge the environmental impact of a

Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. United States: The Supreme Court Clarifies the Requirements for “Arranger” Liability and Allocation of Liability in CERCLA Cases – Part II.

| August 31, 2009

Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. United States: The Supreme Court Clarifies the Requirements for “Arranger” Liability and Allocation of Liability in CERCLA Cases – Part II. As discussed in our prior posting, the Supreme Court recently clarified the requirements for “arranger” liability and allocation of liability in CERCLA cases in Burlington Northern [...]