John's roots in environmental law run deep. For more than 30 years, he has represented and counseled commercial and industrial firms, retailers, and real estate developers, buyers, and sellers regarding federal and local regulations related to air, water, and waste for corporations. He is an experienced advisor, whether dealing with “very dirty” dirt in real estate deals or advising or defending clients regarding permitting and permit modifications, variances, and compliance associated with their industrial processes.
John maintains exceptional relationships in the regulatory community, working with the federal, state, and regional environmental agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Boards, or the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the various air pollution control districts and city and county environmental agencies.
CLIENT-CENTERED COUNSEL
With over a dozen years as an in-house environmental attorney, including nearly a decade at one of the largest international environmental engineering and consulting firms, John works from the client’s point of view. His long-standing relationships with engineers, scientists, geologists, and other environmental consultants facilitate John’s ability to coordinate the expertise needed to meet project requirements and ensure that clients receive qualified, comprehensive counsel, strategy, and results.
COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL
A significant portion of John’s experience involves the complexities of environmental regulations for industrial manufacturers emitting contaminants to the air, generating waste, and discharging that waste into water sources. He assists in obtaining, renewing, and modifying permits from regional boards and helps enterprises create compliance strategies for existing permits related to air, water, and waste.
John’s work has helped numerous manufacturing facilities with extremely complicated contamination issues and has handled landfill liabilities and clean-up projects for many others. He employs his considerable know-how in dealing with regulatory agencies and their processes to negotiate settlements and appears at administrative hearings to present his clients’ cases before enforcement tribunals.
REAL ESTATE
Clients receive straightforward counsel where environmental concerns may be associated with the sale, purchase, or development of commercial properties. While many of his clients are located in California, his work often extends nationwide to environmental issues associated with real estate located in other jurisdictions, including New Jersey, Texas, Washington State, Georgia, and others.
For buyers looking to avoid environmental liabilities, John keeps his buyer clients' end-use development needs and business objectives at the forefront and employs risk management strategies developed over years of practice. Employing his decades of experience in all aspects of environmental law can mean the difference between walking away from an opportunity or being able to close on the deal with appropriate and adequate protections.
For sellers looking to pass liabilities forward, he has negotiated relief or limitation from government agencies, helped them obtain insurance coverage, and has drafted indemnity language to protect the seller, yet still be acceptable for the prospective buyer.
For commercial clients and residential property managers, in addition to addressing air, water, and waste issues and concerns, John often has a role in dealing with worker health and safety under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). In particular, he has considerable experience regarding potential liability claims for preexisting conditions, including with respect to the existence and impact of asbestos, lead-based paint, and mold.
RETAIL
John assists large state-wide and national retailers in cross-cutting environmental issues affecting the development and operation of stores, distribution centers, and supplier channels. With decades of retail sector-specific subject matter experience across air, water, and waste matters, he offers retailers insight and guidance in managing their environmental responsibilities. He represents them in responding to enforcement actions and in defending their products, policies, and procedures before agencies, administrative bodies, and courts.
A significant portion of John’s practice in California involves Proposition 65 compliance counseling and the defense of private enforcement actions alleging failure to provide clean and reasonable warnings with respect to chemicals in products they manufacture and sell or manufacturing processes that are known to cause cancer or reproductive harm.
He also advises retail clients and their suppliers on a range of environmental regulations applicable to their products, including with respect to packaging, labeling, and management of product returns, logistics, and recalls, as well as regulations involving their facilities, including permitting for backup generators and refrigerants or management of stormwater runoff.
