Environmental Law

Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie’s environmental lawyers advise clients on a wide variety of environmental issues, including:

Air quality
Water quality
Superfund and hazardous and solid waste
Environmental compliance
Environmental litigation

Air Quality

Our experience includes counseling with respect to regulatory compliance under the complex, intertwined system of overlapping federal, state, local and Tribal laws and regulations, and representing clients’ interests in numerous environmentally related administrative and judicial proceedings. We represent developers, manufacturers, utilities, mining companies, lenders, financial institutions, rock product companies, agribusiness, water providers, water users, and a large number of individuals and companies in industries throughout the Southwest.

Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie’s environmental lawyers advise clients on air quality issues arising under the Clean Air Act and parallel state, Tribal, local laws, and regulations. Our representation includes all aspects of permitting, including pre-application guidance, negotiations with permitting agencies, public comments, and administrative and judicial appeals. We counsel clients in environmental audits and represent their interests before a wide array of federal, state and local administrative agencies. Our environmental lawyers, working with the firm’s litigators, are experienced in defending individuals and companies in enforcement actions alleging violations of the federal, state and local clean air standards, as well as a variety of other environmental litigation.

Water Quality

In the arid Southwest, water quality and compliance with the Clean Water Act and other applicable federal and state water quality laws and regulations give rise to highly visible, high priority and sometimes emotionally-charged issues. Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie environmental attorneys regularly counsel clients on such matters as regulatory compliance, water quality standards, groundwater quality protection and aquifer protection permits, National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits and Section 404 permits. We regularly advise clients regarding waste water and storm water discharges, inspection and compliance reviews, environmental due diligence considerations and wetlands permitting. Our environmental attorneys appear before federal and state regulators in matters involving compliance, permitting, rulemaking and proceedings to establish quality standards. We have also litigated, at the trial court and various appellate court levels, a variety of water quality permitting, enforcement and compliance issues

Superfund and Hazardous Waste

Federal and state regulators are actively pursuing remedial action at Superfund and other contaminated sites throughout the Southwest. Our experienced environmental lawyers represent and advise clients with respect to matters arising under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and corresponding state laws. We advise clients regarding the handling and disposal of hazardous and solid waste, as well as site remedial investigations and associated site study and cleanup plans. Our environmental lawyers work with mining companies, developers and other purchasers of sites and properties to establish the Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Defense under CERCLA and parallel state laws, including compliance with the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment requirements and compliance with the all appropriate inquiry standard. We assist clients who are potentially responsible parties in claims brought by federal and state agencies to recover remediation costs and defend prior property owners against claims for the recovery of clean up costs. The environmental lawyers of Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie represent plaintiffs and defendants in private cost recovery litigation under CERCLA and RCRA and in contamination and damage claims caused by leaking Underground Storage Tanks (UTS). We also assist clients in negotiating CERCLA and RCRA consent agreements and defend parties to enforcement actions under RCRA.

Environmental Compliance

Increased government oversight and environmental awareness is present in virtually every aspect of doing business in the United States subjecting businesses to an increased level of federal and state environmental compliance requirements. The Southwestern states are no exception. Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie’s environmental lawyers believe in a proactive, preventative approach to environmental compliance. Through awareness of applicable laws and regulations, employee education and training and internal procedures, audits and inspections, environmental compliance issues can be greatly reduced and sometimes eliminated. Through a combination of practical compliance advice and assistance in developing internal guidelines and procedures, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie’s environmental lawyers assist our clients in developing and implementing successful, cost effective compliance programs. When problems do arise, our lawyers are ready to assist and advise in implementing remedial measures and defending against all types of enforcement actions and claims.

Environmental Litigation

Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie’s experienced civil and criminal litigators team with the firm’s environmental lawyers to provide representation for plaintiffs and defendants in a wide array of civil and criminal litigation matters in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies. We have acted as counsel for plaintiffs and defendants in private cost recovery actions, natural resource damage suits and UST claims. Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie lawyers have extensive experience in litigating various permitting, regulatory and rulemaking controversies, defending Superfund remediation and cost recovery claims and representing clients in investigations and civil enforcement actions. We assist clients in such varied matters as defending individuals and companies in criminal prosecutions and grand jury investigations to pursuing environmental insurance claims on behalf of policy holders. Whatever your environmental litigation needs, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie attorneys have the knowledge and experience to represent your interests before administrative, trial and appellate tribunals.

Full Team
Regulatory & Government

Related Services

Mining & Mineral Rights

Related Industries

Real Estate

Air Quality

Representative Matters

Counsel to a manufacturing company in multiple air quality emission bank applications, transfers and sales.
Counsel to utilities, rock products companies, manufacturing facilities, cement plants, and home builders in state and federal air quality enforcement defense actions.
Counsel to cement plants and hard rock mining companies in air quality permit appeals before the Office of Administrative Hearings, Arizona Superior Court and the Arizona Court of Appeals.
Counsel to developers, construction companies, and industrial facilities in enforcement defense actions.

Water Quality

Representative Matters

Counsel to air conditioning manufacturer to defend industrial waste water notice of violation, ultimately obtaining a fine reduction of 97 percent.
Counsel to rock products companies, hard rock mining companies, manufacturing facilities, cement plants and home builders in water quality enforcement defense actions.
Counsel to hard rock mining company in water quality permit appeals before the Environmental Appeals Board and the Ninth Circuit.
Performance of due diligence investigations on mining development projects and operating mines on behalf of prospective purchasers and lenders.
Participated in a number of legislative and regulatory stakeholder processes that affect environmental regulatory developments in the southwest.
Counsel to developer in conformity challenge under Clean Air Act.

Superfund and Hazardous Waste

Representative Matters

Counsel to a nationwide manufactured housing company to prove non-contribution to a major Phoenix Superfund area.
Counsel to dry cleaning operator to prove non-contribution to federal Superfund Site.
Counsel to national uniform laundry and dry cleaning operator to prove non-contribution to State Superfund Site.
Counsel to copper mine operator to provide Bona Fide Prospective Purchase Status in EPA-lead Site.
Counsel to multiple clients in the removal of USTs and subsequent characterization and remediation of release from same.

Environmental Compliance

Representative Matters

Counsel to multiple trade associations in legislative, regulatory and litigation efforts.
Counsel to multiple manufacturing clients to conduct compliance self-audits and implement required changes resulting from same.
Counsel to industrial, mining, and construction clients and trade associations in various federal, state, and local rulemaking processes.
Conducted multi-media environmental audits for industrial clients.

Environmental Litigation

Representative Matters

Counsel to utilities, rock products companies, manufacturing facilities, cement plants, and home builders in state and federal air quality enforcement defense actions.
Counsel to cement manufacturing companies in air quality permit appeals before the Office of Administrative Hearings, Arizona Superior Court and the Arizona Court of Appeals.
Counsel to developers, construction companies and industrial facilities in enforcement defense actions.
Counsel to rock products companies, manufacturing facilities, cement plants and home builders in water quality enforcement defense actions.
Counsel to hard rock mining company in air quality and water quality permit appeals before the Office of Administrative Hearings, Arizona Superior Court, the Court of Appeals, the Environmental Appeals Board and the Ninth Circuit.
Counsel to developer defending against Sierra Club attack against properly issued permits.
Counsel to the State of Kuwait in its claims before the United Nations for environmental damages resulting from the Republic of Iraq's 1990/1991 invasion and occupation of Kuwait.