The Scope of Our Practice
Modern business and manufacturing involves myriad complex processes and methods that frequently include, employ, and produce a variety of environmentally sensitive or hazardous materials – and, their use and disposal present unique legal, regulatory and financial challenges that require knowledgeable, experienced, insightful advice and counsel.
Schnader’s Sustainability and Environmental Services Practice Group has considerable experience assisting clients in each phase of the generation, waste recycling, reuse and disposal process. We offer a cross-practice, interdisciplinary group of attorneys that are as conscious and responsive to environmental considerations as they are to the client’s business and legal considerations. Drawing from all seven of Schnader’s offices, we serve clients engaged in a large variety of enterprises, including service providers in the solid, medical, and hazardous waste industries, recycling and scrap industries, battery recycling, beneficial reuse management companies, and alternative energy developers and service providers and vendors, among others. 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.
We also help clients who are in the business of environmental sustainability or who are seeking to employ more sustainable practices as a part of their everyday business. The attorneys at Schnader have been involved in siting environmental service facilities, the development and redevelopment of brownfield sites, obtaining approvals and permits from the regulatory agencies for beneficial reuse of material that was previously disposed of and green building and other sustainability initiatives. Whether it is working with a steel manufacturer seeking to acquire environmental reduction credits after the installation of a new electric furnace, or assisting a large, national provider of comprehensive waste management services in a transaction related to the composting of waste, Schnader’s attorneys seek to develop creative, cost-effective solutions for our clients seeking to embrace a cleaner, greener approach to the world. Our team’s experience includes:
- permitting, compliance and regulatory matters relating to siting, constructing and operating storage, processing, recycling, treatment and disposal facilities;
- acquisitions, divestitures, siting and development 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 various project development documents including sale/leases, operating agreements, supply side arrangements, transportation, treatment, processing and disposal;
- representing developers, financial institutions and private investors in environmental services investments and lending transactions;
- monitoring and providing comment on significant legislation and regulations impacting the environmental services industry;
- 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 assist entities to further their goals for sustainability.
Our Lawyers
The Sustainability and Environmental Services Practice Group is supported by members of our Environmental Law Practice Group, the Green Building Team, and the Energy Practice Group. Members of the Environmental Law Group include former officials of state and federal regulatory agencies. The Green Building Team is comprised of representatives from the Construction Industry Practice Group, whose members include a number of attorneys who have been educated as engineers, have attained professional engineering registration, and have had years of hands-on design and construction experience prior to entering the legal profession. Schnader attorneys are members of the Green Building Alliance and LEED certified, National Solid Waste Management Association and Environmental Industries Association.
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 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.
- 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.
Our Attorneys
Related Practices
News & Publications
- Chambers USA Ranks Schnader as a Top Firm
- Schnader a Tier One Firm in “Best Law Firms” Rankings
- Schnader Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America
- New Program to Add Fees to Meet the Costs of Managing Storm Water
- Schnader Recognized as a Top Firm by Chambers USA
- Environmental, health and safety due diligence when buying or selling a business: Beyond a Phase I
- Pa. High Court Points Way To Valid Employer No-Poach Deals
- Schnader Recognized as a Top Firm by Chambers USA
- Schnader Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2020
- Megan Harmon Marks 30 Years of Giving Scholarships to Students at Woodland Hills High School
- Robert Collings Authored Three Chapters in The Solicitor’s Handbook
- Robert Collings Named to Law360’s Environmental Editorial Advisory Board for 2019
- No-poach employment provisions – are they still acceptable?
- Steves and Sons vs. Jeld-Wen: The First Private Antitrust Divestiture Suit
- Schnader a Tier One Firm in 2019 “Best Law Firms” Rankings
- Schnader Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America 2019
- Are ‘Small’ Policy Adjustments a Way to Make Bigger Environmental Law Changes Later?
