Environmental Remediation, Permitting & Compliance

Picture this…

You’re an owner-developer and you’ve recently acquired land to begin an exciting project.

Perhaps you intentionally invested in a contaminated development site because it makes economic and strategic sense for you. Or maybe you believed the land to be free of contamination, and only discovered the environmental issues during demolition, site preparation or excavation.

Regardless, acquiring land requires environmental attention – in the form of remediation, attaining permits, or remaining compliant with local environmental requirements.

No stone unturned

We know that having to remedy an environmental issue means added dollars to your scope of work and a delay in building (which is why you get up in the morning). However, knowledge is power, and turning over each stone to gain a full understanding of the land you’ll be building on will help you to avoid environmental liability down the road, and an even bigger headache.

Some of these liability risks include:

• Underground storage tanks
• Preexisting hazardous waste
• Site contamination
• Asbestos removal and disposal
• Health, Safety and Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) concerns
• Regulatory reporting obligations

We love a good cleanup

We work with owner-developers to understand and manage the environmental risks involved in acquiring development sites and assist those who discover contamination on their job sites once the work has already begun.

There are pros and cons to working on contaminated sites or in environmentally sensitive areas. With proper guidance, you can take advantage of Brownfields and other laws that provide economic incentives for developing on such properties. We guide you through the process of obtaining the necessary permits for development, so that you are armed and prepared for construction.

Our services include:

• Counseling clients who are acquiring real property for construction on how to avoid or minimize liability under environmental laws
• Coordinating due diligence and environmental site assessments
• Developing creative ways to close transactions involving contaminated properties
• Assisting clients with purchase of environmental liability insurance
• Assisting clients with commercial, industrial and residential development of contaminated properties, taking advantage of recent brownfields laws
• Obtaining permits to develop in or near freshwater and coastal wetlands, waterfront or coastal areas, streams, flood plains, the Hackensack Meadowlands, the Pinelands and areas subject to riparian claims by the state