Environment

We provide services in many areas, including environmental law. Members of the firm have played key roles in the emerging body of law involving tribal regulation of the environment and have represented the only tribe in the country whose solid waste landfill permitting program was approved by EPA. We assist our tribal and other environmental clients in numerous other ways, including preparation of environmental codes and accompanying regulations, commenting on proposed regulations issued by the EPA, assisting in the preparation of grant applications to EPA, analyzing jurisdictional issues arising from tribal environmental regulation, and working to secure adequate federal appropriations for tribal programs and to amend federal statutes to allow tribal enforcement of federal regulatory programs.

We have handled three major environmental impact statement negotiations; worked on four RCRA subtitle D municipal waste facilities (under both state and tribal jurisdiction); drafted solid waste codes and various other codes for the protection of the environment; worked with underground storage tank remediation, and fought hazardous waste site designations and NEPA issues; worked on environmental issues related to the transfer of former military lands and helped clarify the applicable laws and processes; participated in blocking the approval of a coal mining permit near a sacred lake; and successfully defended administrative and judicial appeals of a Record of Decision approving an EIS and lease for a solid waste project on an Indian reservation.

In coordination with tribal regulatory agencies, we have developed tribal environmental protection codes; plans, and regulations; as well as other general regulatory provisions. We understand the intricate relationships between tribal, federal, and state regulatory jurisdictions. We were involved with the negotiations between tribal entities and the state of California on jurisdiction over solid waste management and dealt in depth with the political and jurisdictional relationships between the state and the various tribes. We also possess experience with city governments in the areas of environmental permitting, facility operations, solid waste management, flow control, and environmental liability.