HCMP - Environmental

Environmental

Adding environmental expertise to your property issues

We offer comprehensive and practical legal advice on a broad range of environmental issues. Here is how we can help you.

Provide input and guidance with respect to the following types of environmental studies and investigations:

Asbestos abatement
Biological assessments and opinions
Remedial investigation and feasibility studies
Environmental impact statements
Environmental site assessments, Phase I and II
Wetland delineations

Help you prepare and obtain the following types of environmental plans and permits:

Cleanup action plans
Prospective purchaser agreements
SEPA determinations
Habitat conservation plans
Shoreline permits
Hydraulic and Army Corps permit approvals
NPDES and stormwater permits
Wetland fill or alteration permits

Help you find innovative and cost-effective solutions to the following types of problems:

Contamination of soil, groundwater, or sediments
Environmental enforcement actions
Hazardous waste management and disposal
Insurance coverage for environmental claims
Negotiation of federal and state agreed orders and consent decrees
Purchase and sale of contaminated property
Remediation of contaminated sites
Redevelopment of contaminated property
Review of contracts for environmental services
Leaking underground storage tanks
Water quality violations
Water rights and transfers

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Environmental compliance and permits.

Noncompliance with environmental regulations can result in costly civil and criminal penalties. We help clients anticipate and avoid environmental problems through environmental counseling and compliance audits. When a problem does arise, we help our clients find innovative and practical solutions that are still protective of human health and the environment.

We can also help you obtain environmental permits for your business operations or development plans. In many cases, regulatory agencies have considerable discretion to place conditions on permits. Our attorneys are extremely successful at negotiating all types of environmental permits, including NPDES permits, stormwater permits, and wetland fill permits. We pride ourselves on having an excellent reputation with the federal, state, and local regulatory agencies in Washington.

For more information about how we can help you with land use permits, see Permits and Entitlements.

Contracts and business transactions.

Environmental issues are an important consideration in many business transactions, including the purchase and sale of property or business assets, leases and foreclosures, and lender financing. Our attorneys regularly review real estate agreements, loan documents, and asset purchase agreements to address environmental liabilities that could arise from those transactions. We can also help you conduct due diligence and environmental audits.

When a client conducts an environmental investigation or remediation, we often draft and negotiate contracts with consulting firms, remediation contractors, and other firms that provide environmental services. Although many of these firms are well established and carry adequate insurance, their standard service agreements may need to be revised to protect your interests. Similarly, we can assist consulting firms and others with their contracts.

For more information about our business practice, see Business.

Environmental investigation and remediation.

No one should start an environmental investigation or remediation without a clear strategy and a thorough consideration of end goals. Necessary environmental work can often be performed in a way that does not interfere with current uses of the property or future development plans. We provide clients with guidance concerning the nature and scope of remediation that is necessary or desirable, and help develop remedial action objectives that are cost-effective.

We represent clients that have been named as potentially liable persons at federal and state hazardous waste sites throughout Washington and Oregon. We can help you negotiate an agreed order or consent decree that contains an acceptable scope of remedial work and protects your right to recover future remedial action costs from other liable parties.

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Negotiation, mediation, and litigation.

Conflicts over environmental problems can be protracted and expensive. Whenever possible, we work to solve conflicts through negotiation and mediation. We reserve litigation for those situations when negotiation or mediation is no longer useful or litigation is the only practical means of protecting the interests of our clients. If litigation is necessary, we have the legal and technical expertise to handle environmental cases skillfully and cost-effectively.

We regularly represent clients before federal, state, and local regulatory agencies, including the Department of Ecology, Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, and Department of Fish & Wildlife. We also represent clients on environmental matters before the Pollution Controls Hearings Board and the Shorelines Hearings Board.

We represent clients in complex environmental litigation, including toxic tort cases, citizen suits, cost recovery lawsuits, and litigation arising under specific federal and state environmental programs such as CERLCA, CWA, MTCA, NEPA, and SEPA.

For more information about our litigation practice, see Land Use & Real Estate Litigation and Litigation.

