Environmental Law & Litigation

When sound advice and counsel is needed to tackle regulatory compliance issues, business transactions or if the situation calls for a vigorous defense in court or administrative proceedings, our team has the proven experience to effectively advise and defend our clients.  Our overall goal is preventive. We aim to consistently design and develop action plans and strategies that help our clients achieve and sustain compliance with applicable legal requirements while minimizing or avoiding altogether the risk or impact of enforcement actions, claims and related litigation.

Compliance 

We provide counseling on legal compliance matters that impact our clients’ operations. Our representation is aimed at preventing potential exposure to enforcement actions from environmental agencies and ensuring the continued and uninterrupted operation of business.

We have vast experience in all principal areas of federal, local and municipal environmental laws, regulations and permitting issues and have provided counsel on these matters, among others:

  • pre-treatment of waste waters
  • management and disposal of hazardous and nonhazardous waste
  • underground storage tanks
  • air emissions
  • remediation
  • underground injection control

Our legal team has strong, established professional relationships with all relevant local and federal environmental regulatory agencies, including these key players:

  • Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board
  • Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
  • Solid Waste Management Authority
  • Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority
  • Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority
  • Permits Management Office (former Permits and Rules Administration known by its Spanish acronyms as “ARPE”)
  • Ports Authority
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
  • Fish and Wildlife Service

Environmental Impact Review Process 

The environmental review processes is the cornerstone of the development of any project. We counsel and assist our clients on compliance matters throughout the environmental review process and identify key matters and issues to be addressed in the relevant Environmental Impact Statement, Environmental Evaluation and related documents. We guide our clients through the preparation and filing as well as the effective defense of the relevant environmental documents during any applicable public participation proceedings. We aim to ensure full compliance with the applicable regulations and to prevent and/or minimize issues that may be targeted by potential opponents in any subsequent judicial challenges.

Enforcement

We have proven experience representing our clients in a vast array of court and administrative proceedings against allegations of environmental liability or responsibility brought by federal or local agencies, environmental groups, citizens or third parties including:

  • the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board
  • the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
  • the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority
  • the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Our ongoing working relationships enable us to effectively manage the complexities of negotiating administrative orders and/or settlement agreements with federal and local agencies. Whether the situation calls for a vigorous defense in court or an administrative proceeding, our team has the capability to effectively advice and defend our clients.

Transactional Work

Business transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, asset purchase agreements and stock purchase agreements can give rise to a multiplicity of environmental-related liabilities. That is why it is crucial that comprehensive due diligence is conducted to identify any potential environmental issues and to provide the most effective strategies to manage them in the context of the transaction.

Public Policy

We advise our clients on relevant federal and local developments – statutory, regulatory, and case law – in environmental law. We also assist them in the preparation of proposed revisions to statutory and regulatory provisions and/or the submittal of comments to proposals for statutory and regulatory provisions regarding issues that impact their operations.