He asked if there was a certain amount of acres you had to own and how many deer you could tag with a landowner tag. As the owner, and possibly operator, of the contaminated property. Contiguous property owner, or innocent landowner limitations on cercla liability common elements guidance issued by epa on march 6, 2003. Cpo, or innocent landowner ilo, must meet certain threshold criteria and satisfy certain continuing obligations to maintain its status as an eligible borrower.
The innocent landowner provisions provide an affirmative defense when a person meets the requirements of the cercla 107b3 thirdparty defense 16and the criteria set forth in cercla 105. Theres more to life than just work let the aba help balance your personal life with tips on wellness, relationships, worklife balance. If research for evidence of a legal lot proves that a lot was not created legally, customers should see kcc title 19a. Postclosing concerns and tenant issues update page 4 operatorliability imposed under this section. Status of the brownfields amendments landowner liability protections by irving w. As indicated in our latest blog post, here, on us epas adoption of the new astm e1527 standard practice for environmental site assessments. These parties may be considered innocent landowners under many state laws if. The program provides a process for current owners and operators of property to be certified as innocent, when they can sufficiently demonstrate that their property has been. The 1998 farm bill which authorizes the annualized collection of forest resource data prevents us from disseminating information that can be associated with a specific landowner. Epa issues guidance on new cercla landowner defenses. New phase i requirements for real estate transactions.
Cercla and tenants as bona fide prospective purchasers. The innocent landowner defense under superfund richard h. Environmental liability in real estate lou tulga, ccim crb 4 hour course outline. In general, this requires a showing that an unrelated party was the sole cause of the contamination and damage and that the landowner guarded against the foreseeable acts and omissions of the responsible party. In 2002, congress enacted the brownfields amendments, which amended the comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act cercla, commonly known as superfund by adding new landowner liability protections and clarifying the existing innocent landowner protection and by providing funding for grants for the assessment and.
They participate in such programs as science fair judging, classroom outreach, job fairs, museum events, and jamborees. Study 20 terms modern real estate practice unit 21. Bona fide prospective purchaser defense under cercla. It is a partnership between chris kelleher and david erckman. The farreaching effects of the nations hazardous waste laws have become legendary. It is a criminal offense to release data that can be linked to a specific landowner. Enforcement discretion guidance regarding statutory. The third exempts the bona fide prospective purchaser from owner and operator liability despite preacquisition awareness of contamination on the property, if certain conditions are met. Environmental amendments will affect transactions involving real. Pdf innocent landowner programs and their effects on. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. An innocent owner defense is a concept in united states law providing for an affirmative defense that applies when an owner claims that they are innocent of a crime and so their property should not be forfeited.
The claimant shall have the burden of proving that the claimant is an innocent owner by a preponderance of the evidence. Pitts t his edition of environment and the appraiser examines the growing use of state programs that protect owners or purchasers of properties that may be impacted by environmental contamination. Landowner liability this note examines cerclas scope of landowner liability, the innocent landowner defense and the effect of the defense on real estate transactions. The airport improvement program aip funds acquisition of land around airports for aeronautical use. Jun 27, 2012 landowner if there is new hazardous substance contamination for which he is responsible cercla 101 40a mem. Persons who meet the cercla 10140 criteria and the cercla 107r criteria. Epa is taking direct final action to amend the standards and practices for all appropriate inquiries to update an existing reference to a standard practice recently revised by astm international, a widely recognized standards development organization. Bona fide prospective purchasers superfund liability defense. In order to meet the statutory criteria of the innocent landowner liability protection, however, a person must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the act or omission that caused the release or threat of release of hazardous substances and the resulting damages were caused by a. Environmental due diligence in real property transactions.
Innocent landowner status as a defense to liability the innocentlandowner defense evolved over three enactments. The innocent purchaser defense and offense in the lsrp era. Agreement and release of liability in consideration for being permitted to utilize the land, facilities and equipment owned by. Epa issues guidance on new cercla landowner defenses last december, congress amended the comprehensive environmental response, compensation and liability act cercla or superfund to modify the innocent landowner defense and to add liability exemptions for bona fide prospective purchasers bfpps and. The innocent landowner defense, while not titled as such, is a term of art that has been coined by commentators and practitioners. Full powerpoint slide presentation along with selected video clips and break out group discussion. Epa issues guidance interpreting scope of new cercla defenses. Status of the brownfields amendments landowner liability. Indiana brownfields program comfortsite status letter. The affirmative defense of an innocent landowner versus the. Liability clarification letters comfort and site status letters. Model state action comfort status letter repowering americas land initiative 12512 model document comfort status letter regarding statelead sites and renewable energy development. Comfortsite status letter request submittal checklist please complete this checklist and submit it with your request along with all supporting documentation to ensure your request is complete. The basics of illicit discharges storm drain a storm drain can be either an enclosed pipe or an open channel.
