SUPERFUND SITE RESEARCH

Under the liability scheme established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), questions can arise regarding what occurred at a hazardous waste site during the Cold War, World War II or even the 19th century. An article in Environmental Law in New York¹ noted the importance of historical research in CERCLA cases. The author referenced testimony by Morgan Angel Brigham Managing Partner, Dr. Jay Brigham, to illustrate the usefulness of credible historical research and expert testimony.

To clarify the roles played by potentially responsible parties, Morgan, Angel, Brigham & Associates provides well-documented historical information on such issues as:

• Site ownership, management, and production processes;
• The state of knowledge concerning environmental and health hazards at the time in which waste-generating activities took place;
• Corporate succession issues.

Addressing these questions can require Morgan Angel Brigham researchers to sift through a wide variety of documents and other forms of evidence, including correspondence, memoranda, and other records produced by government agencies and private firms; corporate annual reports; articles in scientific and trade press publications; land titles; Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps; and historical photographs. Our expert historians possess the skills and initiative required to find relevant documents and other historical materials, compile a lucid and well-documented account of events, and present findings in a form appropriate to client needs.

¹ Stephen G. Swisdak, “Researching Past Uses of New York Industrial Sites,” in Environmental Law in New York, Volume 20, No. 5, May 2009. [Copyright 2009 Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., a member of the LexisNexis Group. All rights reserved.] Used with permission of Michael B. Gerrard, editor.