Practice Areas: Environmental Solutions

Water Resources

Our Water Resources Practice is divided into two main areas—Water Quality and Water Supply. Our Water Quality practice addresses the full range of issues under the Federal Clean Water Act and its state counterparts. Our Water Supply practice covers issues relating to water supply, planning, allocation, minimum instream flows, and source water protection.

Water Quality

Over the last 20 years our lawyers have represented clients nationwide from almost every sector of industry, including pulp and paper manufacturing, mining, transportation, electronics, telecommunications, petroleum, food and beverages. We represent businesses both large and small, national and state municipal organizations, and individual communities throughout the United States. For example, we represent individual industrial clients as well as state, regional, and national industrial trade associations in connection with water quality-related matters. Our lawyers serve as general counsel to the CSO Partnership, a national association of communities with combined sewer systems. We are also general counsel to the Virginia Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies, the Virginia Water and Sewer Authorities Association, and the Maryland Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies.

Our services include virtually every aspect of law at both the federal and state levels. We provide the full range of services needed to participate effectively in both the legislative arena and the rulemaking process, including analysis, advice, drafting, lobbying, preparation of comments, and litigation, including judicial review of agency action. We also assist clients in every phase of the permit process and in defense of judicial and administrative enforcement actions, including citizen suits.

Representative Work

• representing generating company in obtaining state NPORS permit allowing use of an exclusive barrier to meet section 316(b) requirement;
• advising a Fortune 500 company on a variety of issues with respect to EPA’s Cluster Rule for the Pulp and Paper Industry;
• successfully challenging NPDES permit conditions for a major east coast city before EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board;
• advising clients on NPDES permit-related issues, renewals and consent orders in Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C., Mississippi, Kentucky, California, Illinois, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Alabama, Oregon, and Washington;
• representing clients in connection with state/federal criminal investigations involving alleged NPDES permit violations and other Clean Water Act Criminal allegations;
• advising both large and small entities on NPDES permit issuances and renewals on toxics control and whole effluent toxicity issues;
• developing, introducing, and lobbying during the 1997 session of the Virginia General Assembly for statewide nutrient control legislation on behalf of a group of 37 Virginia municipalities;
• advising a group of local governments in Maryland in the development of a statewide general permit to address sanitary sewer overflows;
• participating on behalf of the CSO Partnership in EPA’s National Urban Wet Weather Federal Advisory Committee;
• advising a group of clients on total maximum daily load and Outstanding National Resource Waters-related issues;
• negotiating regional wastewater service agreements between local governments as well as with private entities;
• advising a Fortune 500 company in connection with the defense of a citizen suit in New England;
• successfully lobbying Congress during 1996 on behalf of two municipal clients for a $40 million federal grant authorization for their sewer rehabilitation projects;
• working with several state agencies on behalf of clients to develop reasonable and cost-effective water quality standards, as well as challenging and defending state water quality standards before state agencies and in the courts;
• assisting clients to establish and implement pretreatment programs including the drafting of sewer use ordinances, enforcement response plans, interjurisdictional agreements and negotiating pretreatment permits and requirements on behalf of both localities and industries.

Water Supply

Our water supply practice includes water supply planning, regulatory, legislative, litigation, and enforcement matters. We routinely advise water suppliers in the mid-Atlantic states on the full range of federal, state, and local issues that may affect their facilities and operations.

Representative Work

• negotiating discharge permits for large water suppliers discharging to streams and rivers as well as lakes, ponds, and reservoirs;
• serving as legislative counsel to the Water Utility Committee of the American Waterworks Association—Virginia Section;
• negotiating long-term interjurisdictional water supply contracts as well as water contracts between industrial clients and local water suppliers;
• advising clients on water withdrawal and minimum instream flow issues;
• advising clients on water allocation issues;
• identifying and advising clients on institutional and organization issues associated with regional water supply systems;
• regulatory compliance planning and advice on public disclosure requirements;
• advice on source water protection issues;
• lobbying Congress for grants under the Safe Drinking Water Act.