New York Environmental Legal Questions

I am only licensed to practice law in Ohio so my comments below should not be considered legal advice on your New York issue.  However, my thoughts are as follows. There appears to be 3 possible causes of your issue.  1) test results may be flawed; 2) abrasive cleaners used contain radionuclides; or 3) structure cleaned was contaminated by radionuclides; It seems like you already confirmed that the test results are accurate. That leaves 2 potential causes. To eliminate cause #2, consider having the abrasive cleaner manufacturer or distributor provide your company with more written information to back up their Safety Data Sheet (formerly known as Material Safety Data Sheet) for the product.  The manufacturer or distributor should be able to prove the lack of radionuclides in their product. That leaves cause #3.  My limited research shows that Department of Energy ("DOE") facilities have historically generated waste containing radionuclides when paint is stripped from buildings that we already contaminated by radionuclides prior to being painted.  That could be your cause here. So, the pertinent questions might be: i) what is the history of the facility you removed paint from?; ii) what knowledge did the owner have about that history?; and iii) what does your contract say about the responsibility for waste characterization and disposal? If your contract is not specific about which party is the "generator" of the waste created by the removal work, you may have a dispute with the property owner about which party has the responsiblity for waste characterization and disposal.  Typically, that responsibility rests with the property owner.  Even with an ambiguous contract, you probably have a pretty good argument it only covers the disposal of normal solid waste, not hazardous waste. With those thoughts as a baseline, I strongly suggest that you seek the advice of a New York environmental lawyer to make decisions on how to proceed.  Good luck. ... Read More

I am only licensed to practice law in Ohio so my response is limited by that restriction.  That being said, my suggestion for you is to read the New York statute prohibiting littering.  By way of comparison, the Ohio statute prohibiting littering is found at Ohio Revised Code 3767.32 and provides as follows. (B) No person, without privilege to do so, shall knowingly deposit litter, or cause it to be deposited, in a litter receptacle located on any public property or on any private property not owned by the person unless one of the following applies: (1) The litter was generated or located on the property on which the litter receptacle is located; (2) The person is directed to do so by a public official as part of a litter collection drive; (3) The person is directed to do so by a person whom the person reasonably believes to have the privilege to use the litter receptacle; (4) The litter consists of any of the following: (a) The contents of a litter bag or container of a type and size customarily carried and used in a motor vehicle; (b) The contents of an ash tray of a type customarily installed or carried and used in a motor vehicle; (c) Beverage containers and food sacks, wrappings, and containers of a type and in an amount that reasonably may be expected to be generated during routine commuting or business or recreational travel by a motor vehicle; (d) Beverage containers, food sacks, wrappings, containers, and other materials of a type and in an amount that reasonably may be expected to be generated during a routine day by a person and deposited in a litter receptacle by a casual passerby. So, by a strict reading of this Ohio statute, a neighbor next door commits the criminal offense of littering in Ohio by placing his trash in your garbage can.  If New York law has a similar provision, and if your neighbor continues to ignore your demands to stop such actions, you could file a criminal complaint with your local police department. If that does not work, you could bring a civil court action against the neighbor for trespassing on your property.  At common law, a trespass occurs when one enters upon another person's property without permission.  You may want to check the New York statutes on trespass as well.  Good luck.  ... Read More