Air emissions, stormwater and wastewater discharges, solid and hazardous waste disposal activities, and land use all require permits or authorizations under many federal, state and municipal laws and regulations. Our environmental attorneys assist with permitting matters before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and United States Army Corps of Engineers, as well as other federal agencies and state agencies in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and around the nation. We also negotiate with local, state and federal regulators concerning permit conditions and, where necessary, represent clients in administrative hearings and litigation.

Our permitting work includes freshwater wetlands, floodplain management, and coastal resource permitting for property bordering coastal resources, such as tidal waters, tidal wetlands, beaches, dunes and other areas that are subject to an additional layer of state and local regulation.

Our lawyers have sophisticated understanding of the intersection of protecting and preserving natural resources and the needs of businesses and communities in fostering opportunities for economic development. Our detailed knowledge of regulatory agency policies helps us secure necessary permits in a timely and cost-effective nature. We use the regulatory tools available to minimize delays and costs associated with the permit application and project development processes.

We represent developers of land in sensitive natural resource areas at all stages of the development process, from project design to the public participation process and ultimately to final permitting and any necessary administrative and judicial proceedings.

Land development projects, whether residential subdivisions, retail shopping centers or other large-scale development projects, may require a variety of state and federal environmental permits beyond local zoning.

Army Corps of Engineers wetland permits and related State Water Quality Certifications and other permitting are commonly required where projects involve even small potential impacts. Some projects may trigger an Endangered Species Act review, which can complicate and potentially delay permit issuance without appropriate advanced planning.

Our lawyers have successfully negotiated clients’ applications through these complicated permit processes in contexts ranging from golf courses, highway expansions, residential subdivisions, active adult communities and retail shopping centers, among many others.

We counsel our clients on maintaining compliance with the various local, state and federal laws and regulations for projects to receive approvals, including completion of simultaneous environmental reviews under state and federal law.

We assist public and private entities with the environmental zoning and land use review processes required under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), Connecticut’s Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act, the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the New York City Environmental Quality Review Act (CEQR) and the New York Uniform Land Use Review Procedures (ULURP).

Our attorneys also regularly advise clients on the lease, purchase or sale of real property and other assets. The firm’s extensive transactional experience includes handling various types of sophisticated financings, including asset securitizations, revolving credit and term loans, letters of credit and related reimbursement agreements, interest rate swaps, and taxable and tax-exempt bond issuances. We also negotiate appropriate contractual terms addressing all forms of environmental risks and compliance with applicable laws.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys have vast experience in the areas of land use, zoning and development, real property acquisition and financing, architectural and construction contracting, municipal law and leasing. We regularly handle matters ranging from local land use law to historic preservation and eminent domain.

Our environmental attorneys counsel private and public sector clients in each phase of development projects requiring environmental review and land use approval. This includes working with municipalities throughout New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and around the nation to obtain the necessary zoning approvals and required environmental reviews.

As zoning and development counsel, the firm is available to assist, as needed, in all phases of a project, including all aspects of site acquisitions (which can be done by negotiated purchase or government-assisted condemnation); financing for the project (which may include conventional construction and permanent mortgage loans or lease financing); negotiation of agreements with architects, general contractors and/or construction managers; negotiation of leases; and assistance in the local government approval processes, including zoning, subdivision and environmental approvals. We also negotiate leases and agreements with architects, general contractors and construction managers.

Any transaction involving the transfer of real estate, stock or business assets has the potential to trigger significant environmental liability issues. Our environmental lawyers bring years of experience to such projects. We help clients identify and address liabilities associated with both known and unknown environmental conditions to minimize risks and maximize options.

Our environmental attorneys assist the private and public sector with mixed-use, retail, residential, office, community park complex and other redevelopment projects. Whether the issues involve soil concerns, groundwater concerns, asbestos, reporting obligations, site access, the balancing and allocating of remedial costs and potential liabilities, financing, public infrastructure needs, or marketing an economic or community development opportunity, we take pride in finding proven brownfield and remediation site solutions.

Harris Beach Murtha takes a comprehensive and strategic approach to brownfield site acquisition, remediation and redevelopment. Through the strategic blending of federal, state and local economic incentive programs that spur investment, our environmental attorneys assist with the remediation of contaminated property with safeguards to protect public health, producing aesthetically pleasing redevelopment projects and creating thriving businesses contributing new tax revenue and maintaining responsible environmental integrity.

We assist our clients in planning and overseeing the work of environmental engineers and consultants in investigating and remediating brownfields under federal and state-based programs. Typically, these efforts involve considerable strategizing concerning the breadth of work necessary to meet applicable cleanup standards and other remediation guidance. We understand the different and frequently overlapping federal (Superfund and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) and state transfer and remediation laws that impact those sites and are well equipped to help our clients clean up these sites in concert with redevelopment plans.

We are familiar with available tools such as prospective purchaser agreements, covenants not to sue, innocent purchaser “safe harbors” and environmental land use restrictions. Other vital tools are insurance products such as pollution legal liability and cost cap policies that, when properly selected and negotiated, can effectively minimize risks of toxic tort and other third-party actions and cost overruns. We also assist our clients in identifying and taking advantage of brownfields grant and loan programs that are available from state and federal agencies. We pride ourselves in facilitating transactions through creative solutions that protect our clients from known and unknown liabilities.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys advise clients on all facets of energy projects and other environmentally significant facilities, including financing, permitting and development. Our work includes innovative projects that produce energy from renewables, biomass, fossil fuels, fuel cells, solar, solid waste, natural gas, and other resources through cogeneration, small power production and merchant power plant development. We bring considerable experience in federal and state energy policy and pricing law, in addition to environmental law, for such projects.

