Property Types

Entertainment Venues

Entertainment venues, including amusement parks, water parks, fairs, festivals, and carnivals, have inherent environmental exposures. These venues often generate large amounts of waste, including food wrappers, plastic bottles, and other single-use items, which can overwhelm local waste management systems. Rides and attractions typically require substantial energy, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, while water parks can strain local water resources and ecosystems. Moreover, chemicals used for maintenance and cleaning can lead to soil and water contamination.

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Environmental Exposures May Include:

Legionella
Illicit Abandonment
Generators and Fuel Storage
Mold
Waste Management

Legionella

Legionella is a bacteria that potentially causes fatal pneumonia and can lead to severe bodily injury claims. Legionella thrives in warm, stagnant water, making water attractions, hot tubs, and pools potential breeding grounds. Improperly maintained water systems or inadequate sanitation practices can lead to the spread of the bacteria, resulting in Legionnaires’ disease among visitors.

Illicit Abandonment

Illicit abandonment is the illegal dumping of pollutants on property. If law enforcement cannot locate the originator of the waste, the property owner can be liable for cleanup and third-party bodily injury or property damage.

Generators and Fuel Storage

Emergency generators may be diesel-powered and require fuel storage in aboveground or underground storage tanks. Fuel leaks, exhaust fumes, tank/piping deterioration, and inadequate or no secondary containment can result in a release that contaminates soil and water systems or migrates to adjacent properties.

Mold

Mold thrives in humid environments, making indoor water parks particularly susceptible, especially if ventilation and moisture control are inadequate. Mold growth in changing rooms, bathrooms, and around pools can lead to health concerns for guests and staff, including respiratory issues and allergic reactions. Improper maintenance, ventilation, or cleaning can also lead to mold growth, endangering visitors and potentially shutting down water park operations.

Waste Management

Waste generated from entertainment venues primarily consists of food scraps, concession packaging, and a high volume of single-use plastics, such as bottles and utensils. Maintenance activities may generate other hazardous wastes, including cleaning chemicals, spent fuels, and hydraulic oil. Improper characterization, recycling, and waste disposal could lead to liability for the cleanup of non-owned disposal facilities.

Environmental Pollution Liability Can Provide Coverage For

On-site cleanup of new and pre-existing pollution conditions

Off-site cleanup of new and pre-existing pollution conditions

Third-party claims for bodily injury and property damage

Third-party claims for cleanup

Both sudden and gradual pollution conditions

Aboveground and underground storage tanks

Non-owned disposal sites

Business interruption resulting from pollution conditions

First and third-party transportation pollution liability

Loading and unloading

Mold, bacteria, viruses, legionella, and more

Defense of third-party claims

Illicit abandonment

Natural resource damage

Silt and sedimentation

Civil fines and penalties

Claims Scenarios & Examples

An amusement park violated the Clean Water Act by releasing excessive amounts of wastewater and stormwater that contained chlorine, copper, oil, and greases into the Missouri River. As part of the lawsuit settlement, the amusement park owner was forced to pay $100,000 to improve the local watershed and create an educational display at the park on the impact of stormwater pollution.
While constructing a new water park, sediment entered a nearby lake, creating a significant brown water mass near the discharge point. The lake is a high-quality water source for the state, and as a result, the state attorney general filed a lawsuit against the water park for environmental violations. State officials noted a large accumulation of construction debris, including drywall, plastic, and insulation, being burned on the development site. The lawsuit seeks $5,000 per day per violation of water pollution laws and $10,000 per day for violations of air quality standards.
Over 100 people were sickened with Legionnaire’s disease after attending a state fair. Legionella bacteria was found in hot displays at the fairground. The outbreak led to multiple lawsuits and 4 deaths.
After constructing a new parking lot, a state fair was cited for four water quality violations. Sediment and gravel polluted a nearby stream, and fair officials were ordered to remove the pollutants and pay for restoration after clear-cutting 19 acres of land.
High levels of benzene were found in the air at a music festival. The Center for Environmental Health identified diesel generators as the pollutant source. Exposure to benzene can cause cancer and reproductive issues. The music festival was sued for violating the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act.
City officials initiated legal action against a fairground for authorizing a week-long music festival without properly evaluating its environmental consequences. The lawsuit alleged that the fairground’s governing board failed to address issues such as air pollution, public safety, and traffic control.
Cooling towers at a theme park were claimed to be the source of a Legionnaire’s disease outbreak. Testing showed high levels of Legionella bacteria in the cooling towers causing 22 cases of Legionnaire’s disease, resulting in one death. County officials fined the theme park for not following disinfection protocols to maintain the cooling equipment. The theme park appealed the citation. During this time, one of the people diagnosed with Legionnaire’s disease filed a lawsuit against the theme park for the outbreak.
After severe rainfall during the construction of an amusement park, the park owner paid $611,550 in fines for violating stormwater run-off and dumping construction debris into a nearby tributary. The park was also required to donate $50,000 to an environmental project of their choosing and permit daily inspections by third parties at the site.

Final Consideration

Your business can be faced with the cost to defend itself against allegations or legal action from pollution related events, regardless if you are at fault or not. Having the proper insurance coverage in place will help fund the expenses incurred to investigate or defend against a claim or suit and provide you with environmental claims handling expertise.

Disclaimer

This environmental risk overview offers a general understanding of potential risks and may not reflect all risks associated with your business. Environmental Risk Professionals has compiled this overview for informational purposes only. This overview does not constitute legal opinion or advice, nor does it establish a consultant-client relationship. This overview is not intended to guide project parties in interpreting specific contracts or resolving disputes; such decisions may require consultation with counsel and depend on various factors. © 2025 Environmental Risk Professionals, LLC

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