CERCLA and Tenants as Bona Fide Prospective Purchasers: Obtaining and Maintaining BFPP Status

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Environmental
- event Date
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE webinar will provide guidance to counsel on the steps lessees should take before and after executing a lease to qualify for and maintain eligibility for protection as a bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP) under CERCLA. The panel will examine the EPA's latest enforcement guidance and actions.
Faculty

Mr. Cutler advises clients on environmental compliance and transactional matters and routinely handles permit appeals, land use and development, citizen suits, air quality, water quality, and beneficial use of solid waste matters, and counsels clients on environmental risk communication and community relations, as well as environmental policy issues. He is a frequent lecturer on environmental law topics.

Mr. Mapes is a seasoned environmental attorney, he counsels clients on a broad range of matters involving transactions, litigation and regulatory compliance. Mr. Mapes practice focuses on providing environmental due diligence for single- and multi-property transactions across the United States. His clients include real estate private equity funds, energy and commercial-industrial businesses, civic institutions and municipalities. Mr. Mapes has experience managing and advising clients on the environmental aspects of acquiring, financing, leasing and selling real estate.
Description
Under CERCLA, tenants may be held responsible for preexisting contamination under certain conditions. However, the EPA will exercise enforcement discretion on a site-specific basis and treat certain tenants as BFPPs even when the owners of the contaminated property do not themselves qualify for or maintain a BFPP status.
Counsel must understand the necessary requirements and conditions for tenants to obtain or "derive" BFPP status from owners who qualify as BFPPs, and to maintain BFPP status even if an owner ceases to qualify as a BFPP, and the impact of various EPA guidance and policy statements, including EPA’s new PFAS enforcement discretion policy.
Listen as our panel of experienced environmental attorneys explains the EPA enforcement guidance and case law and analyzes the steps for lessees to qualify for and maintain eligibility for protection as a BFPP -- both before and after executing a lease.
Outline
- Liability under CERCLA for tenants
- Overview of the BFPP defense, including new PFAS enforcement discretion
- Derivative BFPP status for tenants
- Direct BFPP status for tenants
- Relevant EPA Guidance and policies
- Best practices for tenants to obtain or maintain BFPP status
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- How can tenants become responsible for preexisting on-site contamination?
- How can tenants obtain and maintain direct BFPP status?
- How can tenants obtain and maintain derivative BFPP status?
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