For More Information Contact: Howard F. Jensen

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	HCMP attorneys offer expertise, creativity, and a "can do" attitude.

	Environmental Adding environmental expertise to your property issues We offer comprehensive and practical legal advice on a broad range of environmental issues. Here is how we can help you. Provide input and guidance with respect to the following types of environmental studies and investigations: Asbestos abatement Biological assessments and opinions Remedial investigation and feasibility studies Environmental impact statements Environmental site assessments, Phase I and II Wetland delineations Help you prepare and obtain the following types of environmental plans and permits: Cleanup action plans Prospective purchaser agreements SEPA determinations Habitat conservation plans Shoreline permits Hydraulic and Army Corps permit approvals NPDES and stormwater permits Wetland fill or alteration permits Help you find innovative and cost-effective solutions to the following types of problems: Contamination of soil, groundwater, or sediments Environmental enforcement actions Hazardous waste management and disposal Insurance coverage for environmental claims Negotiation of federal and state agreed orders and consent decrees Purchase and sale of contaminated property Remediation of contaminated sites Redevelopment of contaminated property Review of contracts for environmental services Leaking underground storage tanks Water quality violations Water rights and transfers TOP Environmental compliance and permits. Noncompliance with environmental regulations can result in costly civil and criminal penalties. We help clients anticipate and avoid environmental problems through environmental counseling and compliance audits. When a problem does arise, we help our clients find innovative and practical solutions that are still protective of human health and the environment. We can also help you obtain environmental permits for your business operations or development plans. In many cases, regulatory agencies have considerable discretion to place conditions on permits. Our attorneys are extremely successful at negotiating all types of environmental permits, including NPDES permits, stormwater permits, and wetland fill permits. We pride ourselves on having an excellent reputation with the federal, state, and local regulatory agencies in Washington. For more information about how we can help you with land use permits, see Permits and Entitlements. Contracts and business transactions. Environmental issues are an important consideration in many business transactions, including the purchase and sale of property or business assets, leases and foreclosures, and lender financing. Our attorneys regularly review real estate agreements, loan documents, and asset purchase agreements to address environmental liabilities that could arise from those transactions. We can also help you conduct due diligence and environmental audits. When a client conducts an environmental investigation or remediation, we often draft and negotiate contracts with consulting firms, remediation contractors, and other firms that provide environmental services. Although many of these firms are well established and carry adequate insurance, their standard service agreements may need to be revised to protect your interests. Similarly, we can assist consulting firms and others with their contracts. For more information about our business practice, see Business. Environmental investigation and remediation. No one should start an environmental investigation or remediation without a clear strategy and a thorough consideration of end goals. Necessary environmental work can often be performed in a way that does not interfere with current uses of the property or future development plans. We provide clients with guidance concerning the nature and scope of remediation that is necessary or desirable, and help develop remedial action objectives that are cost-effective. We represent clients that have been named as potentially liable persons at federal and state hazardous waste sites throughout Washington and Oregon. We can help you negotiate an agreed order or consent decree that contains an acceptable scope of remedial work and protects your right to recover future remedial action costs from other liable parties. TOP Negotiation, mediation, and litigation. Conflicts over environmental problems can be protracted and expensive. Whenever possible, we work to solve conflicts through negotiation and mediation. We reserve litigation for those situations when negotiation or mediation is no longer useful or litigation is the only practical means of protecting the interests of our clients. If litigation is necessary, we have the legal and technical expertise to handle environmental cases skillfully and cost-effectively. We regularly represent clients before federal, state, and local regulatory agencies, including the Department of Ecology, Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, and Department of Fish & Wildlife. We also represent clients on environmental matters before the Pollution Controls Hearings Board and the Shorelines Hearings Board. We represent clients in complex environmental litigation, including toxic tort cases, citizen suits, cost recovery lawsuits, and litigation arising under specific federal and state environmental programs such as CERLCA, CWA, MTCA, NEPA, and SEPA. For more information about our litigation practice, see Land Use & Real Estate Litigation and Litigation. For More Information Contact: Howard F. Jensen Top
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