Re: [CPEO-BIF] Background Contaminants

[pstrauss@igc.org]

Veronica,

As far as I know, the situation that you described cannot be used as an
excuse to avoid cleanup.  What is missing from your e-mail is who is
developing the property and what is the ownership? If the property is
owned by the City or state, they may contractually obligate the
renovator to cleanup - otherwise they themselves should be held
responsible. If the property is privately held, then the owner is
responsible for cleanup. This is based on the presumption that
individual owners should know  a property's potential liabilities before
it is purchased. 

One other thing.  I do not know how PAHs got there from normal
demolition.  You may find PAHs in heating oils, but they would not have
been released from "normal" demolition activities. I would be looking at
this issue, as PAHs may have been derived from manufactured gas plant
(MGP) sites.  I know that there was a settlement in Massachusetts
between the State and the utility companies for cleaning up residues
from MGP sites.

Peter Strauss


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