Below you will find details of some of the types of work undertaken by this team. For further details, please contact us.
Compliance Work
Typical compliance work includes advising on:
• Environmental permitting and consents, transfers, appeals and surrender, e.g.
- PPC permits
- discharge consents
- trade effluent discharge consents
- abstraction licences
• Water resource law, including discharges, abstraction, impounding and supply.
• Waste management law, e.g. advising on:
- general compliance with waste law (under EU waste directives, Environmental Protection Act 1990 and waste regulations)
- powers and obligations of waste disposal and collection authorities
- waste management duty of care
- producer responsibility legislation (including packaging waste, hazardous waste and WEEE)
• Environmental economic instruments, e.g. advising:
- energy intensive industries on agreements under the Climate Change Levy
- landfill operators on landfill tax and landfill tax credits and trusts
- property developers on contaminated land remediation tax reliefs
• Environmental/health and safety policies and compliance protocols for industrial operations (e.g. in the chemical, textiles and transport sectors).
• Developments in environmental and health & safety legislation, providing briefings and training.
• Compliance with access requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Regulatory Enforcement (and civil disputes)
Typical regulatory enforcement work includes representing clients in:
• Investigations, enforcement and prosecutions by the Environment Agency and local authorities under environmental legislation, e.g.
- Environmental Protection Act 1990
- Control of Pollution Act 1974
- Water Resources Act 1991
- Water Industry Act 1991
- Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
• Investigations, enforcement and prosecutions by the Health & Safety Executive and local authorities under health and safety legislation, e.g. representing clients:
- in relation to fatal and non-fatal accidents at their businesses
- at Coroners’ Inquests
- in relation to asbestos exposure incidents
• Employer liability claims for accidents at work.
• Public liability and occupiers claims.
• Civil environmental disputes, e.g. under:
- trespass
- contracts
- private nuisance
Corporate / Commercial and Property Transactions
We provide environmental and safety advice to assist clients to assess and minimise their exposure to risk and ensure that they have necessary permits to operate when buying and selling businesses, properties and services. Recent examples include acting on:
• Acquisition of extensive property and mineral interests by a multi-national chemicals manufacturer, involving the settlement of highly complex environmental liability risks.
• Acquisition of landfill sites by a waste management company.
• Acquisition of development sites for housebuilders and commercial developers.
• Pre-surrender due diligence for a landlord in anticipation of a dilapidation claim for contamination caused by a tenant.
• Sale by a leading transport group of a car dealership chain.
• Acquisition of various water cooler businesses by a French water company.
• Acquisition by a North American corporation of various parcels of land and assets for the establishment of a major new chemicals manufacturing facility, advising on complex ground contamination and water pollution issues, process consents and the Climate Change Levy/emissions trading system.
• County Council’s waste PFI project for the procurement of recycling and recovery services (principally the development of a mechanical and biological treatment facility, new transfer stations and civic amenity sites) to meet the County’s statutory recycling and recovery targets.
• Outsourcing of a County Council’s entire waste management operations (including its landfill operations, transfer sites and civic amenity sites currently operated by its LAWDC) and the procurement of services to meet its statutory recycling and recovery targets.
• Procurement of a dedicated effluent treatment facility for a chemicals manufacturer, advising on the construction, operation and maintenance contracts.