Since the late 1960s, environmental issues have become a routine concern of our clients. Consideration of environmental consequences and liabilities is a common part of many governmental decisions, real estate transactions, land use planning and management, and business plans and deals. An increasingly complicated web of laws and regulations has proliferated from all levels of government - federal, state, regional and local. Taking a proactive role in addressing environmental issues is one way Fairfield and Woods' attorneys serve our clients well. Our attorneys have a depth of knowledge and breadth of experience in this complicated, multi-disciplined and rapidly changing area of the law, providing our clients with comprehensive and innovative solutions for their environmental risks and problems. Our GreenTech Law Group provides a multi-disciplinary approach to our representation, whenever that would be beneficial to our clients.

Our clients and their consultants are very knowledgeable about their sites, businesses, deals and projects - but they are often missing essential information about what is really required under the law to resolve their environmental challenges. Technical knowledge is often not sufficient to interpret agency regulations. Our legal training brings a unique set of skills to the understanding of regulatory laws. We know the rules judges use to interpret ambiguous language. Even when a regulatory requirement may be plain, it may not be valid. We have the tools to challenge the validity of environmental requirements and to negotiate reasonable resolutions with regulators. We understand the roles and the legitimate interests of the many different agencies who become involved in environmental regulation, and can help to create a solution that satisfies all of them.

There are huge liabilities to companies and individuals - risks of large monetary penalties, damage awards, or costly additional operational requirements - that come with violation of the environmental laws. There is even a risk of criminal penalties, including imprisonment and large fines. In many cases, monetary penalties may be assessed even if the person accused of violating an environmental law did not intend to violate it - or indeed, even if he or she did not know about the environmental law. We help our clients identify and avoid those risks.

We have experience advising our clients about environmental compliance and planning, representing parties in negotiations and litigation, defending clients in civil and criminal enforcement actions, and obtaining permits in the following areas:

• Water Quality

• Air Quality

• Endangered Species Act compliance

• Wildlife protection

• Historical, recreational, archaeological and cultural resources protection

• Environmental impact assessments and statements

• Review of Environmental Audit reports

• Mined Land Reclamation

• Safe Drinking Water

• Underground Storage Tanks

• CERCLA/Superfund

• RCRA/Solid Waste Disposal

• Hazardous Substances treatment, storage and disposal

We have experience with:

• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

  • Tiered and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)

  • Project or site-specific EISs, Environmental Assessments (EA) and Findings of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

  • Categorical Exclusions

• Clean Water Act (CWA), formerly known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA)

  • Section 402 permitting

    • National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits from EPA

    • Colorado Discharge Permit System (CDPS) permits from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE)

    • Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permits

    • Permit appeals

  • Stormwater management

    • Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP)

    • Best Management Practices (BMPs)

  • Section 404 dredge and fill or wetlands permits and requirements

  • Section 208 wastewater treatment planning

  • Section 401 state certification of federal permits

• Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

  • Primary drinking water standards

  • Regulation of public water systems

  • Operator certifications

  • Protection of underground sources

    • Underground injection wells

    • Wellhead protection areas

  • Ground Water Rule

• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund)

  • Brownfields redevelopment

  • Voluntary Cleanup Plans (VCUP)

  • CERCLA cost recovery and contribution actions

  • Environmental due diligence or All Appropriate Inquiry (AAI)

    • Contracting for and review of environmental assessment reports (Phase I and Phase II reports)

  • Environmental insurance and indemnity

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

  • Underground Storage Tanks (UST)

  • Used oil recycling

  • Subtitle D solid waste landfill permitting

  • Subtitle C hazardous waste management

    • Waste characterization

    • Waste minimization

    • Waste accumulation and storage

    • Land disposal restrictions

    • Labeling and recordkeeping

    • Corrective actions

    • Permit modifications

    • Mixed waste

    • Wastewater treatment unit exemptions

• Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

  • Asbestos abatement

  • Lead-based paint disclosures and abatement

  • Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) management, disposal and remediation

• Endangered Species Act (ESA)

  • Section 7 consultations

  • Section 9 prohibitions on taking

  • Incidental take permits

  • Habitat conservation plans (HCP)

• Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)

  • prohibitions on taking

  • criminal enforcement

• Oil Pollution Act (OPA)

  • Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plans

• Price-Anderson Amendments Act (PAAA)

  • Nuclear safety requirements

  • Occurrence reporting and investigation

• Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA)

  • Labeling

  • Packaging

  • Placarding

  • Emergency response

  • Spill reporting

• National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)

  • Section 106 reviews

  • Negotiation of programmatic agreements and memoranda of understanding

  • Mitigation of impacts to historic properties and Native American cultural sites

• Antiquities Act

  • Paleontological and fossiliferous resource protection

• Department of Transportation Act §4(f)

  • Section 4(f) analyses

  • Challenges to "feasible and prudent alternatives" analyses

• Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA)

  • Special Use permits

  • Planning documents

• Areas and Activities of State Interest Act (AASIA)

  • Colorado municipal and county H.B. 1041 regulations

• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

  • Information requests

  • Reverse FOIA actions

• Colorado Open Records Act

• Administrative Procedures Act (APA)

Our attorneys have worked as the sole environmental legal counsel for smaller projects; for large natural resources, environmental remediation and real estate development companies; and as part of multi-disciplinary teams on lengthy projects involving large geographic areas. We have worked on projects with scrutiny and regulation by multiple regulatory agencies from several layers of government, as well as by other interested corporate entities and the public. We understand the complexities of team-based resolutions, and how legal counsel can assist in successful environmental management.

Environmental Attorneys:

Joseph B. Dischinger, Gregory C. Smith.