Vacant Land

Previously unknown subsurface structures, including underground storage tanks (USTs), may be discovered on the vacant property by the property owner. In addition, unidentified aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) may have been historically operated on the site. These structures are vulnerable to releases during the loading and loading of petroleum products and may have leaked contaminated soil and groundwater at the site. Releases from ASTs and USTs can migrate off-site and enter dry wells and storm drains, damaging sewer systems and contaminating soils and groundwater on neighboring properties.

Vacant properties could have previously been used as farmland, orchards, or vineyards and may have been exposed to pesticides. The term pesticide covers many compounds, including insecticides, rodenticides, molluscicides, nematicides, plant growth regulators, and others. Applied pesticides can leach through soil and into groundwater or become mobile through run-off drift and enter surface water or adjacent properties. Pesticide contamination can impact the drinking water supply and cause natural resource damage to non-target organisms, ranging from beneficial soil microorganisms to killing bees, wildlife, and aquatic systems.

Soil and groundwater contamination from adjacent properties could migrate onto vacant land, creating an environmental liability. The liability burden could be placed on the vacant land’s owner if the contamination’s originator becomes insolvent.

Stormwater run-off from adjacent properties could carry pollutants onto vacant land, creating environmental liability. The liability burden could be placed on the owner of the vacant land if the originator of the contamination becomes insolvent or the source of the contamination cannot be confirmed.

Neighboring properties with known contamination and ongoing cleanup efforts can affect the value of the vacant land. Vacant land near a Superfund site can be even less attractive to a prospective purchaser and result in a claim for diminution in value. The property owner could discover a former landfill on the vacant property that may have been abandoned and not closed properly. The landfill could contain hazardous waste or hazardous materials that have caused contamination of the soil on the property and may have impacted groundwater. Contaminants have the potential to migrate off-site and contaminate neighboring properties, causing third-party property damage and third-party bodily injury claims against the owner.

Vacant land may also be barren and free of vegetation which can cause the release of fugitive dust during windy conditions or storms. Fugitive dust is particulate matter that becomes airborne and can adversely affect human health or the environment. These particles cause respiratory and breathing problems such as coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, aggravated asthma, and lung damage.

Illicit abandonment is the illegal dumping of pollutants on a property by a third party. It can become the property owner’s burden for cleanup and third-party bodily injury or property damage if law enforcement cannot locate the originator of the waste.