- David Smith Named Board President of AJC Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey
- Schnader Advises Valley Pool Sales Regarding Acquisition by Large National Pool Retailer
- Schnader Advises Waste Management Regarding Acquisition of Saratoga Landfill
- Collings Quoted in “Judicial Watch FOIA Suits Spotlights EPA Resistance to Trump”
- Schnader a Tier One Firm in 2017 “Best Law Firms” Rankings
- Ronald Cusano Recipient of 2015 Energy Leadership Award
- Supreme Court Holds That CERCLA Preemption Is Inapplicable to Statutes of Repose
- Partners Megan Harmon and Ken Puhala Named to Schnader’s Executive Committee
- Schnader Recognized as a Tier One Law Firm in the 2014 “Best Law Firms” Rankings
- Thirty-One Schnader Attorneys Selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2014
- Schnader Assists Waste Management in the Acquisition of Two North Dakota Energy Services Companies
- Change The Public Conversation On ‘Unwanted’ Infrastructure
- The City of Philadelphia Passes Two Bills Affecting Taxes on Nonprofits
- Eligibility for Reimbursement from the Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Fund Cannot Be Determined on a Per Tank Basis
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Reaffirms Dunham Rule, Confirms that Marcellus Shale Natural Gas is not a “Mineral”
- Bankruptcy Loses Arguments for Special Relief Under Prepetition Agreements for Environmental Liability
- Schnader’s Bob Collings Included in Who’s Who in Energy 2012
- Electronics Recyclers Will Have To Do More and No Doubt Spend More To Obtain Certification Under R2 Solutions’ R2:2013 Standard
- Schnader Recognized as a Tier One Law Firm in the 2013 “Best Law Firms” Rankings
- So What’s So Bad About Green Washing?
- “The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects U.S. EPA’s Functional Interrelatedness Test for Air Aggregation”
- Megan Harmon Selected as One of the “2012 Most Powerful and Influential Women of Pennsylvania”
- “Green Building: Limitations Clock Starts at First Sign of Trouble”
- “Department of Labor Targets Oil and Gas Industry on Wage and Hour Violations”
- Schnader Assists Clean Earth, Inc. with its Soil Recycling and Disposal Services Expansion in Southeastern Region of the United States
- Thirty-Three Schnader Attorneys Selected for The Best Lawyers in America 2013
- “PIOGA’s Comments and Recommendations Concerning Proposed GP-5”
- “Other Voices: Tips for Closing Your M&A Deal”
- Schnader’s Ron Cusano Attends Event to Benefit the Vincentian Charitable Foundation
- “Continuing Litigation Over Source Determinations in the Oil and Gas Industry Can Be Anticipated”
- Sixty-Eight Schnader Attorneys Rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell®
- EPA Proposes New, Broad Ranging Air Regulations Applicable to the Oil and Gas Source Category
- Supreme Court Holds Federal Courts Do Not Have Jurisdiction to Hear Federal Common Law Nuisance Claims Relating to Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Schnader Recognized as a Top Firm by Chambers USA – Six Partners Also Recognized
- Schnader Recognized as a Top Firm by Chambers USA – Six Partners Also Recognized
- Super Lawyers Recognizes Many Schnader Attorneys in 2011
- “Plaintiffs Can Proceed With the Next Steps in the Litigation of Their Toxic Tort and Related Claims Against Gas Well Operators”
- Megan E. Harmon Named Co-Chair of Schnader’s Environmental Practice Group
- Super Lawyers Recognizes Many Schnader Attorneys in 2010
- Twenty-Eight from Schnader in Best Lawyers in America 2009
- Collings Reelected to Pennsylvania Environmental Council Board
- Schnader Supports Pa. Environmental Council Annual Dinner
Related Events
- Brownfield Redevelopment in Opportunity Zones: Taking Advantage of OZ Tax Benefits
- Megan Harmon and Elliot Dater Serve as Coaches and Moderators at Invent Penn State Venture & IP Conference
- Progressive Networking Luncheon for ACG Pittsburgh
- Robert Collings Presented on Inventory Rule
- Megan Harmon Attended TAGLaw Conference
- Partner Ronald Cusano Served as Faculty Member for 2016 Environmental Law Forum
- How Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Issues Can Change Our Auditing Practices
- Megan Harmon Presented at 2013 Federation of New York Solid Waste & Recycling Conference
- Schnader’s Ron Cusano Presented “Air Quality Update” at PBI’s Environmental Law Forum 2013
- Schnader Attorneys Presented “Top 10 Air Quality Issues for the Oil and Gas Industry in 2013” at PIOGA’s Winter Meeting
- LEED Litigation and Construction Concerns at the New Jersey State Bar Association Renewable Energy Cleantech & Climate Change Meeting – When Clean Energy Meets the Court Room
- Schnader Hosts Green Building Alliance Strategic Plan Announcement
- When “Green” Turns to “Red” and “LEEDS” to a Summons and Complaint: Potential Liability on Green Projects
- Pennsylvania Environmental Council Luncheon
- Joint meeting, Allegheny County Bar Association, Allegheny Mountain Section–Air & Waste Management Association
- A Legal Analysis of EPA’s Efforts to Redefine Solid Waste and Promote Recycling