Environmental Law

Waxman Blumenthal is experienced in guiding businesses through the complicated maze of federal, state, and local environmental health and safety laws. We work with plant managers, engineers, in-house counsel and boards of directors to develop strategic environmental, health and safety systems and audit programs. We assist clients by evaluating and commenting on proposed legislation and regulatory initiatives. We also have a broad range of environmental litigation experience representing Fortune 500 companies, real estate developers, lenders and other businesses. A sampling of our environmental compliance and litigation experienceincludes:

Underground Storage Tank Regulation

Site Development and Brownfield Redevelopment

Site Remediation

Environmental Litigation

Underground Storage Tank Regulation

WB attorneys have years of experience counseling clients on underground storage tank requirements. We have advised clients ranging from individual heating oil tank owners and automotive service stations to large petroleum storage tank farms, chemical manufacturers, and refineries on the technical standards for permitting, operation, and closure of storage tanks, along with the spill planning responsibilities that may be applicable under both state and federal law (such as the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure plan requirements of the federal Clean Water Act, as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990).

WB has significant experience in navigating sites through Ohio’s Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations in obtaining No Further Action letters. WB also assists tank owners to maximize their recovery of assessment and remediation dollars from the state’s Financial Assurance Fund and LUST Fund.

In the litigation context, the firm has defended clients in agency enforcement proceedings and represented both plaintiffs and defendants in private cost recovery actions involving claims under storage tank and other environmental statues as well as common law. WB has also assisted many clients in pursuing insurance funds for remediation of tank releases from both private insurers and state storage tank financial assurance funds. WB attorneys are aware of the unique issues that may arise in storage tank litigation, including determining the date of the release for which insurance coverage is sought, identifying and pursuing parties that may have responsibility for the release, and coordinating remedial activities with litigation objectives.

Site Development and Brownfield Redevelopment

A major focus of WB’s transactional practice involves assisting clients with the environmental aspects of real estate development projects. These matters include both developments on unimpacted land, as well as redevelopment of contaminated or other "brownfield" properties. In addition to counseling on site remediation issues, our work covers the full range of environmental challenges that arise during all phases of a real estate project, including property acquisition, management of natural development constraints, and infrastructure permitting.

As part of site acquisition, we help clients to:

  • perform extensive environmental due diligence to identify potential contamination, development constraints, and regulatory compliance issues;
  • negotiate and draft transactional documents such as environmental indemnities and other provisions of agreements of sale, investigation access agreements, and the environmental components of leases and condominium documents;
  • establish governmental cleanup liability protections through Buyer-Seller Agreements, Prospective Purchaser Agreements, and other voluntary tools, as well as agency consent orders and the establishment of statutory protections like the Superfund bona fide prospective purchaser defense;
  • obtain financing from banks by addressing environmental lender liability and collateral value issues from both the lender and borrower perspective;
  • apply for and obtain public funding, such as grants and low-interest loans, for brownfield cleanup and infrastructure development from a variety of governmental and quasi-governmental agencies and authorities; and
  • secure environmental environmental insurance coverage, including evaluating indications from competing carriers, coordinating the provision of documents and other information to facilitate the underwriting process, and negotiating policy and endorsement language.


Site Remediation

The cleanup of contamination can encompass projects ranging from a minor spill that can be addressed in a matter of minutes to a complex, years-long, multi-party investigation and remediation of soil and groundwater contamination and restoration of damaged natural resources. Remediation is also a key element of redeveloping contaminated "brownfield" properties as urban areas (and, increasingly, older suburbs) struggle to return abandoned and underutilized former industrial sites to productive reuse.

WB lawyers have experience in the myriad site remediation issues that these projects present. We guide our clients through applicable notice, investigation, cleanup, and post-cleanup requirements, helping them tailor a remedial strategy appropriate to the circumstances under both federal and state laws while remaining consistent with business objectives.

In addition to counseling clients on the regulatory aspects of remediation programs, we also provide legal counsel on related issues that often come into play during site cleanups:

  • Environmental Insurance: Environmental insurance may be a useful tool in managing risks associated with both historic contamination and releases from current operations. It also can provide a hedge against unforeseen cost increases in performing a remediation. Moreover, lenders frequently require environmental insurance at brownfield sites as a condition to financing, and local governments may require it in connection with large-scale municipal redevelopment projects. We help clients secure these policies in coordination with insurance brokers, and assist in negotiating policy terms.
  • Public Funding: Particularly where remediation is necessary at large-scale redevelopment projects promoted by local officials, securing public funding may be a critical element of project feasibility. We can assist clients to secure grants, low-interest loans, and other financial assistance from both federal and state sources to help underwrite site investigation, cleanup, and related development activities. Funding may also be available for underground tank cleanups under state financial assurance and grant programs.
  • Cost Recovery: Where other recalcitrant parties bear all or part of the responsibility for remediation, we assist our clients in litigating claims against these parties for cost recovery or injunctive relief.

Environmental Litigation

Environmental litigation comes in many shapes and sizes. At WB, we handle cases in state and federal court, as well as arbitrations, mediations, and agency appeals, for a diverse client base ranging from large multi-national and Fortune 100 companies to smaller businesses.

WB’s wide range of environmental litigation experience enables us to hit the ground running on issues we have handled before, and to efficiently and effectively develop creative and novel strategies in new and emerging areas of the law.

WB’s environmental litigation practice includes the following areas:

  • Cost Recovery, Contribution and Citizen Suit Claims
  • Toxic Tort Defense Litigation
  • Administrative Appeals
  • Natural Resource Damages Claims
  • Insurance Litigation
  • Underground Storage Tank Litigation
  • Government Investigations, Enforcement and Penalty Actions
  • Environmental Contract and Nuisance Claims