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Services Available
We represent individuals, businesses and local governments in permit, variance, and enforcement proceedings, citizen suits, and judicial and administrative appeals. We regularly negotiate on behalf of our clients with regulators and enforcement officials from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and local government. We have a wealth of experience in formal and/or informal administrative hearings. Our environmental attorneys have argued before the United States Supreme Court and the Virginia Supreme Court, and other venues across the state and the nation.
We serve as general counsel to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which not only enhances our expertise in environmental law, but evidences our dedication to help protect the waterways and greenways. For example, we have assisted the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in its successful implementation of conservation tax credits projects.
Private Sector Clients
We are frequently engaged on behalf of industrial and other commercial clients to protect them from, and minimize to the extent possible their exposure to, environmental claims. Our environmental team frequently develops and reviews environmental compliance programs and audits. The attorneys also assist clients with required permitting at the federal, state and local levels and are available throughout the process to handle any issues that may arise. Our representation of local governments, as highlighted below, has provided us with tremendous experience, rendering our lawyers uniquely qualified to assist private clients before local governments and other governmental bodies.
Our environmental litigators have defended private clients in multi-jurisdictional environmental clean-up disputes where insurance coverage has been disputed and have defended businesses against citizen suits and private actions brought under the federal RCRA and Superfund statutes. Sands Anderson has also participated in the oversight of contaminated site clean-ups throughout the United States for nationwide clients, and has defended clients against criminal liability arising from hazardous releases.
Governmental Clients
For over fifty years Sands Anderson has represented local governments across the Commonwealth, and we have served as county attorney or counsel to 88 political jurisdictions and governmental agencies. We assist local governments and other authorities in developing, permitting and regulating public facilities. Sands Anderson 's team is able to address the numerous and complex environmental issues that frequently arise, whether from a regulatory prospective or in actual or threatened environmental litigation. For example, our environmental attorneys have defended localities against landfill-related claims in the Counties of Page, Dinwiddie, Caroline and Brunswick . We recently represented the Tri-County Landfill serving the Counties of Lancaster, Richmond and Northumberland.
Our attorneys have represented local governments in matters brought under the federal RCRA and Superfund statutes. We have handled many matters involving the land application of biosolids, and we have represented local government clients before the Virginia Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as lower state and federal courts. Our attorneys have worked closely with the Virginia Association of Counties on policy issues affecting the authority of local governments to regulate the land application of biosolids and we closely monitor legislation that would reduce such authority.
We are called upon periodically to advise localities on the adoption of local ordinances implementing the requirements of state erosion and sediment control statutes and the Chesapeake Bay Act. We have prosecuted violations of such ordinances on behalf of local government clients.
Related Areas
Sands Anderson 's attorneys also are experienced in handling "toxic tort" litigation. These claims are handled primarily by the firm's Risk Management attorneys. For example, we are involved in the ever-increasing litigation relating to toxic mold claims. We have defended owners of apartment complexes, other property owners and disaster remediation companies in mold cases. Our representation in such cases includes where possible the pro-active, pre-litigation investigation of such claims. Such investigation can prove to be crucial to an effective defense once a lawsuit is filed. Our Risk Management attorneys have also defended owners and operators of gasoline stations in cases involving leaking underground storage tanks. We represent a wide variety of manufacturers and end users in both personal injury and property damage cases involving alleged chemical exposures. These are but a few examples of the sorts of environmental cases handled by our toxic tort attorneys.
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