Practice Areas: Environmental Solutions

Green and Responsible Development

McGuireWoods is involved in all aspects of civil practice, with particular strengths in environmental and natural resources law, real estate law and land use law and planning. The Environmental Solutions Group of McGuireWoods has cultivated a detailed knowledge of responsible and sustainable approaches to development and has accumulated extensive experience throughout the United States and overseas in developing and implementing environmental solutions. We have dealt with issues regarding the use of gray water, recycling and energy efficiency as well as solar access and wildlife protection. Over the years we have helped our clients deal with social issues such as affordable housing, schools and jobs, at the same time building an extensive library of resources on responsible solutions to environmental and social problems.

The Environmental Solutions Group has highly experienced lawyers in every area of environmental and land use permitting. Consequently, clients have access to detailed, expert guidance in air, water source, water discharge, solid waste disposal, wetlands, historic resources, and endangered species permitting. Decades of land use experience are also available to clients who seek assistance in zoning, subdivision, variance and other forms of land use permitting.

Over its years of work with complex projects, the Environmental Solutions Group has developed an expertise in "scoping" the requisite permits and identifying critical path items. We use this expertise to assist our clients in the initial feasibility analysis necessary for purchasing and financing projects and undertaking new projects in the U.S. and overseas. Building upon the initial feasibility analysis, we also provide project management assistance on critical path analyses, budget and time frame analyses and permit tracking. We are experienced at working closely with our clients’ engineers to obtain all of the necessary permits in an efficient manner and can generate sophisticated tracking charts for our clients to use in their permitting efforts.

The Environmental Solutions Group has extensive experience in dealing with land use compliance issues. We work closely with local governments to resolve disputes over zoning, subdivision and other land use controls, pursue waivers and variances where appropriate, and litigate land use disputes on behalf of clients. We also work with clients to analyze land use legislation, develop strategies on legislative issues and implement such strategies through participation in the state and federal legislative process.

Business clients frequently ask us to conduct environmental audits of industrial facilities and land use audits of retail and commercial facilities. This is particularly common in connection with mergers and acquisitions. We also assist clients in assessing and responding to the results of their due diligence audits. We suggest and negotiate provisions in contracts, purchase agreements, loan agreements, leases and other documents that assign future environmental risk and cleanup responsibilities. We advise clients on issues related to radon, indoor air quality, electro-magnetic fields, lead paint and pipes, asbestos and underground storage tanks.

We have been involved in many aspects of sustainable and energy efficient development. We are counsel for Haymount, a new town planned in Virginia which emphasizes environmental responsibility. We represent a project in Mississippi that is being developed in conjunction with an "eco-plex". We represent the Port of Cape Charles Sustainable Technologies Industrial Park in its efforts to design a new "green" base of industries.

We are national counsel for Greening America, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that focuses on sustainability. We are also national counsel for the Congress for New Urbanism, an organization that focuses on the design of new communities in an effort to reduce automobile dependence, improve the quality of life and reduce sprawl.

Our firm has been helping to build towns and large and small scale communities for decades. Among the most well known of these are Reston, Virginia, the new town of Haymount, Virginia and the urban infill project in Richmond, Virginia — Riverfront. In the mid-west, we have worked with the American Institute of Architects and the Department of Energy to create the legal frameworks necessary to replace and relocate towns like Pattonsburg, Missouri and Valmeyer, Illinois which were devastated by flooding along the Mississippi River. Our efforts emphasized environmental responsibility and sustainability in all aspects of reconstruction. For example, we drafted the "Declaration of Community Responsibilities, Covenants and Restrictions" for Pattonsburg, Missouri, which outlined energy efficiency standards, architectural standards and sustainability standards for the relocated community.

The Environmental Solutions Group has assisted clients in all aspects of new development, beginning with project management in the early, critical stages of development planning and continuing through permit scoping, permitting, designing community documents, dealing with investors, lenders and purchasers and managing the many issues which arise before buildout. We are also experienced in dealing with infill development issues such as property contamination and infrastructure modification. The firm employs several land use planners to provide technical and conceptual guidance and support to our clients.

The Environmental Solutions Group assists start-up companies in the environmental and sustainability fields. With decades of experience from the startup of now nationally known companies, our lawyers can help new nonprofit and for-profit businesses get on their feet and focused on their missions. We have been the "start-up" counsel for several national and statewide nonprofit corporations. We also represent startups in the photovoltaic and sustainability consulting business.

Case Studies

Haymount. Our lawyers have been involved in all aspects of the creation and permitting of this new town in Caroline County, Virginia. When built out this town will house between 10,000 and 12,000 residents and 750,000 square feet of commercial space. The town design and operating principles are drawn from new urbanism and a commitment to sustainability.

Port of Cape Charles Sustainable Technologies Industrial Park. We have assisted the Park Authority in developing the legal tools necessary to realize their dream of an industrial park committed to maximum efficiency in the utilization of all resources, including those that once would have been deemed waste. We have developed specialized covenants and restrictions which ensure environmental, social and economic sustainability in all areas of development and operations.

Dominion Land. McGuireWoods has developed a product for this client enabling it to apply green principles to its large scale residential projects in order to maximize the environmental benefits achieved through total project forest management, wildlife enhancement, dark sky programs and more. This product, which we can tailor to meet the needs of almost any client, is an invaluable resource for clients who are interested in reaping the rewards of environmental responsibility.