Environmental, Energy, and Sustainability

Almost every business confronts environmental issues. Whether it’s a big box store or a small retail operation, each has waste handling, regulatory, and compliance issues. Today more and more emphasis is placed on operating in a more sustainable manner. These issues require knowledgeable, experienced, and insightful advice and counsel. Schnader’s Environmental, Energy, and Sustainability Practice Group is a multidisciplinary team that brings together lawyers from the Litigation Services and Business Services Departments to provide innovative solutions for today’s complicated regulatory landscape.

Our attorneys provide expert advice to clients active in the energy sector. We have handled matters for independent power producers, transporters, and distributers. We have experience in oil, gas, coal, electricity, biomass, and renewables. Our services include counseling an array of service providers that support the energy sector, including manufacturers and financial institutions.

The attorneys in our Environmental, Energy, and Sustainability Practice Group include those who concentrate their practice in environmental, energy, real estate, land use planning, financing and business counseling, as well as creditors’ rights and criminal defense. The Firm has two LEED accredited attorneys as well as attorneys who have held positions with the Environmental Protection Agency and have served on various local regulatory boards.

Drawing from all seven of Schnader’s offices, we serve clients engaged in a large variety of industries including the solid, medical, scrap and hazardous waste industries, recycling, battery recycling, beneficial reuse, dredging, and renewable energy. Our attorneys also work closely with the financial institutions, engineering firms, and related service providers who serve these businesses. We partner with our clients to find solutions that are economical, practical, and make sound environmental sense.

Regulatory and Compliance

Schnader attorneys have experience advising clients on a wide variety of issues relating to environmental matters, including toxic tort, underground storage tanks, ground water contamination, air emission, and mine subsidence claims. Schnader also has substantial experience in CERCLA and RCRA actions, HSCA actions, and claims for natural resource damages.

We also help clients who are seeking to employ more sustainable practices as a part of their operations. The attorneys at Schnader have been involved in siting environmental service facilities, the development and redevelopment of brownfield sites and manufacturing facilities, obtaining approvals and permits from the regulatory agencies for beneficial reuse of material, green building, and other sustainability initiatives. Schnader’s attorneys seek to develop creative, cost-effective, and practical solutions for our clients seeking to embrace a cleaner, greener approach to the world.

Land Use and Development

We assist client’s siting, developing, constructing, and financing residential, commercial, and industrial projects. Our attorneys provide assistance with environmental impact review obligations as well as site plan review, wetlands regulations, and archaeological and historic resource compliance. Our attorneys have successfully represented clients in state and federal administrative forums on all phases of project development.

For transaction matters, we assist in conducting due diligence for clients related to environmental compliance, health and safety matters, Phase I, and other types of assessments. Our attorneys regularly represent businesses in heavily regulated industries.

Risk Management and Litigation

Schnader attorneys assist clients in identifying and managing environmental risk. Risks are inherent in any site development or when acquiring industrial or commercial properties, and we assist to minimize these risks. Properties with historical environmental impacts can especially be a challenge. We assist clients with compliance audits and regulatory reporting reviews. We have experience with remediation and monitoring programs, real property access issues, private-public partnerships, and brownfield development.

Schnader represents clients in civil, administrative, and criminal environmental cases, including enforcement actions brought by the regulators, citizen-action groups, or private parties. Our attorneys have been involved in toxic tort actions, asbestos litigation, and litigation regarding spills and releases of hazardous materials.  

Our team’s experience includes:

• Permitting, compliance, and regulatory matters relating to siting, constructing and operating storage, processing, recycling, treatment and disposal facilities;
• Acquisitions, and sales of storage, treatment, processing, recycling, reuse, and disposal facilities;
• Privatizations of services and infrastructure, assistance in the public procurement process, responding to requests for proposals, including review of and comment on proposed contract documents;
• Drafting and negotiation of project development documents including sale/leases, operating agreements, supply side arrangements, transportation, treatment, processing, and disposal agreements;
• Representing developers, financial institutions, and private investors in environmental services investments and lending transactions;
• Advising retail operations in the proper handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous materials
• Advising entities on green initiatives and recycling matters, including energy credits, emissions credits, and greenhouse gas matters; and
• Drafting and negotiation of host benefit agreements/community impact agreements and land valuation guarantees.

Schnader serves a cross section of municipal, commercial, industrial, and service corporations throughout the United States with all aspects of waste management and environmental sustainability. From regulatory and legislative challenges, at the local, state, and federal level, to navigating both the routine and unexpected challenges of day-to-day business, Schnader draws on talent from across the Firm’s practice groups to find solutions to today’s business challenges.

Representative Matters

• Representation of hazardous, solid, and medical waste processing, storage, treatment, and disposal facilities.
• Representation of owners/operators of waste to energy facilities.
• Representation of recycling facilities, scrap processing, and construction and demolition processing facilities.
• Representation of owners and developers in methane recovery projects, solar farms, and alternate energy projects.
• Representation of beneficial reuse management companies and projects, including permitting byproducts as beneficial use materials.
• Representation of environmental services providers in permitting administrative appeals and compliance matters.
• Representation of financial institutions in providing credit for environmental services businesses.
• Serving as special counsel to a state government and a state solid waste authority for a demonstration facility for the recovery of usable materials from municipal solid waste and sewage sludge.
• Serving as jurisdiction counsel in connection with the design and construction of sewer and water treatment facilities improvements and represented developers in sewer tie-ins.
• Representing organizations in long-term closure and post closure obligations; negotiating redevelopment agreements and access agreements for environmentally impacted sites.
• Serving as counsel to a major city’s industrial development commission in public works projects.
• Counseling retail establishments on sustainability best practices for regulated substances.