Environmental & Natural Resources
Counsel with decades of experience in environmental and natural resources law
Capabilities at a glance
- Confident, trusted advisors on an extensive range of environmental matters, including complex regulatory, litigation, government relations and transactional matters.
- We are creative lawyers who build our advice with your goals in mind. We are here to help you ensure environmental compliance effectively and efficiently.
- Dedicated environmental attorneys with years of accumulated technical knowledge, along with extensive experience working with environmental regulators.
- We listen to your objectives and respond quickly and creatively to your concerns, offering exceptional perspective on the shifting sands of environmental legislation and policy.
Clear-eyed, business-oriented advice from leading environmental attorneys
Above all, we are here to help you reach your end goal, whether it relates to your operations, remediation, risk management or resolution of enforcement. We believe it is our job to fully understand your business, its position and its objectives — and provide legal advice to help you achieve your full potential.
We understand environmental issues often are inherently multidisciplinary, which is why we engage our colleagues whose work is dedicated to transactional matters, real estate or litigation, when necessary. Our team also will guide you through the emerging issues surrounding environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. We know you work in an ever-evolving regulatory and legislative landscape, and that the political and scientific climate and public perception also affect your work. Our attorneys are at the forefront of these discussions and will keep you apprised of new developments and changes.
A multidisciplinary legal team that always works collaboratively
We are a broad practice with a diverse client base. We work with manufacturers, developers and owners of properties of all sizes, operating in a range of industries, including traditional and renewable energy companies. We advise our clients on everything from the chemicals they use or sell to their obligations around disposal of waste materials and clean air and water. We also work with our infrastructure team on large projects that require environmental reviews and advise companies on their greenhouse gas emissions, sustainability programs and carbon footprint. We are a national firm with offices throughout the U.S. and are used to representing companies with interests in many locations, before a variety of state agencies and courts, and in transactions that span a range of jurisdictions.
Successes
- We successfully negotiated resolution of a federal Clean Air Act enforcement action on behalf of a chemical company that faced allegations that its facility was a major source of hazardous air pollutants and had not installed the required controls. Settlement provided for demonstration of the continued area source status of the source, without requiring additional emission controls.
- Our client suffered a massive explosion and fire, resulting in a multicount complaint from the state attorney general. We negotiated an agreed order limiting our client’s remediation obligations and allowing our client to move forward with the demolition. We also fended off the state’s asbestos NESHAP claims, resulting in the state’s withdrawal of the claims.
News & Insights
Environmental & Natural Resources Focus Areas
Air Regulations and Permitting
Since passage of the Clean Air Act, Quarles has been advising clients on matters of air pollution control and compliance. As a result, we are well-versed in the statutes, regulations and guidance documents that inform day-to-day implementation of the act. We understand that maintaining compliance with air quality permitting and regulatory requirements is integral to our clients’ operations, and we have substantial experience providing exacting, business-oriented advice in all aspects of the Clean Air Act and its state counterparts. Our clients operate in a variety of industries, including chemical, energy, food and beverage, mining, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, printing, packaging and steel.
Chemicals, Products and Waste Management
The regulatory landscape governing product compliance is becoming increasingly complex as additional measures are steadily put in place to protect both the environment and the health and safety of consumers. Our attorneys regularly assist their clients in understanding the complicated regulatory provisions applicable to their products, including chemical content requirements, consumer product labeling and warning obligations, community right-to-know laws and extended producer responsibility programs. In this realm, we track and advise clients with respect to developments regarding California’s Proposition 65 warning obligations, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas requirements, substance registration and pre-manufacturing notices under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and pesticide marketing claims.
Our team is also experienced in the highly regulated waste management space, having counseled our clients on matters related to operational compliance for manufacturing facilities, in addition to landfill siting and approvals processes.
Due Diligence and Transaction Support
With Quarles you can expect reliable, knowledgeable advice on environmental and natural resources law to support your transactions. Whether we represent the buyer, the seller or the lender, we understand our client does not want surprises regarding environmental risks. Our due diligence and contract negotiation address your concerns and your business objectives, while ensuring compliance and minimizing risk for your transactions.
Emergency Response and Crisis Management
We respond quickly and effectively to emergencies because we have the experience needed to provide a steady hand and a clear way forward. We represent companies throughout the U.S. operating across a range of industries where crises may occur, including pulp and paper, electric utility, foundry, steel making, chemical production, general manufacturing, the food industry and health care.
Emerging Contaminants and PFAS
Our environmental attorneys have extensive experience advising clients in regard to the ongoing and expanding federal and state regulation of new classes of bio-accumulative and “forever” chemicals, most notably per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS include thousands of chemicals used to repel oil and water and resist heat. PFAS have been widely used since the 1940s in many commercial and industrial contexts and are found in a range of everyday consumer, commercial and industrial products, including electronics, personal care products and cosmetics, cleaning products, food packaging and items treated with water and stain protectors, such as clothing and carpets. PFAS have also been used in firefighting foam.
Our attorneys follow regulatory developments relating to these emerging contaminants and advise clients regarding potential liabilities — primarily remediation and toxic tort — associated with them. Thus, we are considering PFAS in due diligence and corporate and property acquisitions, dispositions and leasing. We assist clients in finding the right consultants and laboratories to conduct appropriate sampling and, if necessary, develop remediation strategies, defend against cleanup, bodily injury and property damage claims, and pursue insurance coverage. In short, we partner with our clients to minimize their potential liability exposure.
Environmental Litigation, Enforcement and Disputes
At Quarles, our attorneys’ environmental enforcement and litigation experience covers a wide range of matters, plus knowledge of a similarly wide range of U.S. state and federal regulations and priorities. We have successfully and efficiently represented clients in a variety of regulatory enforcement matters, in addition to defending private citizen complaints.
Regulatory
The Quarles Environmental & Natural Resources Practice Group understands just how vital environmental regulatory knowledge, experience and contacts are to the successful operation and compliance of so many businesses. We also know from our experience as a national, full-service law firm that environmental regulations differ in every state, and federal and state implementation of those regulations can vary throughout the country.
Remediation
At Quarles, we pride ourselves on effective legal project management, excellent communication and efficient coordination. Our attorneys have helped resolve major environmental crisis events, coordinating cleanups, executing successful public relations campaigns and working directly with everyone from natural resource trustees to insurers and technical experts. When you need legal support, our team can quickly grasp the industrial and scientific aspects of your operations because we have likely seen it before.
Sustainability and ESG
We advise clients in all aspects of their sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) contributions — the ability to meet resource and energy needs today without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. Our work includes counseling clients on sustainable business practices, dealing with both the assessment and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, and work on environmentally sound business practices. We have helped clients buy and sell emission reduction credits, renewable energy certificates and carbon offsets. We also work with clients to evaluate their carbon footprint and opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas impacts from both their operations and their supply chain.
Water Rights and Discharge Permitting
Our environmental attorneys assist clients in managing water resources and permitting issues, with a particular emphasis on water rights and permits, discharge authorization and ensuring water and wastewater utility service for commercial, industrial and residential developments. For over 30 years we have represented clients on cutting-edge issues arising under the Clean Water Act and state water laws, including the negotiation of discharge permits, administrative and judicial litigation relating to those permits, and the defense of governmental and third-party enforcement actions. Whether the matter involves technical issues, such as derivation and calculation of water-quality-based effluent limitations, or broader policy concerns, our lawyers assist clients in their efforts to address these critical issues.
