Benjamin Stonelake has earned a national reputation in the area of environmental law. He assists commercial, financial, industrial and entrepreneurial clients and local government agencies and authorities with all aspects of environmental law, including:
· air and water pollution control and wetlands regulation
· regulation of solid and hazardous wastes and toxic substances
· superfund and hazardous waste site cleanups
· toxic tort litigation and environmental matters affecting bankruptcy proceedings
· risk-based remediation strategies
· brownfield redevelopment
Mr. Stonelake was an attorney for the Middle Atlantic Region of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and was the chief enforcement attorney for that office from 1979 to 1981. Mr. Stonelake is listed in International Who's Who of Environment Lawyers. Mr. Stonelake has authored numerous articles and presented many lectures on various environmental law topics.
He assists clients with the purchase and sale of regulated facilities and contaminated properties and represents them in permitting new and existing pollution sources. He also represents them in administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement proceedings and litigation to recover or apportion costs to clean up contaminated properties.
Mr. Stonelake has received the highest possible rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Representative Matters
· Successfully opposed EPA's proposal to list the properties of several clients on the Superfund National Priorities List
· Convinced EPA to amend its Record of Decision for a Superfund Site, which reduced the final remedy cost
· Convinced a state department of environmental protection to change the final remedy in its Statement of Decision and to accept only 10% of its past cleanup costs; the revised remedy and past cost settlement reduced the client's potential liability
· Convinced a local citizens group, a state department of environmental protection, and EPA to settle Clean Air Act enforcement litigation on terms that avoided installation of an afterburner on two incinerators
· Conceived and supervised an award-winning project to control erosion of contaminated soil in stormwater runoff from a Delaware HSCA Site
Community Service & Affiliations
Mr. Stonelake is the former chair and vice chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association.
Publications
SUPREME COURT ISSUES STUNNING REBUKE TO EPA ENFORCEMENT PRACTICE
[Alert]
Environmental
March 2012 (No. 2)
Heather L. Demirjian, Margaret Anne Hill, Kevin J. Bruno and Benjamin G. Stonelake
NJ LSRPS-SPEAKING WITH THE ENEMY?
[Alert]
Real Estate
March 2012
Benjamin G. Stonelake and Heather L. Demirjian
U.S. SUPREME COURT ALLOWS APPORTIONMENT OF SUPERFUND LIABILITY WHERE A REASONABLE BASIS EXISTS, ALSO NARROWS "ARRANGER" LIABILITY; DECISION WILL LIKELY INCREASE LITIGATION
[Alert]
Environmental Law Update
May 2009 (No. 2)
Heather L. Demirjian, Margaret Anne Hill, Benjamin G. Stonelake and Rachel S. Wolfe Mandel
CHEMICAL SECURITY REGULATION REQUIRES TOP-SCREEN SUBMISSIONS BY JANUARY 22
[Alert]
Chemical Industry News
January 2008 (No. 1)
Margaret Anne Hill and Benjamin G. Stonelake
REACH-PROACTIVE PLANNING IS RECOMMENDED TO ADDRESS THE EU'S NEW CHEMICAL POLICY INITIATIVES
[Alert]
Chemical Industry Update
May 2007 (No. 3)
Benjamin G. Stonelake, Margaret Anne Hill and Jeanne M. Grasso
PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION INCREASES PENALTIES FOR HAZMAT VIOLATIONS
[Alert]
Environmental Law Alert
March 2006
Margaret Anne Hill, Benjamin G. Stonelake, Jonathan K. Waldron and Jeanne M. Grasso
EPA PROPOSES TO REVISE SPCC RULES AND EXTEND COMPLIANCE DATES
[Alert]
Environmental Law Alert
January 2006
Margaret Anne Hill, Benjamin G. Stonelake, Jonathan K. Waldron, Jeanne M. Grasso and Thomas Z. Cheplo
SMALL BUSINESS LIABILITY RELIEF AND BROWNFIELDS REVITALIZATION ACT (PUBLIC LAW 107-118)
[Alert]
Environmental Alert
January 2002
Margaret Anne Hill and Benjamin G. Stonelake