ENVIRONMENTAL, MUNICIPAL AND LAND USE
KW provides clients with the highest quality legal representation and services in the area of environmental and land use law. The strength of the firm's practice in these areas is based primarily upon the broad scope of regulatory programs with which our attorneys have had extensive experience, in both government and private practice. In addition to corporations of all sizes, sole proprietorships and individuals, our clients include boards and departments of municipal corporations as they plan and construct major public infrastructure projects.
- Regulatory Permitting and Land Use
One core area of our Environmental Law Department includes regulatory permitting for the construction and operation of a wide array of projects. The firm's attorneys work closely with clients and their technical consultants to obtain timely permit approvals from federal, state and local agencies for electricity generating and transmission facilities; natural gas pipelines and storage facilities; water and sewer projects; solid waste management facilities; industrial, manufacturing and commercial facilities; and hotel and residential projects of all sizes. Our attorneys are among the region's leading authorities on regulations and policies currently being used in Massachusetts to implement permit-related programs such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act; the Clean Air Act (state and federal); the Solid Waste Management Act; the Clean Water Act; and the Wetlands Protection Act and Rivers Protection Act. The firm also guides clients through land use permitting at the local level on matters including zoning, site plan review, subdivision plan approval and compliance with public health and wetlands performance standards. As special municipal counsel, the firm's attorneys have worked closely with the departments of several cities and towns to obtain necessary permits and approvals for large-scale projects (e.g., landfill closures and post-closure development projects; water and sewer projects, and electric generating facility projects).
- Resolution of Contaminated Site Liabilities
A second core area of the firm's environmental practice is resolution of contaminated site liabilities that are identified in the course of site development (including Brownfields redevelopment), property or stock transfers, and financing transactions. The clean-up of contaminated sites in Massachusetts is conducted primarily under M.G.L. Chapter 21E and, after more than 17 years of first-hand involvement with the evolution of this program (including recent Brownfields initiatives), the firm's attorneys assist clients to achieve prompt and cost-effective remedies that limit historic and future liabilities while promoting productive land use. Many of the firm's clients are key participants in the transportation, disposal and reuse of soils excavated from major private and public construction projects, such as the Central Artery/Tunnel Project in Boston. This group of attorneys also has assisted a large number of clients in response to claims for contribution or reimbursement from private parties, and in responding to Requests for Information and defending against Notices of Responsibility issued by state and federal agencies on multi-party site investigations.
- Resolution of Compliance and Enforcement Matters
A third key area of this practice area involves resolution of compliance and enforcement matters involving federal, state and local agencies. When aggressive defense is appropriate, our attorneys will pursue fair, just and timely outcomes. Often the resolution of compliance issues is integral to the client's objectives for permitting new or modified facilities. With a clear understanding of the objectives set by government agencies, our attorneys are successful at conforming the outcome of compliance efforts with the timelines for permitting of new construction. In these cases, the firm's attorneys will develop a comprehensive strategy of fact-finding and will negotiate consent orders or decrees that fairly establish the appropriate corrective measures and future compliance expected of the client. Working closely with clients and their consultants, our firm also has been able to utilize self-evaluation and environmental audit mechanisms available under state and federal policies in order to develop voluntary compliance programs that reduce the risk of lengthy and expensive civil or criminal enforcement and penalty proceedings.
Much of the firm's valuable familiarity in these areas is derived from the experiences of many of the firm's attorneys while working within state, federal, and local government, and in representing municipalities as special municipal counsel. Our attorneys have served in government, learning how regulatory agencies set priorities and gaining an understanding of approaches that will be most effective in pursuing each client's goals for timely resolution of permit applications or compliance and enforcement disputes. In private practice, our attorneys have had multiple experiences with most major and minor regulatory programs at the federal, state and local level, and this also is a key to the firm's ability to assist clients cost-effectively with environmental and land use matters. These experiences cover the spectrum from the most complex construction permits (e.g., New Source Review for major sources of air emissions; Authorization to Construct solid waste landfills and transfer stations; and Wetlands Protection Act orders) to the seemingly "routine" approvals for waste management (e.g., hazardous waste generation; toxic use reduction; stormwater management; and asbestos abatement).
Our firm's goal is to help our clients meet business objectives on time and within budget. By building a team with clients and their consultants (e.g., Licensed Site Professionals, engineers, wetlands scientists, and land use planners), we aim to add our legal skills, regulatory knowledge, and strategic advice to the process of achieving successful outcomes for projects and cases. |
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