Environmental & Energy Regulatory

In today’s complex regulatory environment, clients need a legal team with experience and intimate knowledge of the often arcane rules that impact the ability to do business.  The Department has advised a range of clients regarding compliance issues relating to waste, air pollution, water issues, and a host of other environmental and energy related issues. 

The Department frequently advises businesses on compliance issues ranging from dispensing regulatory advise concerning the impact of a regulation to defending clients before administrative agencies.  Attorneys in the group are frequently called upon to illuminate complex compliance obligations.  Whether its spill reporting requirements, oil lease regulatory provisions, wetlands regulations, solid and hazardous waste management, or air and water quality, the Department’s has experience in virtually every aspect of environmental and energy law. 

By way of example, one attorney in the Department has spent decades advising a petroleum trade association regarding a host of issues relating to producing, refining, transporting and marketing petroleum and petroleum products.  Department attorneys have also helped oversee environmental management systems for clients with significant environmental operations.  Importantly, the Department has substantial experience in managing and crafting compliance strategies for environmental cleanups. 

The Department’s breadth of experience includes emergent programs, such as climate change regulation.  For example, the Department has advised clients concerning the impact of regulatory programs relating to greenhouse gas restrictions, including AB32 and California’s proposed cap-and-trade program. 

The Department’s lawyers have represented numerous clients charged with regulatory violations.  Department attorneys have appeared before administrative agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, California Water Resources Control Board, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and state Public Utility Commission.  The Department recently advised a large hotel developer with respect to air permitting issues for one of the largest hotel developments in the world.  In another recent matter, the Department represented a drum recycling company accused of criminal conduct and exposed to civil statutory penalties for violating environmental laws.