| Legislation and Regulation |
In order to provide clients with the most up to date information on environmental issues, our lawyers are closely involved with federal and state legislative and regulatory developments.
We advise clients on requirements relevant to the Clean Air Act, underground storage tanks, Superfund and contaminated property, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting (including stormwater), SARA Title III (and related right-to-know requirements), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) compliance, PCBs, medical wastes, asbestos handling and removal and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
We work with trade associations, legislatures, and regulatory agencies to develop legislation and regulations that are both protective of the environment and technically and economically feasible. We have served as counsel to the National Association of Environmental Managers; provided counsel to major national, regional, and state trade associations in areas ranging from state and federal air toxics, permitting, and non-attainment proceedings under the Clean Air Act to the development of regulations under the Medical Waste Tracking Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) re-authorization and implementation by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), RCRA regulatory initiatives, and Title III and Clean Water Act regulatory and implementation issues; drafted and helped negotiate the Massachusetts Toxic Use Reduction Act that passed the Massachusetts legislature unanimously and represented the Corporate Environmental Enforcement Council, a group of major corporations concerned about varying aspects of civil and criminal environmental enforcement.
We have represented clients in state and federal legislative and regulatory proceedings in the facility siting, Superfund, and hazardous waste contexts. We have filed comments on the EPA's proposed revisions to the National Contingency Plan on behalf of a major national trade association; testified before congressional committees on the reauthorization of the Superfund law; filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in a case with significant implications for environmental criminal prosecutions; filed extensive comments on proposed RCRA regulations; submitted briefs on key Superfund implementation issues on behalf of major chemical, electronics, and manufacturing associations; and provided formal and informal comments to the EPA and state regulatory agencies with respect to the development of various guidances that form a critical part of statutory implementation.