Regulatory Counseling
KGL attorneys have had a wide range of experience in all of the major regulatory subdisciplines of environmental practice, including Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA (or "Superfund"), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (both in the solid waste and hazardous waste elements), Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know, Endangered Species Act, wetlands, and others. In these areas, we have wide experience in regulatory counseling, permitting, and enforcement defense, and our experience includes both federal practice and practice under the various state delegated programs.
Our regulatory practice is characterized by our positive relationships with agency personnel. Except in extremely unusual circumstances, we find that a cooperative approach of candor and compromise leads not only to reduced legal costs, but usually better regulatory outcomes. Perhaps more important than the outcome in any particular matter, this approach has the best chance of preserving and even enhancing the client´s overall reputation with the agency and the community as a whole. In our experience, most regulators are well-intentioned and reasonable; where disagreements arise, they can usually be resolved by increasing the amount of light shed on a topic and decreasing the amount of heat.
One distinctive characteristic of our practice is that, for the past 20 years, we have been representing utilities in various environmental issues surrounding former "manufactured gas plants." Until natural gas was widely available, gas was actually manufactured from coal and other organic materials. When those MGPs were closed down in the early- to mid-20th century, the residuals of those operations (including coal tar) were often left in place, leading to a modern-day environmental legacy that began to receive serious regulatory attention in the mid-1980's. We have been involved in well over 30 MGP sites on behalf of a wide variety of utility clients, handling state and federal regulatory requirements, community relations, cost recovery, and toxic tort litigation. Please see our Manufactured Gas Plants Practice page for further information.
Our regulatory practice is characterized by our positive relationships with agency personnel. Except in extremely unusual circumstances, we find that a cooperative approach of candor and compromise leads not only to reduced legal costs, but usually better regulatory outcomes. Perhaps more important than the outcome in any particular matter, this approach has the best chance of preserving and even enhancing the client´s overall reputation with the agency and the community as a whole. In our experience, most regulators are well-intentioned and reasonable; where disagreements arise, they can usually be resolved by increasing the amount of light shed on a topic and decreasing the amount of heat.
One distinctive characteristic of our practice is that, for the past 20 years, we have been representing utilities in various environmental issues surrounding former "manufactured gas plants." Until natural gas was widely available, gas was actually manufactured from coal and other organic materials. When those MGPs were closed down in the early- to mid-20th century, the residuals of those operations (including coal tar) were often left in place, leading to a modern-day environmental legacy that began to receive serious regulatory attention in the mid-1980's. We have been involved in well over 30 MGP sites on behalf of a wide variety of utility clients, handling state and federal regulatory requirements, community relations, cost recovery, and toxic tort litigation. Please see our Manufactured Gas Plants Practice page for further information.