Practice Areas & Industries: Holland & Hart LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

As environmental issues continue to be of concern to business, government and citizens alike, companies in almost every industry have found that environmental laws apply to their operations. More regulations, along with heightened environmental awareness, present businesses with many challenges.  With one of the largest and most sophisticated environmental practices in the country, Holland & Hart attorneys are oriented towards proactive compliance, helping our clients develop sound environmental management practices that are good for business and the communities in which they operate.

Holland & Hart takes great pride in the depth and experience of our environmental attorneys.  Our environmental expertise includes solid and hazardous waste; toxic and radioactive substances; water quality; air quality; climate change; wildlife and vegetation protection; cultural resources protection; mined land reclamation; and other environmental impact assessments.

While our practice thrives in the resource-rich Mountain West, our environmental attorneys work on sophisticated issues throughout the country, including the West Coast, the East Coast, the Midwest and Alaska.  Because of our in-depth knowledge of the issues, we have been, and continue to be, actively involved in regulatory and rulemaking issues.  Our environmental practice addresses our clients' wide range of legal needs, such as environmental assessment permitting, ongoing compliance advice, environmental audits, enforcement action defense, soil and groundwater remedial actions, legislative and rulemaking developments, and litigation when necessary.

Services Available

Environmental Assessment and Permitting

For proposed projects, such as major new facilities, or in cases where a real estate or other business transaction becomes subject to environmental consideration, our assistance often begins with a comprehensive analysis of the applicable federal and state environmental permit and authorization requirements.

Our work in this area includes environmental audits to help buyers or sellers of property assess the significance of potential environmental concerns at a specific site, as well as due diligence, advice regarding risk  allocation mechanisms, appropriate indemnification, warranty, and other provisions in contracts and other documents relating to property transfer.  We also handle environmental provisions of agreement documents for mergers, acquisitions, financing, and other transactions.

In helping our clients work through the various permitting processes, our efforts typically include preparing applications, meeting with agency representatives and participating in public hearings.  Our efforts often also include analysis of environmental impact statements or environmental assessment requirements under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).  This includes reviewing the draft and final documents and monitoring the data acquisition and analysis process to ensure legal adequacy.  For ongoing operations, our assistance includes permit renewal, amendment and transfer issues.

Compliance and Enforcement

For ongoing operations, we provide assistance with respect to continuing compliance with environmental laws.  These efforts include:

• audits to determine the status of environmental compliance
• formulation of measures and procedures necessary to attain and maintain compliance
• advice regarding numerous specific air, water, solid and hazardous waste, wildlife protection and other compliance issues that arise during the operating life of a facility

Remedial Actions

Pursuant to CERCLA and parallel state laws, private parties have been required to conduct remedial action at both active and inactive "contaminated" sites.  We have advised clients with respect to both voluntary cleanup efforts with a goal of eliminating potential concerns before they result in federal or state enforcement actions, as well as clients with sites on the National Priorities List (NPL) under CERCLA.  Our efforts with respect to these sites include:

• assisting in responding to CERCLA section 104(e) information requests
• negotiating consent decrees or administrative orders regarding site study and cleanup
• monitoring the Remedial Investigation/Feasiblity Study process
• defending federal cost recovery actions

In addition to NPL sites, we have provided advice and representation with respect to a variety of formal and informal state-initiated cleanup efforts.

Legislation and Rulemaking

Our legislative efforts on both the federal and state levels have included direct lobbying and drafting, as well as advice to clients' lobbyists regarding general strategy and specific language with respect to proposed legislation.  On the federal level, Holland & Hart has been active with respect to specific developments affecting the mining industry in RCRA, CERCLA and Clean Air Act legislation.  Examples of efforts on the state level include drafting and lobbying on behalf of a variety of clients with respect to solid and hazardous waste, radiation control, water quality and air quality statues in several western states.

Because promulgation of rules and regulations implementing environmental statutes has an impact on our clients, our attorneys have been actively involved in rulemaking, including development of written comments and expert testimony and participating in public hearings.  We often become involved in negotiations with agencies during the initial development of new regulations, prior to the stage of formal proposal.  Examples of rulemaking efforts that we have participated in include:

• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemaking regarding federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations
• the regulation of mining and mineral processing wastes under RCRA
• EPA's solid waste and reuse/recycling rules under RCRA
• natural resource damage regulations under CERCLA
• the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's mill tailings regulations
• federal Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations
• ambient air quality standards
• intermittent and supplemental control strategies
• good engineering practice stack heights
• particulate matter size regulation
• state air quality standards and procedures
• state ground water quality regulatory programs and water quality classifications and standards