Start studying modern real estate practice unit 21. Innocent landowners and prospective purchasers under the. This section, which is read in conjunction with the thirdparty defense in 42 u. Phase i environmental site assessment process, us epa has taken the step necessary to make it clear that the 20 phase i standard should dictate future landowner efforts to meet the.
The innocent purchaser defense and offense in the lsrp era new jersey should look to massachusetts for guidance on refining program. New landowners may be held liable under a variety of. He asked me today what the rules or specifications are as far as using landowner tags to tag your deer. Phase i environmental site assessment process contaminants comprehensive environmental response, compensation and liability act epa. Contiguous property owners, or innocent landowners. The innocent owneroperator program iop was created to implement texas health and safety code thsc, chapter 361, subchapter v, which became effective on sept. Permission to hunt on private land form to be retained by the hunter according to ic 14. Compensation and liability act cercla or superfund to modify the innocent landowner. The brownfields study group was created in 1998 at the direction of the governor and state legislature, to evaluate wisconsins current brownfields initiatives and recommend changes, as well as propose additional incentives for the cleanup and reuse of abandoned or underused properties with real or perceived contamination. Request innocent spouse relief using form 8857 internal. Every phase i environmental site assessment conducted with epa brownfields assessment grant funds must be conducted in compliance with the aai final rule at 40 cfr part 312. The current status of public and private brownfields. Innocent landowners and prospective purchasers in the superfund act summary the superfund act contains several mechanisms that eliminate or contain liability, or reduce liabilityrelated transaction costs, normally incurred under the act by persons that acquire contaminated land. Many acquisitions are sizable in acreage and costs, and are usually adjacent to existing airport property.
Interim guidance regarding criteria landowners must meet in order to. Innocent spouse relief may also be available if you were a resident of a community property state see list of community property. E1527 standard practice for environmental site assessments. Common elements and other landowner liability guidance. Environmental protection agency epa or the agency is taking final action to amend the standards and practices for all appropriate inquiries to update an existing reference to a standard practice revised by astm international, a widely recognized standards development organization. The innocent landowner defense is a legal defense that can be asserted to restrict a property owners liability for cleaning up contaminati on and is intended to protect those who.
Cerclas strict liability scheme, as grounded solely on the status of a per. Section 9607b3, provides a defense for liability from hazardous. The 2002 brownfield amendments to the superfund law cercla provide a superfund liability defense for property owners who qualify as bona fide prospective purchasers of known contaminated property, as long as the property transaction was completed after january 11, 2002. Persons who purchased property prior to may 31, 1997, will qualify for the innocent landowner defense if they exercised good commercial and customary practices of due diligence at the time they purchased the property. Landowner liability protections enforcement us epa. Manufacturers, insurers, bankers, senior corporate managers, and even cleanup contractors now worry about their liability under cercla. The legal lot determination process may be used to provide a one time exemption to the subdivision requirements for an innocent purchaser. Bfpp status may be 4 cercla 105aii also discusses involuntary acquisitions for a unit of state or local government in the context of the innocent landowner defense pursuant to cercla 105a. It is defined in section 983d of title 18 of the united states code and is part of the code that defines forfeiture laws and more specifically the general rules for civil forfeiture. Attach a statement explaining why you qualify for relief. In addition, the act provides three landowner defenses to cercla liability. Pdf this article examines the growing use of state programs that protect owners or purchasers of properties that may be impacted by. If a hazardous substance is released, or threatened to be released.
Protection of the environment is in the forefront of american politics and national attention. The superfund liability defense for bona fide prospective purchasers. Alabama department of environmental management land division scrap tire program division 3354 1400 coliseum boulevard montgomery, alabama 361102059 334 2717700 cite as adem admin. A look at the current status of public and private brownfields redevelopment. The city of clinton selected this site as their number five priority site. Emerging contours of the cercla innocent purchaser defense.
Federal register amendment to standards and practices for. This can be particularly problematic when the person responsible for conducting the remediation is not the seller of the property and thus has no incentive to release the information. Airport land acquisition federal aviation administration. Epa, interim guidance regarding criteria landowners must meet in order to quality for bona fide prospective purchaser, contiguous property owner, or innocent landowner limitations on cercla liability common elements march 6, 2003 epa, bona fide prospective purchasers and the new amendments to cercla may 31, 2002 9. Two mechanisms use innocent landowner status innocent. In order to meet the statutory criteria of the innocent landowner liability protection, however, a person must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the act or omission that caused the release or threat of release of hazardous substances and the resulting damages were. Joint minerals, business and economic development interim committee a bill. Federal district court clarifies innocent landowner. Document has no release version edis electronic data.
