In responding to enforcement actions and penalty issues, your protection from liability is our priority.
Many businesses can be perplexed by environmental laws and expansive administrative governmental rules regulate day-to-day activities such as the storage and disposal of hazardous wastes, monitoring, permitting and reporting of various substances and chemicals, and the investigation and cleanup of contamination discovered on site.
Various agencies, including the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and local municipalities are responsible for the implementation and enforcement of an array of environmental laws.
Sometimes governmental agencies assert that property owners and businesses failed to comply with environmental rules and regulations and file enforcement actions for alleged violations of environmental laws.
Often, these enforcement actions try to assess a penalty and require compliance with certain laws within a specific timeframe. In these cases, we first analyze the legal basis for the enforcement action and then work with our clients to determine a suitable response.
Depending on the circumstances, we may contest the entire action based on facts and law, seek to have the penalty reduced, and/or seek an extension to the timeframe for compliance.