FEATURE ARTICLE

October 2005

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Environmental Enforcement: California and Other States Grapple with Land Use Covenants on Federal Property

The quiet battle over federal and state prerogatives in environmental law compliance and enforcement has moved into the arena real estate deals. Many states have adopted laws and regulations requiring recordation of a real estate instrument as a condition on regulatory closure of environmental cleanup actions, a movement that has made federal managers uncomfortable in some states and adamantly defiant in others. California has chosen a moderate approach to applying the land use covenant requirement on federal property; nevertheless, the tension between state law and federal prerogatives has arisen in the details of applying the requirement.