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clean water

Practices

Clean Water

We advise companies on all aspects of regulatory compliance and permitting issues arising under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Clients confronting alleged violations of federal or state water pollution laws or wanting to expand their operations subject to those laws call on us for guidance. We provide efficient, strategic representation in liability claims and citizen suits. Our group also advises clients on NPDES and storm water permitting requirements; wetlands issues; and water-related nuisance, trespass, and property damage claims. We advise clients on the development of Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans and Facility Response Plans and the defense of U.S. EPA enforcement actions relating to such plans. We work with public and private companies across a range of industries, including energy, chemicals, real estate, ports, and transportation.

Examples of our experience include:

  • Defending industrial and commercial clients against state and municipal enforcement actions relating to stormwater discharges under general and individual NPDES permits, NPDES-permitted discharges for private wastewater treatment plants, and indirect discharge permits.
  • Assisting clients in securing stormwater or direct discharge NPDES permits from federal or state authorities and indirect discharge permits from municipalities.
  • Resolving CWA citizen suit notices of intent to sue using a unique pre-litigation settlement model that capped attorney and expert fees, mitigated environmental risks, improved facility operations, and included supplemental environmental projects.
  • Advising clients on questions of federal jurisdiction over wetlands and streams under U.S. Supreme Court guidance and U.S. EPA’s “waters of the U.S. rule.”
  • Representing a company facing federal and state civil enforcement actions following an accidental diesel spill to a non-navigable stream in Ohio.
  • Representing one of two defendants in an Indiana fish kill case involving federal, state, and class-action claims seeking civil damages and penalties exceeding $50 million and federal criminal prosecution under the CWA.
  • Achieving a settlement for a food processing company after a show cause hearing in an enforcement action brought by a publicly owned treatment works in Illinois for alleged wastewater permit violations.
  • Settling and negotiating penalties in many U.S. EPA CWA enforcement actions involving industrial stormwater permit compliance.
  • Defending a tool manufacturer against a U.S. EPA CWA enforcement action involving a threatened civil penalty and expensive injunctive relief.
  • Representing companies in criminal prosecutions connected to alleged unlawful industrial wastewater discharges to storm sewers and waterways, tampering with wastewater sampling protocols, and waste management associated with livestock operations.
  • Evaluating waste-load allocation (Total Maximum Daily Loads, or TMDL) for a publicly owned treatment works.
  • Representing a transportation company during a three-day U.S. EPA SPCC plan inspection and follow-up corrective actions.
  • Representing a construction company in a U.S. EPA enforcement action for alleged violations of the company’s storm water permit and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan.
  • Representing a mining company in an Ohio EPA enforcement action for alleged NPDES permit violations.