Source: https://www.centralmaine.com, December 15, 2015 By: Lauren Abbate At the second public hearing on the ongoing environmental cleanup, a Maine Department of Environmental Protection representative proposed two possible means of remediation. WILTON — The town of Wilton has two realistic options for the environmental cleanup of the Forster Mill site, but both come with a […]

Source: http://www.sfreporter.com, December 18, 2015 By: Elizabeth Miller Plan for chromium plume aims to stop shift, but holds off on broader remedy More than 40 years after contaminated water was dumped into canyons around Los Alamos and nine years after they started studying the problem, the US Department of Energy now has a short-term strategy for […]

Source: http://trib.com, December 18, 2015 By: Benjamin Storrow A 30-month state investigation costing more than $900,000 concludes fracking is unlikely to have contaminated drinking water east of Pavillion but leaves many other questions unresolved about the role natural gas operations may have played in polluting the water. Samples taken from 13 water wells in 2014 […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, December 18, 2015 By: Richard C. Bennett, Cozen O’Connor Courts in a number of American states, notably California, have found that pollution exclusions in first-party policies are “inherently ambiguous” and that the purpose of such provisions is “to address liability arising from traditional environmental pollution, and not ‘ordinary acts of negligence involving harmful […]

Source: http://www.stripes.com, December 17, 2015 By: Travis J. Tritten WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs said Thursday it plans to cover eight diseases newly linked to toxic contaminants once found in drinking water at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Veterans who served at the Marine Corps between 1953 and 1987 could be eligible for medical care […]

Source: http://www.pamplinmedia.com, December 17, 2015 By: Joseph Gallivan Cleaning up 100 years of toxic sludge in the Willamette riverbed could cost anything from tens of millions to a couple of billion dollars, according to experts. However, who will pay for the costly cleanup, no one knows yet. Interested parties on a panel called “Portland Harbor […]

By: Eileen Escudero Wisor, New Day Underwriting Managers LLC New and potentially costly concerns come to the surface for redevelopment and property transactions. Long time in the making, EPA released its final vapor intrusion guidance document in June 2015. Vapor intrusion is the migration of hazardous vapor from contaminated soil or groundwater into the indoor […]

By: Maydelis Torres, New Day Underwriting Managers LLC Many markets now provide Environmental Casualty coverage.  The combination offering of general liability, pollution, automobile and umbrella liability continues to grow. As the market expands, new customers are taking advantage of this innovative way to cover their exposures. Two key exposures that these polices are meant to […]

Source: http://xlcatlin.com, November 23, 2015 Legionella bacteria are one of the top three causes of non-epidemic, community-acquired pneumonia, and are cited as the indoor building contaminant bacteria most likely to result in mortality. Legionella bacteria are found naturally in the environment, usually in warm water. People breathe mists or water vapor that is contaminated with […]

Source: http://www.riskandinsurance.com, December 14, 2015 By: Steve Yahn Legionella remains a costly and deadly foe in real estate, hospitality and other sectors of the economy. Periodic large outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, like the one that occurred in New York City this summer, grab a lot of headlines, but in fact many lesser-known cases of the […]

Source: http://www.constructionrisk.com, January 2011 By: J. Kent Holland A $50,000 Limitation of Liability clause in a contract was enforced by the Georgia Court of Appeals in a case where a developer sued an architect for breach of contract and negligence when a retaining wall designed by the architect failed.   The architect’s motion for partial summary […]

Source: http://www.jdsupra.com, December 15, 2015 By: Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP In its recent decision in John Sexton Sand & Gravel Corp. v. Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166699 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 11, 2015), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois had occasion […]