A major emphasis of Boylan Brown’s practice involves the multifaceted representation of private companies and municipalities in environmental litigation and regulatory work. The firm’s Environmental Practice Group has over 40 years of combined experience representing private companies, individuals, municipalities and national associations regarding all aspects of environmental legal issues.
New York Brownfield Cleanup Program
Boylan Brown has been actively involved in representing and assisting clients through all aspects of the New York State Brownfield Program, as well as its predecessor program, the Volunteer Cleanup Program. We have successfully negotiated Voluntary Cleanup Agreements with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation from both a volunteer and participant position, as well as advised clients on the tax benefits of participating in the current Brownfield Program. We have handled a number of Brownfield projects impacting a variety of real estate development projects.
Boylan Brown previously represented LTV Steel Company, Inc. and Hanna Furnace in their efforts to participate in what was one of the largest Brownfield projects in the State of New York, and one of the largest in the country. The companies owned more than 250 acres of former industrial property in the City of Buffalo, and sought to clean up the property and return it to productive use. We participated in negotiations with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the City of Buffalo. Environmental and local economic issues dominated the negotiations, as we worked with a wide variety of professionals and government officials to guide the steel companies through the DEC’s predecessor Voluntary Cleanup Program.
Environmental Litigation Practice
Boylan Brown has also been actively involved in all aspects of environmental litigation, with a special emphasis on hazardous waste liability arising under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), New York’s Inactive Hazardous Waster Disposal Site Law, petroleum spill claims arising under Article 12 of the New York Navigation Law (the Oil Spill Prevention, Control and Response Act), Article 78 proceedings concerning the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, and the Clean Water Act.
Environmental Regulatory Practice
Boylan Brown has extensive experience representing private and municipal clients in a wide variety of environmental regulatory matters. Our regulatory practice has included the siting, environmental review, permitting, procurement and development of infrastructure projects including heating districts, airports, municipal water, sewer and solid waste facilities, telecommunication towers, and a variety of other projects. The firm also has a solid record of successfully defending its clients’ projects before regulatory and judicial proceedings.
We have also successfully assisted clients on a number of environmental regulatory matters, including: 1) obtaining wetlands, stream protection, SPDES, and petroleum and chemical bulk storage permits at federal, state and local levels; 2) enforcement actions brought under the New York State Spill Response Program for petroleum and hazardous materials releases; and 3) investigative, remedial and enforcement activities concerning petroleum cleanups conducted under the New York Oil Spill Prevention, Control and Compensation Act. Our attorneys have further experience representing clients in adjudicatory hearings before the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Corps. of Engineers, as well as appearing before planning, zoning and town boards on site plan, subdivision and variance applications.
The firm’s multi-faceted regulatory practice has been particularly exercised during its representation of Dansville Properties, LLC, the purchaser and owner of the former Foster Wheeler facility in Dansville, New York. As part of our representation, we have advised Dansville Properties on a host of environmental regulatory issues concerning the management of used oil, the disposal of hazardous waste, and various SPDES permitting issues.
Land Use and SEQRA Practice
Since the early 1980s, Boylan Brown has actively represented private companies through local site plan and zoning approval processes, including compliance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”). Our attorneys have worked closely with clients developing, acquiring and/or leasing real estate in securing necessary zoning, environmental, site plan and subdivision approvals, including, for example, area and use variances, zoning code and map amendments, and special permits, to name a few. We have appeared before numerous zoning and planning boards and legislative bodies in support of our clients’ project applications and have, when necessary, litigated issues in this area before the federal and state courts on behalf of project proponents, project opponents and governmental entities.
In fact, Boylan Brown played an instrumental role in two of the early landmark cases construing the substantive and procedural requirements of the then new SEQRA statute and its implementing regulations: Webster Associates v. Town of Webster, 85 A.D.2d 882 (4th Dept. 1981), reversed on zoning issues, 59 N.Y.2d 220 (1983); Bliek v. Town of Webster, 104 Misc.2d 852 (Sup. Ct. Monroe Co. 1980). Those cases established several of the basic ground rules of SEQRA and continue to be cited as authoritative precedent on a variety of important points involving the environmental review process.
Boylan Brown also represented the Town of Brighton in a highly publicized action involving the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (“RLUIPA”). This is the first action before the United States District Court for the Western District of New York based on this ground-breaking federal land use statute, and the first action within the Second Circuit in which the plaintiff based its RLUIPA claim on a municipality’s condemnation efforts.
Environmental Law & Land Use