Innocent landowner status as a defense to liability put most simply, the innocent landowner defense allows owners of contaminated property to escape cercla liability if the contamination was placed on the property before acquisition, and the landowner did not know, or have reason to know, at the time of acquisition of the contaminations presence. Further confusing matters is the fact that the reasonable steps obligation for the innocent landowner is in the section of that defense defining what constitutes reason to know. Landowner meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. The liability protections are for landowners tenants who qualify as.
The interim guidance regarding criteria landowners must meet in order to qualify for bona fide prospective purchasers, contiguous property owner, or innocent landowner limitations on cercla liability common elements, describes the overlapping threshold criteria and ongoing obligations that all three landowner types must meet and thus the. Superfund cleanup subject listing enforcement us epa. White paper qualify for the innocent landowner defense. To establish and preserve the innocent landowner defense, several requirements must be met. The epa guidance on landowner liability and the innocent. These landowner liability protections are selfimplementing and, therefore, epa generally will not need to be involved in sitespecific liability determinations. Cercla liability and local government acquisitions and. Mayst he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent proverbs 28. Federal district court clarifies innocent landowner defense. Whether in large metropolitan areas or small rural towns, our employees promote science through community engagement. Part i explores the circumstances that led to the enactment of cercla. Posted in transactions involving contaminated property. Epa issues guidance interpreting scope of new cercla.
Please indicate, as applicable, if the following items are. Innocent landowner programs and their effects on environmental risk and property value impacts by thomas o. Pursuant to the indiana department of environmental management idem nonrule policy document w0051, brownfields program comfort and site status letters policy april 18, 2003, the indiana brownfields program may issue a comfort or site status letter to stakeholders at. Llecture, pppowerpoint slides, vvideo clips and gegroup exercises. The innocent landowner defense is a legal defense that can be asserted to restrict a property owners liability for cleaning up contaminati on and is intended to protect those who own property aft er an impact has occurred. Please write your name and social security number on any attachments. Alaska is the only state without a law school, so for many clerks, the first true exposure to both alaska and alaskan law occurs when the clerkship begins. Interest reasonable steps comfortstatus letter attachment c to the 2003. Brownfields all appropriate inquiries brownfields us epa. Edis is the electronic data information source of ufifas extension, a collection of information on topics relevant to you.
The guidance does not state whether epa will limit familial. The innocent landowner provision does not contain similar no affiliation language. Innocent landowners and prospective purchasers in the. Epa gives new astm standard the nod in proposed rule.
Environmental due diligence in real property transactions robert l. The comprehensive environmental response, compensation and. I got a buddy interested in deer hunting recently and he is just starting out. Emerging contours of the cercla innocent purchaser defense g. Facing growing concern that the comprehen sive environmental response, compensation, and liability acts cercla statutory scheme stifled the purchase, financing, and redevelopment of property that was either contaminated. For purposes of epas common elements guidance and this reference sheet, innocent landowner refers only to unknowing purchasers as defined in cercla 105ai. Where to file mail your completed form 8857, request for innocent spouse relief, to one of the following addresses. An important means to achieve this goal is by cleanup and regulation of hazardous waste sites. All appropriate inquiries, or aai, is the process of evaluating a propertys environmental conditions and assessing potential liability for any contamination. Innocent owner defense law and legal definition uslegal. These include, but are not limited to the following. Innocent landowners are persons who can demonstrate, among other requirements, that they did not know and had no reason to know prior to purchasing a property that any hazardous substance that is the subject of a release or threatened release was disposed of on, in, or at the property.
The revitalization handbook addressing liability concerns at contaminated properties 121119 2019 edition of the revitalization handbook summarizes the federal statutory provisions and epa policy and guidance documents that address the potential liability concerns of parties involved in the cleanup and revitalization of contaminated sites. The innocent landowner defense was enacted in 1986 and appears in 42 u. Hek restaurants former hardees, 2107 camanche avenue, clinton, iowa. Any liable party may be required to cleanup all contamination at a site, even if that party only caused a small amount of the total contamination. Innocent landowner programs and their effects on environmental risk and property value impacts. Owner, or innocent landowner limitations on cercla liability 2003 interim. Astm e1527 standard practice for environmental site.
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