Source: http://www.lexology.com, May 19, 2014 By: Paul D. Meosky, Hodgson Russ LLP As school populations shift, it may become necessary for school districts to consider closing and attempting to sell or lease school buildings and grounds. Amid all of the political, financial, and community issues involved with decisions to close and sell or lease former […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, May 19, 2014 By: Michael Weller and Heather Palmer, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken its first official step toward creating a federal regulatory program that would require disclosure and reporting concerning chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process.  On May 9, 2014, EPA released an Advanced Notice […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, May 17, 2014 By: Carl A. Salisbury, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP During the past twelve months, five State Supreme Courts have considered whether faulty workmanship of a construction contractor can constitute a covered “occurrence” under the present version of the standard Commercial General Liability insurance policy.  All five of them ruled in […]

Source: http://www.mondaq.com, May 21, 2014 By: Jennifer Dotson and Anna Y. Boureiko On April 22, 2014, after a two-and-a-half week trial, a Dallas County Court at Law entered a final judgment on a split jury verdict awarding $2.925 million to Texas family, Bob and Lisa Parr from Decatur, against Barnett Shale operator, Aruba Petroleum, Inc., […]

Source: http://www.southcoasttoday.com, May 21, 2014 By: Robert Barboza The Town of Westport and the Westport Community Schools announced in a May 13 press release that it has filed a lawsuit against Monsanto Company, the manufacturer of the building products containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) used in the construction of the Westport Middle School. The town is […]

Source: http://www.propertycasualty360.com, May 1, 2014 By: Michael Voelker As construction heats up, producer opportunity abounds in selling cover for enlarged vehicle fleets, as well as CGL and E&O protection against defaults. But the hiring of inexperienced workers and rehiring of long-absent ones spur new claims. While a recovery in residential construction has outpaced the nonresidential […]

Source: LaGrange Daily News (GA), May 19, 2014 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com County officials are concerned about a corporate-owned waste-water treatment facility seeking a five-year extension from the state. County Manager Tod Tentler said the state Environmental Protection Division is about to consider a five-year renewal for a facility on Whitesville Road near Interstate 85 owned […]

Source: The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), May 17, 2014 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Aqua Virginia Inc. is facing a state enforcement action and a fine for violations at its Lake Land’Or wastewater treatment plant in Caroline County. That’s according to a consent order proposed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. A consent order is a […]

Source: http://www.insurancejournal.com, May 19, 2014 By: Samantha Evans Solar panels are quickly becoming a fixture in our everyday lives. Comprised of photovoltaic cells, solar panels harness and convert the sun’s energy into usable electricity otherwise generated by the use of oil, coal and “dirtier” fossil fuels. The environmental benefits associated with solar panels cannot mask […]

Source: http://www.buffalonews.com, May 17, 2014 By: Jerry Zremski Is fracking a health and environmental hazard? The dread is real, but scientists say the truth is more complex – and murky For Lou Hancherick, who lives in the countryside amid picturesque hillside vistas and gas wells 30 miles north of Pittsburgh, the dangers of fracking came […]

Source: http://www.businessinsurance.com, May 15, 2014 A malfunction at an oil pipeline pump station spewed crude as high as 40 feet over an industrial area of Los Angeles on Thursday, covering an open lot and the roof of a strip club beside it, and sickening people at a nearby medical building. The spill was 10,000 gallons […]

Source: http://www.thecitywire.com, May 14, 2014 By: Ryan Saylor An area of highly contaminated soil at the former Whirlpool manufacturing facility has the company’s environmental consultants proposing not just chemical oxidation treatments, as previously approved by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, but removal of soil contaminated by potentially cancer-causing trichloroethylene (TCE). And while the information […]