Legal Question in Environmental Law in Virginia
hazardous wastes
If you are buying a piece of property and in the contract the seller struck through (omitted) the provision about previous hazardous wastes on the property, what are my rights and what can happen to me if I purchase the property and later find there were hazardous wastes on the property at one time or another. The only wastes I can think of that may be there are in the form or residual oil that leaked from an underground oil tank that was once on the property.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: hazardous wastes
You may still be able to recover your costs under the federal Superfund statute if you are forced pay to clean up the property. That may not apply if oil is the only source of contamination. There is also a state fund that relates to paying for the cleanup of underground storage tanks.