612-877-5000 | Contact us

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

The Environmental Law group of Moss & Barnett is prepared to respond to all client needs in the area of environmental law and regulation. Our attorneys assist clients with the assessment of environmental issues and liabilities in mergers and acquisitions, as well as in real estate transactions. We are also involved with litigation related to contaminated property. Moss & Barnett attorneys have extensive experience in both the public and private law sectors, including broad experience in dealing with regulations and permitting matters involving air quality, water quality, and solid and hazardous waste management.

We have represented clients in enforcement and permitting proceedings before federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, OSHA, the U.S. Department of Transportation, as well as the gamut of state and local environmental agencies. In 2004, our law firm successfully defended a local business owner against a pollution claim brought by the State of Minnesota that resulted in recovery of all attorneys’ fees incurred by our client and recognition as "Lawsuit of the Year" by Minnesota Law & Politics.

Moss & Barnett serves as outside environmental counsel to corporations with operations throughout the United States. We also help clients develop environmental management and auditing programs designed to address compliance and permitting issues. We represent clients in all areas of the environmental practice including:

Phase I environmental site assessments
Site remediation through State voluntary cleanup programs
Mergers and acquisitions due diligence
Administrative permitting and enforcement proceedings
Responses to agency requests for information
Regulatory reviews
Rulemaking proceedings
Environmental, health and safety audits
Real estate due diligence
Superfund cost recovery litigation
Potentially responsible party common counsel representation
Defense and prosecution of citizen suits
Insurance coverage disputes
Contaminated property litigation
Defense of environmental crimes

Attorneys in this Area

Joseph G. Maternowski (Chair)

News Headlines

News

Environment

[07/01] Protection sought again for giant, spitting worms
[07/01] Scientists lower Alaska volcano threat level

More...

Case Summaries

Environmental Law

[06/22] US v. Missouri Industrial Energy Consumers
In a dispute involving enforcement of the Clean Water Act, district court's judgment against defendant is affirmed where: 1) the court did not err in finding defendant did not have standing to intervene in an action to enforce the Clean Water Act against the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, as defendant did not adequately allege that it would suffer a concrete and particularized injury, nor did it establish that its injury was fairly traceable to the challenged action and would likely to be redressed by a favorable decision; and 2) defendant did not have the right to intervene under either Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a)(1) or 24(a)(2).

[06/22] Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
In an action against the Army Corps of Engineers challenging the Corps' grant of a permit to a mining company to discharge waste materials, summary judgment for Defendant is affirmed where the Corps, not the EPA, had the authority to permit the discharge, and the Corps' interpretation of Clean Water Act regulations was entitled to deference.