Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed 2019 budget originally proposed the elimination of an important sales tax exemption that allows certain customers of Energy Service Companies (“ESCOs”) to receive electric and gas supply without paying transmission and distribution sales tax. Currently, nonresidential default utility customers pay sales tax on both commodity and delivery, while nonresidential ESCO customers…

Over the past few months the intersection of religious principles and environmental protection has become a topic of public dialogue. Religious beliefs have also been invoked in recent cases seeking to block pipeline projects or protect endangered species. Even more recently, the press has reported on statements by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt which suggest that…

On March 6, 2018, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals modified its 2017 ruling in American Petroleum Institute v. EPA, No. 09-1038, concerning US EPA’s Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) Rule under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which defines when hazardous recyclable materials are excluded from regulation as hazardous waste.  The end result of this modified ruling is to relax the standards for legitimate (as opposed to “sham”) recycling and to extend the DSW Rule’s exclusions to spent petroleum refinery catalysts (K171 and K172 listed hazardous wastes).

A strong chemical manufacturing sector is at the heart of every successful economy. In the UK, the sector contributes £18 billion a year to the economy, employs 500,000 people and has £50 billion worth of exports – the largest of any manufacturing sector. Most importantly, 60% of these exports go to the EU and 75%…

­An important consideration for purchasers of US commercial property is establishing Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser (“BFPP”) liability protection to mitigate the risk of liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et. seq.   Because the current owner of a property where a release of hazardous substances has occurred may be liable under CERCLA for the costs of responding to the release simply by virtue of having acquired title to the property (even if the owner was not aware of the release), obtaining status as a BFPP is a valuable safeguard against CERCLA liability since the protection can apply even if the purchaser had knowledge of existing contamination at the time of acquisition.

Although there are several requirements that must be met to achieve BFPP status, one of the less-discussed BFPP requirements is having “no affiliation” with a liable party.[1]  While this may seem a fairly straightforward concept, purchasers can create unnecessary risks by failing to give this requirement due consideration.