Our attorneys are experienced and knowledgeable in advising clients in Arizona on all solid waste, hazardous waste, and special waste laws, including RCRA, TSCA, and EPCRA. We have advised clients regarding municipal solid wastes, hazardous wastes, liquid non-hazardous wastes, biosolids, auto shredder fluff, spent solvents, metal plating wastes, alum sludge, and asbestos construction materials. We have excellent relationships with state and federal environmental agencies, and have worked cooperatively with regulators to obtain reasonable legal interpretations of the environmental laws and rules governing wastes.
Our team has represented both public and private clients of all sizes on matters including:
- Responding to emergencies and assisting with the aftermath of accidental spills and releases, with the willingness and ability to join management and response teams onsite to address legal issues as they arise.
- Securing permits and other agency approvals in a timely manner and with favorable terms.
- Counseling regarding compliance with environmental laws governing the generation, use, and disposal of hazardous substances and solid wastes.
- Helping obtain environmental insurance.
- Counseling regarding compliance with underground storage tank laws and regulations, including permitting, testing and reporting.
- Negotiating favorable settlements of hazardous and solid waste violations and penalties.
- Negotiating supplemental environmental projects and similar agreements to mitigate liability, improve the client's image, and generate favorable public relations.
- Advising regarding the proper handling and treatment of liquid waste, sludges and biosolids.
- Conducting environmental audits.
- Helping in-house counsel and environmental managers develop and implement compliance and audit programs.
- Advising regarding any necessary site cleanups.
- Obtaining final agency approvals and closures.
Representative work in this area includes:
- Advice regarding proper waste handling, storage and record-keeping procedures and recommended changes to existing procedures at large and small manufacturing and processing facilities in a wide variety of industries.
- Conducting environmental audits of large and small manufacturing and processing facilities, with further assistance regarding the need for, and ramifications of, self-reporting.
- Representing rural mobile home park owners in responding to a county-issued nuisance Notice of Violation (NOV) caused by the failure of an aging septic system.
- Advising a large Arizona municipality on condemnation of potentially contaminated property for a major roadway expansion project.
- Advising a small gas station owner on proactive steps to address potential impacts from underground storage tanks on an important regional water source.
- Advising a landowner on the remediation of a fuel release from an aviation accident and the later sale and transfer of the property.
- Participating in public comments and hearings, as well as private negotiations, in regard to proposed regulations and ordinances governing the handling of wastewater treatment sludges and biosolids.
- Same-day assistance with chemical releases discovered during construction activities.
- Favorable settlement of NOVs arising from violations of hazardous and solid waste laws where potential penalties amounted to millions of dollars.
- Favorable settlement of NOVs on a tight budget and a short schedule in smaller matters involving hazardous waste, pesticides, environmental nuisance claims, and other waste issues.
- Achieving a settlement with no monetary penalties of NOVs arising from alleged mishandling of contaminated wastewater treatment sludge.
- Assisting a client in maintaining existing land uses and regulatory oversight in regard to a waste processing facility.
- Advice regarding the cleanup of spills and releases ranging from small, on-site releases to large, regional contaminant plumes.
- Achieving a favorable settlement of environmental nuisance claims arising from agricultural activities associated with biosolids.
- Assisting clients in addressing the public's perception of and reaction to spills and violations, as well as to proposed facilities or changes in procedures with perceived impacts to neighboring communities.
Our work is done with a focus on achieving and maintaining good relationships with stakeholders and community groups. We work with clients to preserve their positive public image and to effectively communicate their efforts to protect the environment.
Our team has been involved in Arizona's waste programs for over twenty-five years. Our practice group lead attorney served on the Soils Cleanup Task Force that created Arizona's original Soil Cleanup Standards and on the Underground Storage Tank Policy Commission that oversees cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks. We have been involved in the creation of every iteration of the State's policy on use of institutional and engineering controls at contaminated sites. All members of our team have conducted RCRA audits, including audits of some of Arizona's most complex manufacturing facilities.
Our practice group lead attorney was involved in creation of Arizona's current Superfund program, the Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF), helped draft the current WQARF rules, and has served on the WQARF Advisory Board since its creation. Our strong working relationships with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and other public and private environmental counsel, have helped our team to successfully represent clients in dozens of superfund sites.
In one high-profile representation, our team represented a Brownfield developer in remediating a portion of a federal superfund site, deleting that site from the federal superfund list, and transforming that site into a thriving regional retail center. All members of our team were involved in that award-winning project. Other projects have included settlement of landowners' Superfund liability for tenants' contamination of the property.
