Frantz Ward’s Environmental Practice Group delivers pragmatic, outcome-focused legal counsel that helps clients manage environmental risk, secure regulatory approvals, and move projects forward with confidence. We combine our prowess in federal, state, and local environmental laws with hands-on experience across complex transactions, remediation projects, permitting processes, and enforcement matters—so clients get solutions that are legally sound, commercially practical, and tailored to project timelines and budgets.
We partner with corporate counsel, developers, lenders, property owners, and public-sector clients to anticipate regulatory exposure, design compliance and mitigation strategies, and resolve disputes efficiently. Whether conducting targeted due diligence for an acquisition, negotiating cleanup obligations, defending an enforcement action, or navigating permitting for renewable energy and infrastructure projects, our team focuses on minimizing liability, preserving value, and protecting reputations.
Practical responsiveness and multi-disciplinary coordination set us apart: our lawyers work seamlessly with engineers, geologists, consultants, and regulators to translate technical issues into clear legal strategies and actionable steps.
Clients lean on our team to provide guidance on:
- Corporate and Transactional Counseling
- Structuring and negotiating environmental provisions in:
- M&A transactions
- Asset and stock purchases
- Real estate acquisitions, sales, and leases
- Joint ventures and financings
- Advising on allocation of environmental risks and liabilities
- Counseling boards and management on environmental risk, disclosure, and governance
- Structuring and negotiating environmental provisions in:
- Environmental Due Diligence
- Designing and coordinating environmental due diligence programs
- Evaluating environmental liabilities and potential corrective action obligations
- Integrating findings into deal structure, valuation, and post-closing planning
- Review and Interpretation of Environmental Reports
- Reviewing environmental site assessments, remedial investigation reports, and closure reports
- Coordinating with consultants and experts to:
- Validate assumptions and methodologies
- Develop remediation, mitigation, and risk management strategies
- Advising on disclosure obligations to regulators, lenders, and investors
- Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management
- Counseling on federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations
- Developing and auditing environmental management systems and internal controls
- Training management and operational staff on compliance obligations
- Attorney–Client Audits and Internal Investigations
- Conducting privileged environmental compliance audits and internal investigations
- Assessing self-disclosure options and voluntary disclosure policies
- Preparing corrective action plans and compliance improvement measures
- Regulatory Requests and NOVs
- Responding to:
- Requests for information, subpoenas, and data calls
- Notices of Violation (NOVs) and compliance orders
- Demand letters and informal enforcement communications
- Negotiating with agencies to resolve alleged violations and mitigate penalties
- Preparing and implementing corrective action and compliance schedules
- Responding to:
- Permitting and Administrative Orders
- Obtaining, renewing, and modifying environmental permits
- Strategic permitting for new facilities, expansions, and changes in operations
- Defending permits in administrative and judicial challenges
- Responding to and negotiating administrative orders and consent decrees
- Guiding clients through public participation, comment periods, and hearings
- Private Party and Government Enforcement Defense
- Defending clients in civil and administrative enforcement actions
- Representing clients in:
- Alleged violations of permits, orders, and regulatory requirements
- Multi-media and multi-facility enforcement matters
- Negotiating settlements, consent decrees, and compliance agreements
- Cost Recovery, Contribution, and Allocation Disputes
- Prosecuting and defending cost recovery and contribution actions
- CERCLA/Superfund and state law analogs
- Contractual and equitable allocation disputes
- Representing PRP groups and individual parties in site allocation proceedings
- Managing complex, multi-party negotiations and allocation processes
- Prosecuting and defending cost recovery and contribution actions
- Private Party Disputes and Common Law Claims
- Representing clients in:
- Toxic tort, nuisance, trespass, and property damage claims
- Vapor intrusion, groundwater contamination, and exposure cases
- Product and waste stream-related environmental claims
- Coordinating expert testimony on liability, exposure, and damages
- Representing clients in:
- Judicial and Administrative Proceedings
- Litigating environmental cases in federal and state courts and before administrative tribunals
- Challenging or defending regulations, permits, and administrative decisions
- Seeking or opposing injunctive relief related to environmental conditions or operations
We assist clients across multiple industries, including manufacturing, energy, oil and gas, finance, and real estate with an emphasis on efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Our attorneys have helped shape environmental policy and provide counsel on issues related to the full spectrum of federal and state environmental statutes and regulatory programs, including:
- Clean Water Act (CWA)
- Clean Air Act (CAA)
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
- Coastal Zone Management Act
- Department of Environmental Quality Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP)
- Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- Oil Pollution Act (OPA 90)
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
- Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
- Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA)
- Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
- Related state environmental laws
Representative Matters
- Leading complex environmental matters involving due diligence, cleanup negotiations, litigation, permitting, and compliance.
- Representing industrial facilities, public entities, lenders, and real estate developers in negotiating cleanup and redevelopment agreements with the U.S. EPA, Ohio EPA, and the U.S. DOJ.
- Advising clients on compliance with hazardous waste and solid waste landfill EPA regulations.
- Defending and prosecuting CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA, CAA in injunctive, cost recovery and contribution claims.
- Advising pipeline companies on permitting, compliance, and enforcement matters under federal/state energy and safety laws.
- Defending companies in EPA and DOJ criminal/civil enforcement actions and toxic tort litigation.
- Conducting and managing internal investigations and environmental audits.
- Advising clients on TSCA and PFAS-related compliance and litigation risk.
- Advising clients in matters pertaining to Ohio’s Underground Storage Tank Enforcement Program (BUSTR) and Claims Reimbursement Program (PUSTR).
- Defending and prosecuting cost recovery actions under federal Superfund and state Brownfield programs.
- Representing Tier I PRPs at NPL Superfund sites.
- Defending demolition and asbestos contractors facing alleged asbestos and Clean Air Act violations.
- Performing environmental due diligence, negotiating environmental indemnity provisions, and advising clients on environmental considerations that arise in diverse business transactions.
- Advising industrial real estate developers on managing environmental liabilities through federal and state Brownfield programs and assisted in securing government grants and low‑interest redevelopment loans.
- Assisting clients with emergency removal actions; long‑term remedial investigations and feasibility studies, hazardous waste corrective actions, and demonstrating or challenging consistency with the National Contingency Plan; and selecting appropriate remedial measures.
- Helped clients assess and quantify emissions produced by foundry operations and refining processes.
- Advised a major municipal landfill operator on the full scope of NSPS compliance obligations, including permitting procedures, ongoing operational requirements, documentation and reporting duties, and landfill gas control strategies.
- Supported clients in designing and implementing air regulatory compliance frameworks for steel production facilities, petroleum refineries, and natural gas operations, covering issues such as single‑source aggregation, NSPS (Subpart OOOO), New Source Review, and state‑level permitting and emissions reporting.
- Provided guidance to commercial and industrial clients on diverse waste management challenges, including proper waste categorization, adherence to generator standards, identifying necessary permits, and navigating waste transport and disposal requirements.
- Represented national builders in preparing responses to U.S. EPA inquiries regarding compliance with NPDES Construction Stormwater Permit obligations under Section 308 of the Clean Water Act.
