Environmental & Land Use
Whatever the environmental or land use challenge you are facing, our firm has the expertise and resources to assist you. We represent private companies and public entities in environmental and land use counseling, permitting, enforcement, litigation, transactions and lobbying. Our firm has the experience, contacts and resources to plan project development, timely secure environmental permits, reduce litigation, and facilitate ongoing regulatory compliance. We help our clients obtain governmental approvals and maintain regulatory compliance for projects and facilities of all types-- including industrial and manufacturing facilities; residential, commercial and mixed-use developments; oil and gas projects, refineries, renewable energy projects; infrastructure such as highways, ports, airports, and transit; schools, hospitals and research & development facilities; water systems and flood control projects; solid waste, composting, and recycling facilities; and telecommunications and utility projects.
Our attorneys work with a wide range of environmental laws, including laws governing air emissions and climate change; water quality and supply; wetlands, mangroves and endangered species; development within a coastal zone; development on state and federal lands; toxic and hazardous substances; environmental investigations and remediation; and energy development. We work with government officials, industry and trade groups, public interest organizations, and environmental consultants to achieve the best result for our clients. While we strive to solve our clients’ problems through planning and negotiation, we litigate disputes in court or administrative forums when necessary.
Air Pollution
We counsel companies and industry groups on regulations, litigation and all aspects of the Clean Air Act and state and local air pollution laws. We assist in policy advocacy; new source pre-construction permitting, Section 114 requests and federal, state and local enforcement actions; Title V permitting; air toxics matters; litigation involving rulemaking and implementation; enforcement defense; transactional and disclosure issues; and responding to climate change related legal developments. Among our lawyers is the former lead Clean Air Act enforcement attorney for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Commercial and Real Estate Transactions
We counsel our clients on the environmental, regulatory and permitting aspects of commercial and real estate transactions. We work closely with corporate attorneys and environmental consultants to conduct due diligence for financing and acquisitions. We also negotiate indemnification agreements, obtain environmental insurance, post-claim coverage, and other protections from environmental liability.
Energy
Our energy work consists of state and federal regulation, commercial transactions, project development, finance, and all aspects of project permitting. We regularly represent clients before agencies and courts regarding energy activities. We work on projects related to natural gas, electricity, oil, coal, ethanol, bio-diesel, methane, geothermal, solar, wind, hydroelectric and other renewable technologies.
Environmental Litigation
We work on significant environmental litigation matters, including multi-party cleanup sites, and permit challenges in administrative, state and federal courts. Our environmental litigation experience includes cases under CERCLA, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and state environmental statutes involving mangroves, wetlands, drinking water and many other federal, state and local environmental and land use laws.
Legislation, Rulemaking and Policy
We advocate for our clients at all levels of government by assisting them in policy making, the legislative process, and administrative rulemaking. We have contacts in all branches of government as well as public interest organizations and industry trade groups. We have lawyers who have worked in the Civil Enforcement Section of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Environmental Enforcement Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Senate and in other government and environmental settings.
Permitting, Compliance & Audits
We work with our clients and appropriate government agencies to obtain permits for new and existing facilities. We have contacts in every program area of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and utilize them to ensure our clients' interests are protected. We represent clients in administrative hearings and judicial appeals regarding environmental and land use permits, and counsel our clients on the measures they must take to comply with their permits. We conduct environmental audits and help clients to develop and implement environmental compliance management programs.
Project Development
We counsel our clients on all aspects of their projects from inception to post-closing, including: development, site selection, remediation, project design, land and water rights acquisition, environmental assessment, environmental permitting, local land use requirements, environmental management, and regulatory reporting. We are familiar with the economic constraints new projects face, the importance of maintaining schedules, and the demands of lenders and investors. We also have significant construction law experience to augment our environmental practice.
Water Resources
Our environmental attorneys assist clients in all aspects of water resource management. Our work ranges from participating in water resource policy issues to obtaining water rights for local development activities to assisting owner/operators of water treatment facilities to control pollutants, costs and exposure. We have lawyers with regulatory and technical backgrounds, as well as experience working with and in government agencies.