Environmental

HMS Legal has represented a diverse group of clients in many areas of environmental law practice before Pennsylvania and federal environmental regulatory agencies and trial and appellate courts.  Our environmental clients include utilities such as water/wastewater service providers and electric generators, as well as other business clients, large and small, when their operations are affected by environmental regulation.  We have represented clients in permit and appeal proceedings before the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (Pa. DEP), the Environmental Hearing Board, and in proceedings before the Susquehanna and Delaware River Basin Commissions.  We work with engineers, developers and transactional counsel on siting, interconnection, construction and operation permits and work closely with regulatory agencies to find practical solutions to environmental permitting and enforcement challenges.

The lawyers of HMS Legal advise clients on a variety of environmental issues:

• Property acquisition and environmental due diligence
• Interpretation of Phase I environmental site assessments and remediation plans
• Investigation, characterization, and remediation of soil and groundwater contamination
• Negotiating the allocation of environmental responsibility in real estate and business transactions
• Permitting for large and small energy generation projects
• Water/wastewater permitting and enforcement
• Soil remediation under Pennsylvania’s Brownfields statute (the Land Recycling Program)
• Compliance with federal and state initiatives related to the Chesapeake Bay
• Superfund actions
• Stormwater and MS4 issues
• Industrial wastewater pretreatment issues
• Water well permitting and enforcement matters
• Environmental Hearing Board trials and appeals
• Enforcement actions and appeals
• Site selection and environmental risk management