The rules for who’s responsible for contamination and how to deal with it depend on whether the land is legally considered ‘contaminated land’.. Environmental Contamination. for environmental contamination found on a property. This means that even if environmental contamination is unbeknownst to a property owner, if said pollution is discovered, the current property is owner is liable for clean-up. Environmental contamination laws are strict liability and as property owner you are front and center. Private property owners involved in disputes with neighboring property owner(s) over A person is not liable under Part 201 for environmental contamination addressed in a no further action report that has been approved or considered approved by the DEQ. "Natural resources and environmental protection act," by amending section 20126 (MCL 324.20126), as amended by 2012 PA . Furthermore, current property owners may have purchased these properties at a time when less attention was paid to contamination. If your business or a related party has had an environmental accident, consult a government lawyer immediately. Who is liable to pay for environmental damage suffered in the UK? Landlords must therefore adopt prudent leasing practices to minimize their liability exposure. 2. If the lease is silent on environmental issues, the landlord could potentially pass clean up costs for existing contamination onto the tenant through obligations in the lease. Posted by Chris Paré, P.Geo. CERCLA for prior contamination. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: Sec. If you own or operate a business on contaminated land, whether you caused the contamination or not, review the questions below for information on understanding liability, how to address contamination and what resources are available to help. The costs of cleaning up contamination can be enormous. And since contamination incidents can also occur gradually, they can go unnoticed for an extended period of time. Under CERCLA § 107, owners of property are absolutely liable for remediating their property, ... contractually shifting the risk of environmental contamination to other parties. Introduction. A purchaser of contaminated property may be liable for cleanup of environmental contamination, even if he did not cause the situation, if “upon learning of the nuisance and having a reasonable opportunity to abate it” the purchaser fails to do so. Environmental legislation. You or your business may be liable for damages as well as criminal liability. There are of course exceptions to this rule. Share sale. Environmental Contamination – Are You Personally Liable? Accordingly, lenders should carefully consider how and when to interact with contaminants at their facilities even if handling contaminants is related to a permitted activity under the SCE. Available formats. This is certainly unfair to a current owner who may have had no part in the contamination but yet is held liable for the contamination. The growth of the LLC is occurring despite the lack of clear guidance on whether the members of the LLC may be held liable for environmental contamination on property owned by the LLC. Third, lenders who do foreclose on contaminated property to protect their security interest must be careful not to accidentally become an “operator” of the property and assume liability for the contamination. Under certain circumstances, the answer is yes. Notably, though, when evaluating successor liability under federal law, and specifically The National Environmental Management Act No. Environmental Practice BRIEFING Lessee Liability for Environmental Contamination Client Publication, October 1999 Can a lessee who has not engaged in any activities that could result in contamination of the leased site be responsible for cleaning up pre-existing contamination at the site? who is potentially liable. It is unlikely that financial institutions or lenders will be 20126. The issue should be analysed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account that there may be major evidence issues in future when determining which party actually caused the contamination. When am I liable for environmental contamination? … 107 of 1998 (NEMA) provides the structure for all environmental decision-making of individuals, institutions and the government. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision or rule of . New York v. Shore Realty Corp., 759 F.2d 1032, 1050 (2d Cir. Maintained. MCL 324.20126(e). non-landowner can be held liable for creating environmental conditions causing a nuisance. https://emsenv.com/2018/07/31/environmental-risks-for-property-buyers responsible for environmental pollution at a property. A lender may be held liable for environmental contamination that it did not cause if the lender in some way exacerbated its effects or failed to stop an ongoing release after acquiring the property. Tracing the contamination and its path is a matter for expert testimony, which is an important part of any environmental contamination case. on Nov 6, 2015 in Blog | The recent case heard by the Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) involving Trichloroethylene ( TCE ) contamination in groundwater was not about contamination at all . S ) over environmental contamination case or her land owners may have purchased these properties at a is. 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