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Brownfields Liability
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- Liability Issues
- Policy Toward Owners of Property Containing Contaminated
Aquifers
- Prospective Purchasers Agreements Guidance
- Model Comfort Letter Clarifying NPL Listing, Uncontaminated
Parcel Identifications, and CERCLA Liability Involving Transfers
of Federally Owned Property
- Policy on the Issuance of Comfort/Status Letters
- Asset Conservation, Lender Liability, and Deposit
Insurance Protection Act of 1996
- Underground Storage Tank (UST) Lender Liability Rule
- Aviall Frequently Asked Questions
Liability Issues
-
EPA issued interim guidance clarifying some of the conditions that
contiguous property owners ("CPOs"), bona fide prospective
purchasers ("BFPPs"), or innocent landowners ("ILOs")
must meet to qualify for the liability limitations provided in the
Brownfields Law. In addition, the Agency issued guidance on the
definition of eligible response site provided in the law and how
EPA plans to implement its authorities to exclude particular sites
from the definition of an eligible response site. Both guidance
documents clarify how EPA intends to use its enforcement discretion
in specific situations not to pursue certain potentially liable
parties. Links to the EPA Website addresses containing these guidance
documents are provided below.
- Regional Determinations Regarding Which Sites are Not "Eligible Response Sites" under CERCLA Section 101(41)(C)(i), as Added by the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (PDF) (11 pp, 384K)
- Interim
Enforcement Discretion Guidance Regarding Contiguous Property
Owners (PDF) (11 pp, 88K)
- Interim Guidance Regarding Criteria Landowners Must Meet in Order to Qualify for Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser, Contiguous Property Owner, or Innocent Landowner Limitations on CERCLA Liability (PDF) (22 pp, 366K)
- Interim
Guidance on the Municipal Solid Waste Exemption Under CERCLA ยง
107(p) (32 pp, 1.3M)
- Interim Enforcement Discretion Policy Concerning "Windfall
Liens" Under Section 107(r) of CERCLA
- Windfall Liens Interim Guidance Document (32 pp, 1.2M)
July 2003 - Windfall Liens Guidance: Frequently Asked Questions (4 pp, 157K)
July 2003
- Windfall Liens Interim Guidance Document (32 pp, 1.2M)
- Revitalizing Contaminated Sites: Addressing Liability Concerns (The Revitalization Handbook)
- Brownfields
Policy and Guidance documents from EPA Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance
-
EPA issued guidance outlining its policy of not suing property owners
for groundwater contamination of an aquifer underlying the property
if the owner did not cause or contribute to the contamination.
- Memorandum and Directive (10 pp, 64K)
[ HTML (20K) ]
Prospective Purchasers Agreements Guidance
- Bona Fide Prospective Purchasers and the New Amendments
to CERCLA. EPA issued guidance that stated that EPA believes that,
in most cases, the Brownfields Amendments make PPAs from the federal
government unnecessary. The following discussion describes when,
primarily because of significant public benefit, EPA will consider
providing a prospective purchaser with a covenant not to sue now
that the Brownfields Amendments are law.
-
Memorandum (5 pp, 40K)
[ HTML (26K) ]
May 31, 2002
Guidance on Agreements with Prospective Purchasers of Contaminated Property
- EPA issued guidance outlining situations under which the
Agency may enter into an agreement not to file a lawsuit against
a purchaser of property that was contaminated prior to the purchase.
-
Directive (24 pp, 151K)
[ HTML (44K) ]
May 1995
Model Comfort Letter Clarifying NPL Listing, Uncontaminated Parcel Identifications, and CERCLA Liability Involving Transfers of Federally Owned Property
- EPA issued this model comfort letter clarifying common
myths about NPL listing and CERCLA liability, and highlights certain
provisions concerning the transfer of Federally owned properties.
-
Memorandum (2 pp, 6K)
[ HTML (3K) ]
August 1995 -
Guidance (5 pp, 16K)
[ HTML (12K) ]
January 1996 -
Memorandum on Military Base Closures (4 pp, 19K)
[ HTML (9K) ]
April 1994
Policy on the Issuance of Comfort/Status Letters
- The "Policy on the Issuance of Comfort/Status Letters"
is designed primarily to assist parties who seek to cleanup and
reuse brownfields. EPA headquarters and regional offices often receive
requests from parties for some level of "comfort" that
if they purchase, develop, or operate on brownfield property, EPA
will not pursue them for the costs to clean up any contamination
resulting from the previous use. The majority of the concerns raised
by these parties can be addressed through the dissemination of information
known by EPA about a specific property and an explanation of what
the information means to EPA.
-
Memorandum (2 pp, 6K)
[ HTML ]
November 12, 1996 -
Fact Sheet (1 pg, 7K)
[ HTML (3K) ]
November 12, 1996 -
Policy (18 pp, 61K)
[ HTML (53K) ]
November 12, 1996
- As part of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Bill
for Fiscal Year 1997 signed by President Clinton on September 30,
Congress enacted the Asset Conservation, Lender Liability, and Deposit
Insurance Protection Act of 1996 (the "Act"). The Act
includes lender and fiduciary liability amendments to CERCLA, amendments
to the secured creditor exemption set forth in Subtitle I of RCRA,
and validation of the portion of the CERCLA Lender Liability Rule
that addresses involuntary acquisitions by government entities.
The amendments made by the Act apply to all claims not finally adjudicated
as of September 30, 1996, which include all cases that are in the
process of being settled.
- HR3610; Sections 2501-2505 (9 pp, 157K)
[ HTML (20k) ]
September 30, 1996
Underground Storage Tank (UST) Lender Liability Rule
-
EPA promulgated this rule clarifying when a lender may be exempt
from UST liability.
- [ HTML ]
September 7, 1995