The word “Eureka!” can be defined as “expressing triumph.” Unfortunately this definition cannot be applied to the Uniform Environmental Covenants Act (UECA), which was the 2003 effort of the National Conference of Commissions on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). UECA has developed into a national trend that has been adopted by several states. This act formalized a public reporting and enforcement process that could have a negative influence not only on whether a developer will purchase land, but also on whether an environmental insurance carrier will insure sites that are subject to such covenants.

The word “covenant” is defined in property law as an agreement between two or more persons entered into in writing and under seal, whereby either party promises to perform or give something to the other, or to abstain from the performance of certain things. But “covenant” takes on a vastly different meaning in the environmental development world. Merging the property law concept with environmental risk has created an “Environmental Covenant.” In other words, the promise described above would relate to environmental promises that can lead to activity and use limitations, such as prohibitions on a particular use due to contamination being left in place. ...

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