Environmental Law: A Comprehensive Guide to CERCLA RCRA the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act

80 questions on environmental law, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Are attorney's fees recoverable as CERCLA response costs?
• Are environmental indemnities enforceable under CERCLA?
• Can a buyer of contaminated land be liable for contamination it did not cause?
• Can a CERCLA defendant avoid joint and several liability by proving divisibility?
• Can a citizen sue for past environmental violations that have stopped?
• Can a PRP challenge EPA's choice of remedy in court?
• Can a PRP that cleans up voluntarily sue other PRPs under CERCLA?
• Can I recover past cleanup costs under RCRA?
• Does a settlement under a non-CERCLA statute start the CERCLA contribution clock?
• Does CERCLA affect the statute of limitations on state-law toxic tort claims?
• Does CERCLA cover gasoline and petroleum contamination?
• Does the Clean Water Act reach discharges that travel through groundwater?
• How are CERCLA cleanup costs allocated among responsible parties?
• How are environmental civil penalties calculated?
• How can a buyer lose BFPP status after closing?
• How do CERCLA, RCRA, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act differ in what they ask?
• How do environmental citizen suits work?
• How does deal structure affect environmental liability?
• How does environmental enforcement escalate?
• How does PFAS regulation affect CERCLA liability?
• How does the Clean Air Act work?
• How does the section 404 dredge-and-fill permit program work?
• How do state tort theories vary in environmental cases?
• How do you determine whether something is a hazardous waste under RCRA?
• How has NEPA practice changed recently?
• How has the Supreme Court limited EPA's authority over greenhouse gases?
• How is federal environmental law structured?
• How is RCRA structurally different from CERCLA?
• How much power does a state have over federal permits through section 401 certification?
• How should a lawyer read a Phase I environmental site assessment?
• If a wetland is not federally jurisdictional, can I fill it?
• If I have both a section 107 and a section 113 claim, can I choose?
• In what postures does environmental law typically arise in practice?
• Is passive migration of contamination a "disposal" under CERCLA?
• Is sham recycling arranger liability under CERCLA?
• Is there a federal common law of environmental nuisance?
• May EPA consider costs when setting air quality standards?
• Should I still cite Chevron deference in an environmental case?
• What are a hazardous waste generator's obligations under RCRA?
• What are "all appropriate inquiries" under CERCLA?
• What are the CERCLA section 107(b) defenses, and why do they rarely work?
• What are the elements of a CERCLA section 107 cost recovery claim?
• What are the most common traps in environmental practice?
• What are the RCRA mixture and derived-from rules?
• What are the three levels of NEPA review?
• What are the two types of RCRA citizen suits?
• What are "waters of the United States" after Sackett v. EPA?
• What did Burlington Northern hold about arranger liability?
• What did Cooper Industries v. Aviall decide?
• What did Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy decide about "modification"?
• What does a well-structured contaminated-property acquisition look like?
• What does "imminent and substantial endangerment" mean under RCRA?
• What does NEPA actually require?
• What four questions should I ask when an environmental issue arises?
• What in environmental law must be verified rather than remembered?
• What is a bona fide prospective purchaser under CERCLA?
• What is a de minimis settlement under CERCLA?
• What is a "hazardous substance" under CERCLA?
• What is a point source, and why does the Clean Water Act mostly miss agricultural runoff?
• What is a Title V operating permit?
• What is New Source Review and what triggers it?
• What is the CERCLA windfall lien?
• What is the core prohibition of the Clean Water Act?
• What is the difference between CERCLA section 107 cost recovery and section 113 contribution?
• What is the difference between the innocent landowner defense and BFPP status?
• What is the most common RCRA violation?
• What is the NPDES permit shield?
• What is the orphan share at a Superfund site?
• What is the parallel proceeding trap in environmental matters?
• What is the responsible corporate officer doctrine in environmental law?
• What kind of liability does CERCLA impose?
• What limits does an NPDES permit contain?
• What must an environmental plaintiff show to have standing?
• When does an environmental violation become a crime?
• When is a parent corporation liable for contamination at its subsidiary's site?
• Where do you file a challenge to an EPA Clean Air Act action?
• Who are the four classes of potentially responsible parties under CERCLA?
• Why are old general liability insurance policies valuable in environmental deals?
• Why did Congress design CERCLA to be so harsh?
• Why should a PRP settle early with EPA?