Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 A large Financial Institution (FI) entered into a settlement agreement where the FI agreed to reimburse the USEPA for $1.28 million in removal costs incurred at a former wood processing facility. The FI was the successor to the trustee who had held title to the property while the […]

Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 Recently, a large Financial Institution (FI) was forced to pay the USEPA $80,000 in past response costs. These costs were incurred by the USEPA to remove hazardous waste drums at the facility of a defunct borrower. The FI conducted an auction of equipment and inventory, but left behind […]

Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 A former mill site was being redeveloped into a condominium complex. The original mill structure was to he preserved while the interior of the building was gutted and renovated. The site was located within a former industrial area and was built on top of historic fill. Additionally, the […]

Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 While performing due diligence in the course of selling an apartment building, the owner of the apartment building learned that an underground plume of contaminants from a neighboring property had impacted their site, resulting in vapor intrusion into several of their buildings. Unfortunately, the source of the plume […]

Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 During the process of divesting an apartment property, the due diligence investigation revealed a tenant who had been arrested on illegal gun sale charges and suspected methamphetamine manufacture and sale. Despite the fact that the unit had been repainted several times, environmental testing confirmed that it was tainted […]

Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 An owner of an apartment complex constructed in 1998 discovered that the apartment was built on previously contaminated property. The historical use of the site included a gas station. Prior to construction of the apartment complex, the Underground Storage Tanks were removed and 22,000 tons of contaminated soil […]

Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 A General Contractor (GC) was renovating an older apartment building when their flooring subcontractor noticed that there was old tile underlying a plywood subfloor. During the initial process of ripping up the subfloor, some of the tile underneath was disturbed. The project vas stopped in order to test […]

Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 A Street and Road Contractor was excavating soil in an active intersection for the purpose of replacing storm water inlet boxes. During the course of the work the excavator overheated and caught fire. The ensuing fire severely damaged the excavator releasing its hydraulic fluids and diesel fuel. Water […]

Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 A municipal garbage company maintained a contract with a public entity for waste pickup and composting services. While in the midst of loading waste from a dumpster on a commercial property, a container with an unknown liquid was encountered resulting in a spill from the insured’s vehicle onto […]

Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 During construction of a new office building, an excavation contractor collected several tons of contaminated soil for off-site disposal. Unbeknownst to the driver of one of the dump trucks, the rear dump gate of his truck was ajar allowing soil to spill throughout the trip before being pulled […]

Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 While working at a shopping center, an employee of a janitorial company inadvertently mixed ammonia and chlorine based cleaning products. The mixture resulted in a toxic cloud of ammonia chloride that caused respiratory distress in dozens of shoppers and a shut-down of the center for a period of […]

Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013 A redevelopment project was underway where all existing structures were being razed and the site was to be re-graded. During demolition activities, the General Contractor punctured an unknown heating oil tank. Residual heating oil was still located within the tank and was released when the tank was punctured. […]