Our Environmental Practice Group attorneys help individuals, businesses, and local governments achieve compliance with all applicable environmental and land use laws, leading to a safer and cleaner environment. Achieving those goals requires both an awareness of the environmental effects of human activities and compliance with a variety of local, state, national, and even international environmental laws and regulations.
North Carolina has comprehensive and stringent environmental laws. In many cases, these laws complement and enforce existing federal environmental laws; in other cases, North Carolina has more stringent requirements. Detailed laws and regulations govern the disposal of hazardous and solid waste, handling and storage of chemicals, wastewater discharges from industrial and municipal facilities, air emissions from vehicles and manufacturing plants, leaks from gasoline and home heating fuel oil tanks, treatment of animal waste, discharge of stormwater runoff, application of pesticides and fertilizers, land development, impacts on wetlands, and virtually every other aspect of human activity. Among the laws most frequently encountered are these:
- Clean Air Act
- Clean Water Act (includes stormwater and wetlands)
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act
(CERCLA/Superfund) - Solid Waste Disposal Act
- Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA)
- Water and Air Resources Act
- Oil Pollution and Hazardous Substances Control Act
- Animal Operations Act
We serve environmental clients in three major areas. The first is permitting and regulatory counseling. Our attorneys guide clients through identifying applicable regulations, complying with new regulations, reporting environmental impacts, assessing potential environmental liability, responding to enforcement actions, dealing with zoning and land use regulations, gaining adoption of environmental legislation, and obtaining permits for facilities of all types, such as steel mills, manufacturing plants, farm operations, bulk cargo port facilities, residential developments, marinas, hotels, food processing plants, waste incinerators, and numerous other developments. In addition, with the increase in residential and commercial development in eastern North Carolina on the coastal shorelines, our environmental attorneys regularly counsel clients on CAMA permitting matters affecting the use and enjoyment of water-front property.
The second area in which we serve clients is environmental litigation. We represent clients in cases to determine property contamination liability, resolve environmental disputes, litigate clients' rights regarding the environment, and pursue administrative litigation to appeal permit decisions, respond to unfavorable regulatory actions, and defend against agency and citizen suit enforcement actions.
The third area in which we serve clients is business and commercial real estate transactions. Our attorneys handle sales and purchases of companies, company assets, and property, and we devise practical solutions to environmental problems. Today, virtually every business or real estate transaction includes environmental issues; we help identify what environmental liabilities exist and counsel clients on how risks can best be minimized and allocated among the parties.
Environmental Practice Group attorneys of Ward and Smith are experienced environmental professionals. They know the many environmental requirements and agency "vest pocket policies" facing clients. One of our attorneys is included in The Best Lawyers in America and is recognized in "Legal Elite," a list of the best attorneys in the state by Business North Carolina. We also know the regulators, citizens groups, consultants, and other professionals involved in environmental issues, and we deal with all state and federal regulatory agencies. Our clients, whether plaintiffs or defendants, include banks, businesses, developers, educational institutions, farmers, hospitals, individuals, landowners, major industries, small-business owners, state and local governments, and trade organizations.
Our attorneys develop environmental management systems – plans to help companies address environmental issues in day-to-day operations and to ensure compliance with environmental regulations. We are well equipped to challenge local ordinances, regulations, and state laws to test their legal sufficiency when necessary.
Consistent with our long-standing commitment to superior service, Ward and Smith makes developing strong, effective attorney-client relationships a top priority. Our attorneys' years of experience and concentration in the industry, including monitoring legal trends and legislation, enable us to present our clients with the best options.
Not only do Environmental Practice Group attorneys use their substantial knowledge and experience in environmental law, but also they draw upon the skills of attorneys in other groups to meet clients' needs. The interaction between the groups enhances Ward and Smith's ability to serve clients and is part of our being a full-service law firm.
During the initial consultation, we discuss the client's needs and desires. We then prepare and present to the client an engagement agreement confirming the scope of the legal services we are to provide together with the method of determining and paying fees and expenses for those services. During this process, we ask for and welcome questions and comments from our clients relating to the services to be provided and the fees to be paid. A particular advantage our clients enjoy from our attorneys is their availability and prompt response to calls and other communications. We recognize and appreciate that good communication with our clients may prevent unnecessary worry and concern, and we encourage our clients to contact their legal team whenever a question or concern may arise.
The regional reach of Ward and Smith, our skills in environmental matters, and our proximity to clients results in referrals from attorneys outside the firm who are prevented from serving clients because of conflicts of interest. Because only two to three dozen full-time environmental attorneys practice in North Carolina, our attorneys often are called upon to assist other law firms that do not possess such special capabilities.
The attorneys of the Environmental Practice Group go beyond the usual services by providing clients with news, through newsletters and bulletins, about recent developments in environmental law or personnel changes at regulatory agencies. The attorneys are on-call 24 hours a day to assist clients who face immediate environmental issues. In fact, we make a point of visiting new clients' facilities and meeting clients at sites at the heart of their environmental concerns.
