Source: Gloucester Daily Times (MA), February 8, 2014 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com An Essex-based demolition company has been ordered by the state Attorney General’s Office to pay up to $125,000 in civil penalties to resolve allegations of improper handling and disposal of asbestos during the demolition of a building in Worcester. According to the complaint, filed […]

Source: Dow Jones News Service, February 11, 2014 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com A private inspection of a chemical-storage facility three months before a spill there contaminated the water supply found that tanks at the site fell short of fully complying with federal standards, a federal official said Monday. But the particular tank that leaked an estimated […]

Source: http://www.alaskadispatch.com, February 6, 2014 By: Dermot Cole Flint Hills Resources of Wichita, Kan., bought the North Pole refinery near Fairbanks, Alaska, on April 1, 2004 from the Williams Companies of Tulsa, Okla. Both sides knew that sulfolane pollution existed in the groundwater beneath the 240-acre site. Beyond that, they agree on little else about […]

Source: http://www.mondaq.com, February 7, 2014 By: Stan Martin, Duane Morris LLP Diesel fuel is spilled during renovation of a library, damaging both the work in progress and the surrounding building or land.  Damages may exceed $500,000, but the owner’s pollution coverage is apparently limited to $5,000.  Is the owner barred from pursuing the contractor and […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, January 16, 2014 By: Franklin R. Cragle, III, Hirschler Fleisher In recent years, insurers have begun adding insurance policy riders limiting their obligations in the event of mold.  Such an issue was litigated in Moore v. Safeco Ins. Co. of America, 2013 WL 6489955 (9th Cir. 2013).  In Moore, Safeco had issued a homeowners policy.  […]

Source: http://www.businessinsurance.com, February 6, 2014 By: Judy Greenwald W.R. Grace & Co. has paid more than $63 million to the U.S. government under its bankruptcy reorganization plan to resolve environmental cleanup claims at 39 sites in 21 states. The settlement, announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency, has been part […]

Source: http://blogs.courier-journal.com, February 6, 2014 By: James Bruggers Two sites in Kentucky are part of a $63 million bankruptcy settlement involving W.R. Grace & Co, based in Columbia, Md., and the U.S. government, over environmental claims. In all, the settlement involves 39 sites in 21 states. “Cleaning up toxic pollution in communities is the responsibility of […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, January 31, 2014 By: Stephen M. Prignano and Nora A. Valenza-Frost, Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP Construction defect litigation continues to escalate in jurisdictions around the country. As a result, coverage for defective work and ensuing property damage is often sought under various forms of insurance. Occasionally, such claims arise in the first-party context, […]

Source: http://www.businessinsurance.com, January 31, 2014 A Canadian National Railway Co. train carrying fuel oil and other hazardous materials derailed and was leaking in southeast Mississippi on Friday, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents, officials said. No one was injured in the incident which involved the derailment of 21 railcars, eight of which have spilled their […]

Source: http://www.peninsuladailynews.com, February 2, 2014 By: Paul Gottlieb The process leading to cleanup of the abandoned Peninsula Plywood mill site on the city’s waterfront is moving faster than anticipated. The prime but polluted 19-acre site could undergo cleanup in 2015 rather than 2017, as projected earlier by the state Department of Ecology, port Director of […]

Source: http://wislawjournal.com, January 14, 2014 By: Wisconsin Law Journal Staff Wisconsin Court of Appeals Civil Insurance — pollution exclusions This is an insurance coverage dispute concerning a pollution exclusion commonly found in commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policies. Tina and Frederick Preisler filed suit against Kuettel’s Septic Service, LLC; 4 D-K Farm; Duke, Cheryl, Dale, […]

Source: The Salem News (MA), February 1, 2014 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com The owner of the former Crease and Cook Tannery Superfund site in Danvers has agreed to pay nearly $400,000 to settle allegations that he failed to address contamination on the property. The attorney general’s office announced yesterday that as part of a consent judgment, […]