Our firm has been involved in multiple major energy projects in New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, including hydroelectric generating facilities, base load and peaking fossil fuel fired facilities, and nuclear energy installations. We help clients buy and sell generating assets, assist developers in securing siting and permitting approvals, advise companies on financial restructuring and provide legal support on environmental compliance issues.

Our environmental attorneys help develop strategies for compliance with federal, state and local environmental regulations that directly impact commercial and industrial operations. We also assist clients with developing, reviewing and implementing audits designed to self-correct deficiencies and meet compliance with environmental regulations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state agencies in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and around the nation.

We also advise on the permits necessary under local, state and/or federal law to embark on new development in potentially sensitive environmental areas or brownfield sites, and help clients assess and manage environmental risks under environmental laws that enable the potential assertion of claims against waste generators, transporters and site owners.

We counsel clients on compliance with a number of federal and state regulations concerning health and safety, including those from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

We also assist public and private sector clients in interpreting regulations associated with asbestos containing material (ACM), including required permitting and disclosures during renovation or construction on buildings and structures containing or potentially containing ACM under federal and state law. We address required notifications to regulatory agencies when ACM is disturbed, and work with clients on performing required testing and cleanup of ACM.

Complex environmental litigation is sometimes required to manage and resolve inactive hazardous waste and other waste liability matters and to adjudicate regulatory compliance issues. Harris Beach Murtha attorneys regularly defend clients in federal and state courts from claims based on alleged environmental harm and noncompliance. We have litigated all types of environmental controversies, including government enforcement actions, federal and state citizen suits, toxic torts, private cost recovery actions, environmental insurance claims and challenges to environmental permits and approvals.

We represent businesses, individual landowners, developers and municipal agencies in proceedings involving claims by the federal and state governments, other landowners and other potentially responsible parties. We defend in actions initiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal and state regulatory agencies. This includes representing clients in civil and criminal cases prosecuted under federal laws such as the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Solid Waste Disposal Act, known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

We also defend against actions brought by state agencies in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and others around the nation. This includes those brought by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and those brought under the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) and the New York Navigation Law. We also have a great deal of experience developing defense strategies to respond to criminal enforcement proceedings and investigations.

Our environmental and estate planning attorneys often collaborate to counsel business owners, municipalities, charitable organizations and property owners on all aspects of the preservation of open space, forest and agricultural lands.

Our conservation practice involves all aspects of transactions designed to protect property from development, with a focus on sophisticated conservation easement matters. Conservation easements are a flexible tool for extinguishing defined development rights for a property in a manner that allows the property owner to continue to own and use the land subject to the development restrictions.

Conservation easement deals can involve the purchase or sale of easement interests, the donation of development rights, or bargain sale scenarios. In donation and bargain sale scenarios, our services include careful tax planning to meet applicable Internal Revenue Service tests (e.g., the “conservation purposes” test) and other requirements so donors may qualify for significant income tax deductions and reductions in estate and property taxes.

Wastewater treatment facilities, such as sewers and sewage treatment facilities, are critical, but often overlooked, elements of municipal infrastructure and commercial and industrial development. Our firm has significant experience with addressing the myriad issues related to these facilities for both public and private clients.

On the public side, we help municipalities comply with applicable requirements, including final orders of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; obtain necessary permits; assist with financing and construction; and help formulate revenue programs to pay for projects and draft regulations for the operation and management of wastewater treatment facilities.

For our private clients we negotiate fair terms for connections to, and use of, sewers. When necessary, we seek court relief from unfair benefit assessments, denied access or excessive costs.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large, diverse and complex family of manmade fluorinated chemicals long used in the manufacturing of consumer and industrial products. Found in everything from water to wrappers, awareness and concern surrounding these “forever chemicals” has been gaining steam over the past several years, impacting organizations across a wide range of industries and municipalities.

Harris Beach Murtha helps clients assess PFAS risks and address emerging contaminant issues that may potentially lead to actions by regulatory agencies, including site investigations, off-site contamination concerns, project delays, future liabilities and potential threats of litigation. We work with scientific experts to help guide clients through the legal, regulatory and scientific challenges and uncertainties related to PFAS.

Our attorneys provide critically necessary guidance in dealing with PFAS concerns in many industries, including aviation, manufacturing, food and beverage, real estate development and commercial real estate, municipalities and utilities, insurance carriers, FDA-regulated products such as pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements, cosmetics and personal care products.

Water is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity. For example, Connecticut’s Water Diversion Policy Act and Stream Flow Regulations create significant regulatory hurdles for those whose operations rely on withdrawing more than 50,000 gallons of ground or surface water per day, whether for industrial processes, irrigation of golf courses and crops, or provision of drinking water to customers. We assist clients in all affected sectors to get the water they need in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Harris Beach Murtha’s attorneys support clients seeking to navigate and strategically integrate aspects of ESG into core business strategies, governance and risk-management. In addition to helping our clients understand, prepare for and comply with emerging laws and regulations, we also help them realize the benefits and risks related to ESG.

Understanding and managing ESG and marketplace expectations has become critical for businesses. Successfully addressing ESG initiatives can impact customer and public perceptions, investor support, attracting and retaining talent and profitability. Our experience across industries, governmental sectors, board and corporate governance, and investor and stakeholder engagement, enables us to analyze our clients’ unique business needs and attributes, and help them craft a successful approach to ESG.