ENVIRONMENTAL LAW PRACTICE
SAHN WARD COSCHIGNANO & BAKER provides legal advice and representation in all aspects of environmental law. Our attorneys have a comprehensive understanding of federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations, including those relating to solid and hazardous waste, wetlands, storage tanks, health and safety, spills, release reporting, development and facility siting, and permitting. We have extensive experience assisting our individual, industrial, hospital, university, commercial, and public sector clients in resolving state and federal regulatory compliance and enforcement matters. Our dedicated attorneys represent clients before federal and state courts, and administrative agencies. We advise clients with regard to transactions that require coordination of environmental due diligence and the drafting and negotiation of environmental representations, warranties, indemnifications, and access agreements. In addition, we are experienced in all aspects of land use and state environmental quality reviews (SEQRA) and brownfields redevelopment.
Our attorneys are proud to serve as active members of environmental and legal professional associations. Our Partner, Miriam Villani, is a former Chair of the Environmental Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Environmental Law Section’s journal, The New York Environmental Lawyer, and continues to serve on the Section’s Executive Committee. In addition, as a result of our involvement with the bar associations, and the experience of one of our attorneys as an Assistant Regional Counsel with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, we are well known and respected by representatives of the State and federal environmental regulatory agencies.
The following are examples of the types of matters our environmental attorneys handle:
Providing regulatory compliance counseling and enforcement defense to our clients who have received notices of violation and administrative complaints from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for violations of environmental laws and regulations, including the Freshwater Wetlands Act, the Tidal Wetlands Act, Pesticides regulations, and RCRA hazardous and solid waste storage and disposal regulations.
Advising clients with regard to RCRA corrective action and enforcement.
Representing a client in a multi-party urban river cleanup litigation.
Representing clients in State and federal Superfund multi-party litigations.
Guiding clients through the transactional due diligence process.
Helping a hospital client navigate the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s hospital compliance program and establish a voluntary self-audit program.
Advising clients with regard to spill and release reporting.
Assisting clients in their emergency planning/community right-to-know (EPCRA) activities.
Representing a client in litigation seeking from an adjoining property owner, remediation of contamination and recovery for damages resulting from the contamination of the client’s property.
Representation of a client in a proceeding to vacate and annul a municipality’s findings of no significant environmental impact in the re-zoning of the client’s property from commercial to residential use.
Representation of clients in the preparation, submission and review of environmental impact statements for proposed actions, such as the subdivision and development of land.
Counseling the Firm’s municipal clients on their obligations under relevant environmental laws and regulations.
Our environmental attorneys will be pleased to guide you through the complexities of your environmental matter to a successful resolution.
