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Contaminated Lands
The discovery of contamination in soil, water or sediments can mean that liable parties are in for a long and expensive process of investigation, remediation and, possibly, litigation. Although the law and science relating to contaminated lands has advanced dramatically since CERCLA was enacted in 1980, new issues and challenges are constantly surfacing. Fortunately, new opportunities are emerging for managing risks, limiting costs and obtaining reimbursement.
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The Stoel Rives Contaminated Lands Team has been helping clients resolve contamination issues for more than 20 years at a broad range of sites: National Priority List Superfund sites, multiparty landfill sites, regional drinking water sources, RCRA corrective action sites, mines, sediments and surface water, radioactive materials sites and routine UST cleanups. Our clients include chemical plants, manufacturing plants, forest products mills, ports, petroleum companies, large PRP groups and real estate developers. We have extensive experience helping clients with the remediation process, litigating cost recovery claims and controlling the risks associated with buying and selling contaminated property.
Results-Oriented Approach
We begin with the premise that most problem sites can be responsibly addressed in ways that are far less expensive than the protocols generally followed by consultants and environmental agencies. We help clients to develop cost effective strategies and to implement those strategies within the client's team and through agency negotiations. The process favored by regulatory agencies and many consultants is highly linear with extremely detailed and prescriptive steps. In contrast, we emphasize a results-oriented perspective and development of a clear strategy for achieving the desired resolution.
Grounded in Science
We understand the science of contamination and cleanups. Our attorneys are deeply involved in the risk assessment process, helping the client team focus on truly important data gaps and risk management strategies that will lead to more cost-effective decisions. Well-versed in the technical information about each site, we can confidently challenge conclusions that do not appear to be supported by sound logic or fact. Very early in the process, we encourage the client team to develop a working model of the important risks at the site, along with an analysis of how those risks can be most cost-effectively remediated. The team can then focus on the collection and analysis of data to test and support that model, rather than collecting comprehensive data for the sake of fully characterizing all aspects of the site.
Emphasize Cost Recovery
Even when investigation and remediation are cost-effectively conducted, it remains an unwanted expense. To maximize cost recovery, we regularly assist clients with claims against other parties and against their insurers. While we emphasize settlement strategies and alternative dispute resolution whenever possible, we are fully prepared to litigate. Our environmental litigators have successfully prosecuted and defended cost recovery claims for many clients, and they have successfully pursued insurers for both defense costs and indemnification. We also defend the toxic tort claims that often follow contaminated sites. The scope of our environmental litigation experience enables us to efficiently and effectively prepare formidable cases.
Enhance Property Values
We bring all our contaminated lands experience to the table when advising clients that are buying or selling contaminated property. We have helped clients develop and negotiate creative risk allocation terms to facilitate transactions, and we have also negotiated insurance products to further reduce transactional risk. We have negotiated numerous prospective purchaser agreements with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and many state agencies. And we frequently work with clients that acquire brownfield properties for redevelopment and have assisted clients in obtaining grants and other forms of financing for brownfield redevelopment projects.
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