Environmental
The practice of environmental law requires knowledge of regulatory, policy and scientific issues. Our environmental lawyers recognize that the complex challenges facing our clients often require innovative solutions. Although we pride ourselves in our knowledge of the applicable legal requirements, we apply that knowledge in the context of all of the issues necessary to reach practical and effective solutions for our clients.
Our lawyers are recognized leaders of the Environmental bar. They have experience and ongoing involvement in community activities that complement their practices. Both Ken Warren and Steve Miano, who head up this practice, have held leadership positions in the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. Ken currently serves on the ABA Standing Committee on Environmental Law. He is also general counsel to the Delaware River Basin Commission and a former member of the Executive Council of EPA's National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee. Steve Miano is a former assistant regional counsel at EPA Region III and currently serves as the Secretary of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. He is one of the organizers of the annual Pennsylvania Brownfields program. We strongly believe that our public service involvement is important to fulfilling our professional obligations and to enhancing our ability to represent our clients
Our environmental lawyers address both traditional and emerging issues in the environmental field. Our core practices involve counseling clients on compliance with federal and state water, waste and air regulations. We have a depth of experience in the water resources area, including water quality standards and permitting, total maximum daily loads, stormwater and MS4 controls, wetlands and associated endangered species issues, water supply, flooding and water allocation. In conjunction with our real estate and corporate attorneys, we are able to handle matters arising out of the environmental aspects of real estate and corporate transactions from initial due diligence and drafting of contractual provisions to negotiation with permitting authorities and allocation of responsibility for environmental contamination discovered many years after the transaction closed.
We are assisting several clients to actively develop Brownfields sites pursuant to Acts in Pennsylvania and similar laws in other jurisdictions. We have extensive experience in managing site remediations. Our transactional and regulatory practices involve daily communications with clients and government agencies.
Our day to day practice also involves representing clients in environmental litigation. We defend clients against government enforcement actions such as civil penalty actions for unpermitted discharges and emissions or violations of other regulatory requirements, we defend and prosecute Superfund and other environmental cost recovery claims, we handle appeals from administrative agency actions and litigate private contractual cases, insurance recovery claims, citizens suits, natural resource damages actions, toxic tort claims and other environmental cases.
Because of our skill and experience, we are often asked by clients to represent them in emerging areas of environmental law matters. We have counseled clients on environmental management systems, reviewed clients’ federal securities reporting obligations for environmental liabilities, assisted in establishing and implementing auditing programs, provided guidance on sustainability initiatives, and provided assistance with chemical regulation matters. More recently, the divide between energy and environmental practices has closed. We have worked with clients seeking to develop and finance alternative energy facilities or to understand the effects of global climate change and emissions trading regimes on their operations.