Current Update Release 34
Almost every business transaction carries the potential for liability under environmental laws. This book is appropriate for use by corporate counsel, real estate lawyers, bank lawyers, and insurance professionals who need a general understanding of environmental laws and there impact.
Part I describes sources of potential liability and presents the goals and requirements of the major state and federal environmental statutes. The author walks the generalist through the hazardous terrain of the federal Clean Air Act, which is notoriously incomprehensible, and describes the types of permits required and the different levels of government authority. He demystifies the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and covers oil spills and permits for materials used in wetlands construction. He also explicates the Comprehensive Environmental Response, the Clean Water Act, the Compensation and Liability Act, and state environmental statutes.
A particularly useful "Activity Summary" sets forth the applicable statutes and directs the reader to chapters discussing relevant issues for a particular activity (for example, acquiring corporate stocks or assets).
Part II focuses on the application of environmental laws to specific transactions and presents material on environmental hot spots, such as negotiating superfund cleanups, liability for real estate and corporate transactions, lender liability based on environmental claims, environmental audits, and insurance coverage for cleanup costs. It summarizes recent cases and offers tips for reducing risk.
The CD-ROM provides more than 20 forms for the practitioner and includes sample documents such as: EPA requests for information, notices of potential liability, administrative orders, de minimis settlement agreements, and more.
Lawrence
P. Schnapf is an environmental attorney based in New York City and New
Jersey with over 35 years of national environmental experience. He is also the principal of Schnapf LLC. He primarily
concentrates on environmental risks associated with corporate, real estate and
brownfield transactions; commercial financing including asset-based lending,
syndicated loans, mezzanine loans and distressed debt; bankruptcy, workouts and
corporate restructuring. Mr. Schnapf has extensive experience with brownfield
redevelopment and financing, including representing affordable housing
developers and assisting local development corporations or not-for-profit
organizations with their brownfield planning programs. He represents clients in
federal and state environmental litigation, enforcement actions, administrative
proceedings and private cost recovery actions. He has also served as liaison
counsel for PRP steering committees.
Mr. Schnapf
has written extensively on environmental law and is the general
editor/contributing author of “Environmental Issues in Business Transactions”
published by the Business Law Section of the ABA.
He has served
as past Chair of various associations, committees, and task groups, among these:
___
the Environmental Law Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA);
___
the NYSBA Brownfield Task Force (co-chair);
___
the ABA Section of Business Law Committee on Environmental, Energy and Natural
Resources Law;
___the
Brownfield Committee of the Environmental Business Association of New York, (2002-2008);
___the
legal sub-committee for the 2013 revisions to the ASTM E1527 Phase 1 Standard,
and
___the
legal sub-committee for the ASTM Vapor Intrusion Task Group (co-Chair).
He is also a
former board member of:
___
the NYC Brownfield Partnership;
___
the advisory board of the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE);
and currently
a member of:
___
the board of Bloomfield BNA Environmental Due Diligence Guide;
___
the Society of Environmental Journalists;
and
___the
advisory board of the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame.
Mr. Schnapf
is an adjunct professor of environmental law at New York Law School,
___
is a faculty member of the NYLS Center for Real Estate Studies where he teaches
“Environmental Issues in Business Transactions,” “Environmental Law and
Practice” and a mini-course on “Brownfields Redevelopment.”
___
a former faculty member of the Center for Christian Studies at Fifth Avenue
Presbyterian Church where he taught “The Bible and the Environment.”
He is listed
in:
New
York Super Lawyers-Metro Edition (2010-2019);
Super
Lawyers Business Edition (2011-19);
The International Who’s Who of
Environmental Lawyers (2008-2019); and
Chambers USA Client Guide of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
He has
received the AV® Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest
possible Peer Review Rating.
You can visit
the Schnapf LLC website at www.schnapflaw.com and follow him on the Linked-in Environmental Issues in Business Transactions group.
"Schnapf does a great job of guiding the novice through hazardous terrain."
- Bi-monthly Review of Law Books.
"The text covers practically any transaction that could be affected by environmental laws and provides the reader with a comprehensive overview to resolving problems, spotting issues, and avoiding future liability under the environmental laws affecting these transactions."
- The Environmental Counselor
