Are business owners liable for any legal costs?
Even if a property owner successfully fights being held liable for clean-up costs, this victory will probably be accompanied by substantial, if not staggering, legal costs. Not only are large corporations held liable for clean-up costs, but the owner of any commercial property may be held liable for clean-up costs of pollution on that property. Many environmental violations have been made in the past which have led to time in prison and or large penalty fines. In one case, a city worker became ill due to illegal disposal of waste, in which the company operator was sentenced to 5 months in prison, fined for $53,000 for hazardous waste violations, and forced to pay a $350,000 restitution to the city worker. A large percentage of the corporate officers prosecuted for environmental violations have held ownership interests in companies with relatively few employees. Equipment rental yards, industrial operators, machine shops, golf courses, dry cleaners, printers, even restaurants are being
