Our litigation strength is well-known. We handle governmental and third-party regulatory or enforcement claims and resolve issues involving existing or historical contamination liabilities.
Our environmental litigators represent clients in administrative, civil, and criminal proceedings, and have achieved successful outcomes in defending air-quality permits, contamination liability disputes, challenges to environmental impact assessments, and appellate litigation of federal rulemaking. We also recognize when cases are more appropriately negotiated and settled, including those involving toxic tort and environmental damage claims.
Civil Enforcement and Tort Litigation
We regularly represent clients in enforcement actions in which the government or citizens allege violations of air, water, waste, and wetlands regulations. In addition, we have represented clients in actions to enforce other environmental programs: the registration programs for pesticides and disinfectants, the special rules for toxic substances such as PCBs or hazardous air pollutants such as asbestos, and the rules for sales of fertilizers and soil amendments. These actions can arise when regulators seek to compel compliance or to recover penalties. They also may involve citizen suits, which we have both defended and prosecuted.
Our environmental litigators have appeared before all levels of state and federal court; administrative agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Environmental Appeals Board, Department of Energy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Department of Transportation; and state and local government agencies and tribunals.
We defend clients against allegations involving:
- Hazardous waste transportation, storage, and disposal regulations
- Wastewater discharge and pretreatment
- Underground storage tank issues
- Groundwater contamination
- Hazardous materials transportation
- Infectious waste packaging, transportation, and disposal
- Air emissions, including those related to the New Source Review program
- PCB transformer recordkeeping violations
- Asbestos removal and disposal
- Controlled substance recordkeeping
- Contaminated soil disposal violations
- Unpermitted dredge or fill activity or wetlands encroachment
- Storm water control violations
- Erosion and sediment control failures
Criminal Enforcement
Several members of our team are also members of the firm’s White Collar Defense/Internal Investigations practice. They represent corporate and individual clients in criminal investigations and prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice, the EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, and state and local attorneys general, as well as in private, internal investigations. These matters have involved alleged violations of:
- Asbestos control regulations
- Wastewater discharge permits or pretreatment programs
- Fish kills resulting from unintentional discharges of hazardous substance or thermal discharges
- Hazardous waste management, labeling, storage, and transportation regulations
Superfund And Clean-Up Litigation
We represent clients in connection with some of the most significant Superfund environmental remediation, cost recovery, and contribution matters in the United States. Several of these matters involve resolution of natural resources damages claims. Our work ranges from complex cleanup cases involving multiple parties and issues to disputes involving allocation of environmental liability.
Endless negotiations without litigation often characterize Superfund matters. We believe in settling cases that should be settled as quickly as practicable. Those that cannot, we treat as lawsuits and resolve efficiently through litigation.
Our team deals extensively with Superfund and natural resource damage activity on the administrative and litigation levels. We help clients address contamination liability issues and resolve disputes with regulators and others so that transactions or redevelopment plans can move forward.
We handle governmental and third-party regulatory or enforcement claims and resolve claims relating to existing or historical contamination liabilities.
Our representations include:
Boarhead Farms Site, Pennsylvania (illegal waste disposal)
Helen Kramer Landfill, New Jersey
Passaic River/Newark Bay litigation, Newark, New Jersey
Bonanza Mine (ASARCO v. Raytheon)
Motorola 52nd Street Superfund Site, Phoenix, Arizona
Constitution Road, Atlanta, Georgia