As we grapple with the human and personal effects of COVID-19, the pandemic is forcing companies to closely examine their corporate insurance programs to determine where, if at all, coverage can provide some relief to the economic losses that COVID-19 will cause.   One of the best places to start is by reviewing your pollution legal liability (PLL) policies, which may have been placed recently, or as long as 10 years ago, but which may provide coverage for some elements […]

Health-care workers and emergency responders will benefit from rules eased in some states around workers’ compensation that will allow them to collect benefits if they can prove they caught Covid-19 on the job. Some say essential workers like grocery store employees and delivery workers also should qualify. But employers need to be aware of the […]

The Kalispel Tribe joined multiple other jurisdictions across the country Monday, filing a major lawsuit over water contamination due to cancer-causing chemicals in firefighting foam. The tribe and Northern Quest Casino are plaintiffs in the claim, filed in federal court. They list damages of $21 million. Read more.…

A case that has bounced around the lower courts for 13 years was finally settled yesterday when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision, finding oil giant Citgo liable for a clean up of a 2004 oil spill in the Delaware River, according to Reuters. The spill stemmed from a collision that the Athos […]

The laborers, deemed “essential” by New York, work side by side, often sharing portable toilets that rarely have soap or hand sanitizer. On the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where, like most New Yorkers, residents are largely staying home as the city reels from the coronavirus pandemic, construction workers building a luxury condominium tower are […]

As the Coronavirus losses mount, a burning question for many businesses concerns the insurance coverage available to ease these losses. Insurance companies can be expected to push back, disclaim coverage and point to exclusions. But coverage exists for various forms of loss from this pandemic. A review of typical insurance policies held by businesses shows […]

The Port of Astoria is nearing the settlement of a multidecade argument on how to clean up historical petroleum contamination along the central waterfront. The Port Commission will likely vote at its next meeting to accept a $2.9 million settlement with McCall Oil & Chemical Corp. and ExxonMobil. The other option is to take the […]

We are all currently experiencing turbulent economic conditions and uncertainties that may last for the foreseeable future. In light of this uncertainty, we remind property owners, lenders, and managers, as well as landlords and tenants, to identify both potential environmental risks and valuable environmental assets associated with a property or tenant.  Identifying these potential liabilities […]

A recent report from the Pentagon says it may take decades to remove toxic “forever chemicals” from the water supply near military bases following a surge in the number of sites with suspected contamination. The Defense Department now has 651 sites it suspects could be contaminated with PFAS, a class of chemicals used in a […]

Recent testing shows the groundwater at Miami Dade College’s North Campus is contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). That water is treated and circulated throughout parts of Miami-Dade County. Despite the test results, the county says its tap water is safe to drink, reported the Miami New Times.…

Federal environmental regulators have fined the mining company Asarco for failing to do enough to control hazardous dust at its copper smelter in southeastern Arizona. The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that Asarco paid $33,000 in penalties. The agency said the company hadn’t complied with a plan to control windblown dust containing lead and other […]

The military now has at least 651 sites that have been contaminated with cancer-linked “forever chemicals,” a more than 50 percent jump from its last tally. The information was released Friday in a report from the Department of Defense (DOD), part of a task force designed to help the military remove a class of chemicals known […]