Ten Things That You Need To Know About Contaminated Sites

A frightening amount of money is spent every year in litigation and other anguish over contaminated sites. In terms of harm to human health and the environment, contaminated sites are far less important than clean air, clean water, climate change and urban sprawl. But because of the regulatory structure, contaminated sites pack a huge financial wallop.

Environmental law is often puzzling for those in other practice areas, since contamination is usually invisible and the liability rules may not make "common sense". Here is a reminder of ten things every real estate lawyer should know:

Basic principles.

1. The Polluter Pays principle is a growing part of Canadian law. Regulators can often require polluters to cleanup decades after the fact, even if their conduct was legal at the time, and regardless of subsequent agreements of purchase and sale. There are also signs of growing civil liability for polluters. Rylands v. Fletcher is making a comeback, especially