CERCLA Remediation & Lender Liability Protection

Lenders occupy a unique segment of the owner/operator liability regime ubiquitous in environmental law. Failure to navigate that segment correctly can lead to significant financial exposure.

Our environmental and natural resources team assists lenders at all phases of the business cycle: evaluating conditions as part of their underwriting, determining the impact of environmental concerns in the servicing of already-issued debt and helping servicers calculate the environmental implications associated with foreclosures. We also work with banking institutions and investment funds to resolve environmental concerns on the properties they have acquired or are considering for purchase.

Our in-depth knowledge of the substantive areas of environmental law, combined with our recognized experience in the practical application of relevant statutes, allow us to deliver innovative, timely and cost-effective solutions to seemingly intractable issues, including those related to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), known as Superfund legislation.

What sets our practice apart is our development of a model to help financial services companies manage environmental due diligence. We’ve applied this approach—which we built to serve specific needs of lenders in light of their status under environmental law—to more than $1 billion in acquisitions and thousands of sites. While other environmental due diligence models are designed for commercial or industrial property owners, ours is tailored specifically to the risks faced by lenders and investors with a security interest in real property.