WHY LOCKE LORD
Locke Lord environmental attorneys have broad experience with air emissions permitting, compliance and strategic planning and enforcement defense for clients in a wide range of industries. Regarding permitting, we utilize our experience to effectively review and comment on applications and draft permits. Throughout this process, we work with technical consultants and facility personnel to understand potential operating conditions and develop permit conditions that allow for growth and flexibility. We also help our clients develop effective and efficient strategies to achieve and maintain compliance. Our industry-specific knowledge is key. Often, we help our clients meet the compliance challenge by developing forms, policies, and protocols to timely and efficiently allow a facility to meet permit or regulatory requirements. We also routinely assist clients with facility audits under state and federal audit disclosure and immunity programs to evaluate and mitigate potential liability.
When enforcement arises, we draw upon our deep understanding of the legal and technical issues as well as our litigation experience to actively defend our clients. We guide our clients in preparing appropriate responses to information requests and enforcement actions, whether civil or criminal. We actively negotiate resolution of enforcement matters with regulatory authorities. Where, however, an appropriate negotiated settlement cannot be reached, we have experience defending our clients at administrative and/or judicial trial. In addition to enforcement defense, our environmental team has trial experience essential to defend air emissions claims. We work with clients to prepare for litigation through detailed stakeholder analyses and have defended against environmental citizen suits, which are on the rise, as well as actions brought by state or federal regulatory authorities. We have also defended SIP provisions, arguing in federal circuit court on behalf of our clients.