Environmental Enforcement
Non-compliance with environmental laws can have serious consequences, including penalties and injunctions. Allegations of environmental law violations are disruptive to the company, its shareholders, neighbors and customers. Defense of enforcement actions requires proper assessment of compliance status, determination of factually accurate obligations and reasonable compilation of a penalty, if necessary.
McMahon DeGulis attorneys have significant experience in defending enforcement actions and negotiating resolution with local, state and federal agencies. While we have achieved substantial penalty reductions, we are particularly proud of our ability to identify root causes of possible claims and to design win-win solutions for the government and the regulated entity. With respect to citizen suit enforcement actions, it is particularly important to assess the motivation and accuracy of such claims.
Representative Matters
- Represented manufacturer in multiple actions brought by neighbors and former employees and achieved settlement on terms more favorable than originally offered to plaintiffs
- Negotiate substantial reductions of Ohio EPA and USEPA clean air, water and hazardous waste penalties that required an understanding of the unique aspects of the company's procedures
- Determination of the cause of inadvertent HazMat shipments and installation of procedures to minimize risk of future shipment failure
- Development of supplemental environmental projects to take advantage of governmental policies that provide for reduction in penalties in exchange for beneficial activities of the company
- Negotiate a termination of a Clean Water Act Consent Decree with the Ohio EPA
For more information on Environmental Enforcement, please contact Mike McMahon or Greg DeGulis.
Back to Practice Areas
