Inheriting contaminated property can mean inheriting a multi-million-dollar cleanup obligation – and under both federal and state law, new owners are strictly liable whether or not they caused the pollution.
This presentation will examine key liability pitfalls under CERCLA and California environmental law, explore trust drafting strategies designed to protect fiduciaries and heirs, and provide a step-by-step framework for structuring a voluntary ‘self-help’ cleanup that minimizes risk and positions the property for regulatory closure.
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SpeakerKurt Ketchum
Partner | FBT Gibbons
Legal and Technical Realities Developers Can’t Ignore
Brownfield redevelopment promises significant opportunity – but navigating the legal, regulatory, and technical hurdles between a contaminated site and a shovel-ready project demands careful planning at every stage.
This presentation will examine liability protections available to prospective purchasers, financing and insurance tools that make contaminated-site deals pencil out, and the technical realities of cleanup timelines and regulatory closure that every developer needs to understand before breaking ground.
What You Need to Know Now
Infill development sits at the intersection of environmental law, public health policy, and intense political scrutiny – and the stakes for getting it wrong have never been higher.
This presentation will examine how vapor intrusion concerns are reshaping site assessment and remediation requirements, where CEQA creates hidden exposure for developers and lead agencies, and how to anticipate and manage the community and regulatory dynamics that increasingly define whether a project moves forward – or stalls.
