A Blank Rome team secured a victory for PPG Industries when the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court issued a decision unanimously affirming the dismissal of an appeal brought by two non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”) against our client on March 11, 2025. The matter related to the adequacy of financial assurances (i.e., letters of credit) PPG had posted to secure the perpetual operation of an environmental remedy at a former manufacturing site. In April 2024, the Pennsylvania Environmental Board (“EHB”) dismissed the appeal in a 64-page opinion, after conducting a multi-day hearing. The EHB found for PPG and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on all counts raised by the NGOs. On the NGOs’ appeal, a three-judge panel of the Commonwealth Court held that the NGOs had failed to satisfy their burdens of proof in establishing that the posted financial assurances were inadequate to secure the site’s remedy in perpetuity—a conclusion that turned on heavily contested factual issues, expert testimony, and witness credibility determinations in front of the EHB.
The Blank Rome team was led by Christina Manfredi McKinley, who argued the case for PPG.
