Frank H. Sheffield, Jr.

1001 College Court
New Bern, North Carolina 28562
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P: 252.672.5507
F: 252.672.5477
fhs@wardandsmith.com

Mailing Address:
Post Office Box 867
New Bern, North Carolina
28563-0867

Mr. Sheffield has more than 30 years experience in environmental matters, including agricultural operations. His professional career includes state and local government, environmental consulting, and private law practice. Mr. Sheffield's law practice encompasses federal and state environmental law and regulation, air quality and water quality permitting, compliance counseling, and contaminated property issues. He has advised numerous agricultural operations, from individual farmers to large agribusiness producers, on a range of environmental and regulatory issues. Mr. Sheffield also has represented various agricultural clients in court, including receiving a unanimous North Carolina Supreme Court decision declaring that local government regulation of swine operations is preempted by state law. He also successfully challenged a hastily-adopted county moratorium on a new swine operation in which the moratorium was declared unconstitutional and lost income paid to the operator. Mr. Sheffield is the former mayor of Hillsborough, North Carolina (1983-1987), and a former chair of the Environmental Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. He has been rated by his peers as being "preeminent" in his fields of law.

Practice Groups
Environmental
Agribusiness
Government Representation
Litigation

Practice Concentration

Water and Air Quality Permitting and Regulatory Compliance

Agricultural Operations
Wetlands and Coastal Management

Petroleum and Hazardous Substances Property Remediation

Environmental Civil and Administrative Litigation and Appeals

Land Use and Zoning

Admitted to Practice
North Carolina, 1989
Texas, 1974
All state courts in North Carolina
All state courts in Texas

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

United States District Court for the Eastern and Middle Districts of North Carolina

Honors and Distinctions*
The Best Lawyers in America,1995-2010
"Legal Elite," Business North Carolina, 2005 and 2007-2010
"Super Lawyer," North Carolina Super Lawyers, 2009-2010

Education
J.D., The University of Texas School of Law, 1974
B.A., The University of Texas at Austin, 1968

Professional and Community Affiliations

American Bar Association — Section: Environment, Energy and Resources (past committee vice chair)

North Carolina Bar Association — Sections: Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Law (past chair); Government and Public Sector; Zoning, Planning and Land Use

North Carolina Ports Advisory Council (chair)

Texas State Bar — Section: Environmental and Natural Resources Law

Publications

Agribusiness

Environmental

"The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowin' in the Wind": The Future of Wind Energy Projects in North Carolina

Certain Coastal Marinas Now Required to Provide Pumpout Facilities

The Redevelopment of Environmentally Damaged Property — A Less Expensive Way to Relocate or Grow

State Requires Land Use Restrictions on Petroleum-Contaminated Property

Supreme Court Limits Regulation of Wetland Fill Activities

Financial Institutions

North Carolina Environmental Agency Agrees That Banks and Other Lenders Have No Liability for Underground Storage Tanks — But…!