Environmental
Attorneys at Kotz Sangster Wysocki P.C. have decades of experience counseling and representing corporate, insurance and municipal clients in Michigan and nationwide concerning environmental compliance and permitting matters, and in litigation involving generator, transporter and treatment storage and disposal facility owners and operators under both federal and state law. Such experience includes representation of property owners, developers, and purchasers in connection with real estate acquisitions, land use and brownfield redevelopment matters, as well as environmental captive, self-insurance and re-insurance programs. Kotz Sangster attorneys in this practice group have extensive environmental, real estate, transactional and regulatory experience, and have attained specialized degrees, certifications or recognition for their expertise and practice skills.
Business Transactions and Real Estate Due Diligence
We represent our business and corporate clients, banking and financial services clients, real estate clients, construction clients, trade associations, and municipal clients in property and business transactions and litigation; evaluating their environmental exposures and negotiating risk management mechanisms in complex mergers and acquisitions; counseling clients in the evaluation of environmental due diligence in business and real estate transactions. We also defend them in litigation and administrative proceedings for alleged environmental liability under pollution liability, professional liability and other policies of insurance.
We routinely furnish specialized site access agreements and environmental indemnity agreements, among others. By carefully drafting and reviewing these documents, we help our clients avoid potential legal problems and are better prepared to provide representation should a conflict develop. We also conduct environmental facility and real estate audits, and respond to agency requests for information on behalf of our clients.
Our many years of experience have enabled us to establish a network of consultants and engineers to undertake performance of required environmental site assessments and sampling when appropriate, draft analytical reports to evaluate remediation requirements, and to achieve compliance with state and federal agency regulations for industrial and commercial facilities, including gas stations and construction sites, regarding effluent, emission and discharge limitations under the Clean Water, Clean Air, CERCLA and Solid Waste Disposal Acts, among others, and to characterize carbon footprints for possible economic incentives.
Regulatory Compliance and Defense
Kotz Sangster attorneys routinely are called upon to assist clients in establishing compliance protocols and programs to assure compliance with environmental laws and regulations, and to furnish required information and reports to regulators. Our years of experience negotiating with state and federal authorities in Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Maine, Illinois and other jurisdictions, has enabled Kotz Sangster to achieve cost-effective compliance and resolution of regulatory issues, and to establish systems for environmental and OSHA/MIOSHA compliance.
We represent our clients in regulatory administrative tribunals and in state and federal litigation. We pursue cost recovery actions against potentially responsible parties, obtain state and federal “brownfield” funds to remediate contaminated sites, prepare Strategic Environmental Management Plans, and represent clients before federal and state environmental and occupational health and safety agencies nationwide.
We have worked closely with state and federal regulatory agencies in numerous environmental controversies, and have developed cost-effective ways to obtain and review agency records.
Landfills
Kotz Sangster attorneys have extensive experience with regard to the permitting, siting and regulation of municipal and private landfills on behalf of, among others, the City of Garden City, Redford Township, and the City of Gibraltar in litigation with USEPA and MDEQ. We have also represented insurers on behalf of the South Macomb Disposal Authority in connection with environmental liability associated with the municipal landfill facility.
Land Use, Facility Siting and Wetlands Mitigation
Kotz Sangster attorneys negotiate facility siting and operating permits under state and federal environmental programs for numerous types of facilities, including biofuel and alternative energy installations. We counsel and defend clients on air, water and waste management compliance matters, wetlands mitigation, land use, agricultural environmental and permitting risks, including CAFO’s and wind farm activities, hazardous materials management and transportation issues, and with regard to maritime environmental issues including submerged land, dredging, wetland, and environmental impacts in waterfront use and development.
Sustainability/Alternative Energy and Emerging Issues
Kotz Sangster environmental law attorneys counsel firm clients on the liabilities and benefits associated with emerging sustainability and alternative energy issues, such as biofuel, alternative fuel, alternative energy, LEED “Green” building codes, and the economic development incentives, including pollution prevention grant and assistance programs, brownfield redevelopment funding and other incentives available to assist clients in competing in the current economy.
As part of our work product, we have developed a comprehensive library and database of materials on technical issues relating to sustainability, alternative energy, and funding incentives of interest to our clients.
Protecting our clients’ interests neither begins nor ends in the courtroom. The firm’s first priority is to prevent problems from ever occurring and to avoid unnecessary litigation.
