Environmental Law

Selling, buying, leasing or financing real estate, whether commercial, industrial or residential, carries with it environmental risks and potential liability. We advise clients on how to avoid, minimize or manage liability under environmental laws in connection with real estate transactions. We coordinate due diligence and environmental site assessments to make sure the client has a clear understanding of the environmental situation. We are adept at finding creative ways to close transactions involving contaminated properties, including assisting clients with the negotiation and purchase of environmental liability insurance.

We have extensive experience at assisting clients with the environmental aspects of business transactions, including the negotiation of sales or purchases of stock or assets and mergers and acquisitions. We work to structure the transactions, and to coordinate due diligence, to best manage the client’s environmental risk and liability.

Environmental cleanups must be performed according to the guidelines set forth in state and federal laws, including the New Jersey Spill Act, the Industrial Site Recovery Act, and the Site Remediation and Reform Act, as well as the Federal Superfund law and various underground storage tank laws. We assist clients in adhering to these regulations, and in helping them to recover, or avoid spending, significant remediation costs. To that end, we are often successful in obtaining Brownfields grants and other funds under federal and state government programs. We also investigate the availability of insurance funds, and pursue payment from insurance companies on behalf of our clients.

We assist our clients in the development of commercial, industrial and residential properties, including such properties that are contaminated by hazardous substances and wastes, by obtaining funding, tax incentives and other benefits under the Brownfields laws and other federal and state programs. We also help clients obtain permits to develop in or near environmentally sensitive areas, including freshwater and coastal wetlands, waterfront or coastal areas, streams, flood plains, the New Jersey Highlands, the Hackensack Meadowlands, the Pinelands and areas subject to riparian claims by the state.

We have substantial experience assisting clients with capping their liability for the cost to clean-up known contamination. This is accomplished by obtaining guaranteed cost cleanup contracts, where an environmental consultant agrees to cap the client’s liability for environmental cleanup costs. We have also assisted many clients with the negotiation of cost-cap environmental insurance, where the insurance company provides coverage for cleanup costs above the agreed-upon capped cost.

Our attorneys have successfully represented current and former owners and operators of land that are involved in disputes over the clean-up of environmental contamination, including some that have resulted in clients recovering millions of dollars of environmental cleanup costs. With our command of the key regulatory, scientific and other issues, we are able to settle many cases without the need for litigation. For those times where litigation cannot be avoided, we use our understanding of remediation techniques, past manufacturing practices, environmental law and insurance law, and apply investigative and litigation strategies to prosecute and defend against environmental claims. Our attorneys have acted as expert witnesses in numerous litigated cases.

We assist in a variety of areas, including underground storage tanks, the acquisition of water and air pollution control permits, the management of solid and hazardous waste, compliance with worker and community right-to-know laws, renewable energy and green buildings.

In addition to representing companies with regard to their commercial and industrial property, we also work with clients whose business activities directly impact the environment, including manufacturing facilities, gasoline service stations, automotive dealerships, dry cleaners, composting and recycling facilities, and transfer stations.