We advise clients nationwide on U.S. federal and state environmental, natural resource, chemical, OSHA/safety, and product- and waste-related enforcement.  Representative examples of our experience include:

Air

• Negotiating a settlement for one of the largest U.S. petroleum refiners threatened with a company-wide enforcement action under a nationwide enforcement initiative that targeted the petroleum refining industry that focused on four major federal Clean Air Act (CAA) issues- New Source Review, New Source Performance Standards, the Benzene Waste National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, and Leak Detection and Repair standards- as well as a number of state laws.
• Defending a major international transportation company on federal and state air quality compliance and climate change matters in administrative enforcement proceedings brought under regional air quality regulations, including negotiating settlements involving notices of violations; defending a citizen suit brought under the CAA; providing advice regarding Title V permitting obligations; compliance with an emissions credits trading program; implementing facility environmental compliance management systems; and submitting comments on proposed air quality regulations.
• Counseling one of the world’s largest manufacturers in an enforcement case by California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District involving product-level volatile organic compounds.
• Reducing a penalty imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice, from nearly $2 million to $320,000, with negotiations involving innovative supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) and convincing EPA to drop its demand for several millions of dollars in further pollution controls.
• Defeating the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s request for preliminary injunction against operations at quarry facilities based on an alleged PM-10 National Ambient Air Quality Standards violation, total suspended particulate permit emission limit violation, and egregious pattern of unpermitted fugitive emissions.
• Defending one of the Northwest’s largest building materials manufacturers against air quality enforcement, permitting, and compliance actions brought by the Puget Sound Clean Air Authority, and securing needed permit modifications to enable the facility to continue to operate.

Water

• Leading the defense of a major California city against potential violations of the Clean Water Act and related state laws after a wastewater treatment discharged untreated sewage.  Both state and federal agencies are investigating this matter with enforcement claims that include the largest penalties ever sought by the California Water Quality Control Board, as well as federal injunctive relief.
• Assisting a global information technology company in two projects concerning compliance with California Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) regulatory requirements. In one, B&D assisted the company to devise a strategy to harmonize Regional Board requirements for dewatering a construction site with existing deed restrictions overseen by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. In the second, B&D assisted the company in resolving an administrative enforcement action relating to its reporting obligations under a Regional Board permit for dewatering a construction site.
• Advising a pipeline client facing a multi-agency investigation and related cleanup of a spill/release incident and a related discharge into the waters of the state of California. Agencies involved included EPA Region 9, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
• Avoiding the highest penalty EPA sought at the time for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit violations.
• Negotiating one of the first SEPs in a settlement that allowed our client to conduct environmental awareness seminars in its industry.

Waste

• Defending a transportation company in a California enforcement action regarding compliance with underground storage tank and hazardous materials handling regulations. The company was notified of an investigation led by District Attorneys representing five counties and the City of Los Angeles. We resolved the matter in a consent decree joined by 20 counties and the City of Los Angeles.
• Convincing EPA to drop 13 counts in a 14-count complaint and to settle for a $25,000 penalty and a SEP that would help hospitals reduce the use of medical devices containing mercury.
• Advising clients with major facilities in California on environmental requirements related to air emissions, process and wastewater, soil contamination, and hazardous and non-hazardous waste. These representations include addressing violations when they occur and negotiating resolutions of enforcement actions.

Chemicals

• Representing a major oil company in several enforcement matters brought by the State of New York to recover costs under the New York Navigation Law for leaks from underground storage tanks at former gasoline stations.
• Advising clients in the chemicals, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and food processing sectors on the submission of voluntary disclosures to EPA that resulted in minimal penalties for past violations of EPCRA reporting requirements.
• Defending enforcement actions for alleged violations of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) premanufacture notices (PMN), reporting, export notification, and import certification requirements.
• Helping secure a statute of limitations shorter than that sought by EPA for enforcement of civil fines, penalties, or forfeitures in administrative proceedings under TSCA.

OSHA/Safety

• Defending a company in an enforcement case by Cal/OSHA involving a serious injury to a temporary employee that occurred after he was struck by materials suspended from a crane. We assisted the client with filing an appeal to the state’s Appeals Board, developed a strategy in conjunction with in-house counsel, conducted full discovery, and persuaded the agency to withdraw all citations against our client.