Environmental Compliance & Permitting

We help you manage

• Identification of applicable regulatory requirements
• Preparation of permit application
• Developing comments on draft permits 
• Preparation for public hearings/media responses
• Periodic self-audits and corrective actions
• Identification of best management practices
• Preparation for inspections/incident investigations
• Anticipation of new/proposed requirements

Interdisciplinary and diverse backgrounds

• Experienced attorneys well versed in federal and state environmental regulatory programs and administrative processes
• Former counsel to federal and state agencies on coastal environmental regulation and land use
• Former assistant in-house counsel to company supporting alternative energy options
• Member and former chairman of state agency funding conservation of over 250,000 acres in a Southeastern state
• Member of board of directors of Green Chamber of the South and Georgia Land Trust Service Center
• Leaders in influential environmental associations and in environmental committees for state and federal legal organizations
• Served as counsel to trade associations

Our clients range from Fortune 50 corporations to single-facility companies, including

• Manufacturing
  • Aerospace
  • Agricultural chemicals, maintenance vehicles, lawn equipment, and hand tools
  • Appliances (commercial and residential)
  • Automotive and automotive parts
  • Biomass and other alternative energy producers
  • Ceramics
  • Chemicals and specialty chemical manufacturers, processors, and suppliers
  • Consumer products
  • Electrical and lighting
  • Pesticides and pesticide devices
  • Pharmaceutical drugs and devices
  • Plastics and Polymers
  • Recreational vehicles
  • Textiles
• Commercial waste management and recyclers 
  • Asbestos
  • C&D
  • Coal ash
  • Scrap metal
  • Solid and hazardous waste
  • Used oil
  • Tires
  • Waste-to-energy
• Construction
• Forestry and forest products
• Metal working, foundries, and metal coatings
• Mining
• Pulp and paper industry
• Residential and commercial real estate, including development
• Retailers
• Transportation
  • Trucking
  • Rail
• Utilities and other energy suppliers

Our environmental attorneys' decades of experience inform the judgment and guidance we share with you 

• Legislative and regulatory developments and advocacy – monitoring, drafting comments, applying environmental laws and regulations as they have developed and matured; task force participation drafting and/or evaluating effects of proposed legislation and regulations
• Industry experience − wide range of industries served enables us to understand business interests and bring balanced perspectives 
• Field experience − assisting clients in implementing compliance actions
• Thought leadership – articles, contributing to national environmental publications, speaking on important developments in environmental law; comments and white papers on state and federal statutes, regulations and guidance documents (since the 1980s)
• Industry and trade association initiatives − we work tirelessly to assist in efforts to maintain reasonable and effective environmental protections to help allow successful business operations  
• Leadership − our attorneys serve in leadership positions in the American Bar Association (Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources; Section of Litigation; Business Law Section) and other national and state legal organizations 

Our team’s judgment and practical know-how provide you with the support you want in identifying, weighing, and handling risks and liabilities

• Anticipating changes in air emissions programs and finding effective response strategies to comply
• Advising you about how proposed regulations and regulatory amendments will affect your operations
• Planning for permits for new manufacturing plants and heading off possible challenges
• Providing Innovative approaches to support sensible permit features
• Guiding internal audits, practices and programs to enhance compliance
• Investigating whistle-blower allegations
• Briefing the C-suite on complex environmental issues in understandable terms
• Evaluating and managing risks from non-compliance or accidental releases
• Teaming with industry groups with common interests
• Guiding reporting and clean-ups when spills occur or contamination is discovered
• Bringing in consultants with scientific expertise to supplement in-house resources
• Managing contamination at legacy sites
• Weighing in for you on regulations that are beyond an agency’s authority or that just don’t make sense scientifically
• Finding reasonable resolution to disagreements with agencies in compliance and enforcement matters

Following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.

• Defended challenges to first air and hazardous waste permits issued for secondary lead smelter in over 25 years
• Numerous successful permitting efforts for green-field and expanding manufacturing facilities, including obtaining, and amending Plant-wide Applicability Limits for air emissions
• Obtained and defended challenges to Subtitle D commercial municipal solid waste landfill permits
• Successfully guided clients in numerous self-reporting efforts following internal audits
• Advised numerous manufacturers and distributers on labeling, false claims and transportation placarding requirements
• Secured manufacturer’s storm water discharge permit for aviation company constructing a 40,000 square foot hangar near wetlands surrounding airport