Whether you are looking for environmental compliance assistance or litigation
services Meyers Nave’s team of environmental law experts can assist. Our
team members have developed core competencies in discrete areas of environmental
law such as water law, endangered species, solid waste management, brownfields
redevelopment and energy. Our team works together to address complex environmental
concerns efficiently to provide you the highest quality legal services. Our
clients include public agencies, private businesses, developers, trusts, banks
and property owners.
We are familiar with California Environmental Law as lead counsel in litigation
and appellate matters and regulatory counsel on numerous occasions. Our transactional
lawyers have helped to develop California law by drafting, commenting and testifying
on environmental issues before the California Legislature and various regulatory
agencies.
Our depth and breadth of expertise in State and federal water quality laws,
solid and hazardous waste laws, environmental cost recovery laws, and energy
matters enables us to successfully and skillfully navigate complex regulatory
matters and litigate enforcement and cost recovery actions brought pursuant
to CERCLA, Polanco Act, Clean Water Act, and California common law.
Some of our notable achievements are in environmental permitting, regulatory
compliance, regulatory enforcement, practice before administrative bodies, and
litigation related to cost recovery, permit appeals and enforcement.
Water Quality and Water Rights
We represent numerous waste water agencies and cities in water quality matters
with respect to permitting: NPDES, storm water, and construction related environmental
and wetlands; CEQA; wetlands, Coastal Act and ocean protection. We have provided
services as general counsel, special transactional or regulatory counsel, and
litigation counsel both during administrative and regulatory processes and within
the federal and State court systems. Our services commonly include defense of
private and agency enforcement actions, administrative appeals and state and
federal court litigation of regulatory standards.
Brownfields and Remediation of Contaminated Properties
Our innovative brownfields team creates a collaborative effort in which all
parties work together to efficiently cleanup environmental contamination and
put property back to use as quickly as possible. This approach works because
we have established and maintain excellent working relationships with many regulatory
agencies, including the regional boards, the Department of Toxic Substances
Control, the State Water Resources Control Board and county environmental oversight
programs. Using this approach, we have helped our clients successfully turn
blighted and underutilized properties into community assets.
Because we have worked with public agencies, developers and responsible parties,
we are able to examine reuse issues from all sides. This multifaceted perspective
is invaluable in maintaining focus on important issues and resolving them quickly
and efficiently. Meyers Nave attorneys negotiated the first AB 389 agreement
in California with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, and the first
AB 389 agreement with a Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Energy, Oil and Gas
We have a unique understanding of energy related issues gained from over two
decades of working with operators, interest owners, landowners, royalty owners,
public agencies, universities and institutional clients. Our in-depth knowledge
of the wide range of operational problems faced by exploration and production
companies is the foundation on which we assist public agency and private clients
with a comprehensive array of energy related legal services, including electric
power generation, alternative, renewable and clean energy, and landfill gas
projects.
We assist clients In all aspects of environmental permitting and compliance
of energy related matters, such as:
- lease negotiations
- title review
- sales of energy producing properties and pipelines
- drafting pipeline franchises
- operating agreements
- financing transactions
- production purchase and sales agreements
- agreements with governmental agencies
When necessary, we provide litigation services concerning environmental compliance,
enforcement actions, as well as, the rights of producers, landowners and royalty
owners for both public and private clients.
Endangered Species and Habitat Conservation Planning
We have broad experience with the Endangered Species Acts, both State and federal.
Our approach focuses on minimizing the time and expense required to satisfy
endangered species requirements to achieve our client's goals and objectives.
Our experience ranges from large scale projects with multiple stakeholders and
agencies to smaller projects that may have minimal impacts on listed species.
These projects include guiding clients through consultations under Section 7
of the Federal Endangered Species Act; negotiating habitat conservation agreements
and natural community conservation plans; and litigating Endangered Species
Act issues.
Solid Waste
For over 20 years, Meyers Nave has provided a wide variety of solid waste and
recycling services to public agencies. These services have been both transactional
and litigation including:
- negotiation and drafting of collection franchises
- formation of solid waste joint powers agencies
- rate setting and applicability of Prop 218
- AB 939 compliance
- drafting and administration of operating agreements
- complex negotiations with national and regional solid waste enterprises
- contractual dispute resolutions
We are also engaged in landfill closure and post closure issues, including
CERCLA litigation for landfill closure and post closure costs.
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