Environmental

The lawyers of the environmental practice of Haynes and Boone, LLP provide value to our clients by helping them find pragmatic, creative, and cost-effective ways to deal with a broad spectrum of the most sophisticated environmental, toxic tort and health and safety issues arising out of the conduct of their business.

We draw on more than a thorough knowledge of applicable law; we draw on experience working with clients at their places of business (be they refineries, chemical plants, hi-tech and traditional manufacturing facilities, oil and gas exploration and production facilities, or real estate developments and office buildings), experience working with regulatory agencies in resolving issues of regulatory concern, and experience in having worked on a multitude of business transactions for a wide range of clients in a variety of industrial sectors.

Our reputation before regulatory agencies in particular as well as the environmental community in general is based on the quality of our work, our credibility, our professional contributions to the practice of environmental law, and the caliber of the clients we represent. Several years ago, we had the unique opportunity to represent the State of Texas in two related federal enforcement actions. Although we generally represent regulated industry, we worked with the state’s environmental agencies and with EPA and the Department of Justice in helping the state obtain the largest environmental penalty it ever recovered and the federal government, the largest civil penalty it ever recovered under the Clean Water Act.

Members of our environmental practice group work as a team. We team with client representatives, consultants, investment advisors, environmental attorneys from other jurisdictions, and attorneys in other practice areas, both inside and outside the firm. We apply this teamwork approach to regulatory and legislative, transactional and corporate matters, and to litigation.

Regulatory and Legislative Matters
We counsel clients on regulatory requirements relating to ongoing operations, as well as those associated with the construction of new facilities and modifications of existing facilities. We assist clients in the scoping and performance of compliance audits, including those conducted under pertinent audit privilege/immunity statutes, in preparing for or challenging aspects of agency enforcement actions, and in negotiating and implementing ordering provisions of administrative and civil enforcement orders and decrees. We assist clients too in dealing with Superfund information requests and in creatively resolving governmental claims prior to litigation.

We help clients monitor, and provide input to, pertinent agency rulemaking and policy development. We assist clients not only with specific matters, but also in developing and applying environmental policies and management programs, including policies pertaining to sustainability and climate change.

Transactions and Corporate Matters 
In transactions, we work closely with clients and their other professional advisors to devise innovative methods to streamline due diligence procedures, to identify environmental risks, including risks related to climate change, and to devise creative and cost-effective ways to manage those risks. We provide input into the structure of the transactions and draft and negotiate environmental provisions. We help clients not only in structuring and negotiating transactions involving contaminated properties, but also in developing those properties in a cost effective and timely manner under applicable regulatory programs, such as the Texas Voluntary Cleanup Program. We also assist clients in negotiating insurance policies for known environmental conditions and in negotiating fixed-price cleanup or environmental liability transfer arrangements.

Recently, we served as local counsel to the institutional lenders in TXU’s proposed construction of 11 power plants and, subsequently, the lenders in the buyout of TXU. Our role in the buyout included evaluating the regulatory, legislative, and judicial proceedings and using that knowledge to help address related transactional issues.

We also assist clients on the environmental aspects of corporate disclosures made under other governmental regulatory programs, such as those of the SEC and FTC. We have counseled clients on disclosures relating to environmental risks generally, to climate change risks, and to asset retirement obligations.

Litigation 
We represent clients in all types of environmental litigation, including criminal as well as civil and administrative enforcement actions, citizen enforcement actions, and administrative appeals and rulemaking. We represent clients in toxic tort and property contamination litigation, and in government and private party Superfund proceedings throughout the country. Utilizing our practical experience and insight, we assist our clients in cost effectively resolving environmental related controversies.