Laura M. Vélez-Vélez

Laura M. Vélez-Vélez is an Income Member in the Environmental, Energy and Land Use Practice Group.

PRACTICE

Ms. Vélez-Vélez represents clients before local and federal agencies with jurisdiction over environmental, energy and land use matters, such as the Environmental Quality Board, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, the Solid Waste Authority, the Puerto Rico Planning Board, the Permits Management Office, the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and the Environmental Protection Agency. She regularly provides counseling to clients on permitting, enforcement and compliance with environmental, energy and land use laws and regulations (e.g., UST Regulations, NPDES permits, RCRA enforcement actions, ocean dredging, NEPA, CERCLA enforcement actions, CWA, OPA, endangered species management plans, integrated natural resources management plans).

She has experience in the environmental implications of multiple business transactions which include participation in hotel, resort, pharmaceutical and other industrial facility acquisitions. In addition, Ms. Vélez-Vélez has represented lenders in the financing of commercial and industrial facilities.

In the energy area, Ms Vélez-Vélez has provided counsel to clients in the planning, permitting and siting phases of sustainable and renewable energy projects, acting as counsel to several developers during the land use and environmental review process, as well as the construction permitting phase. Her energy experience includes work on coal, wind and landfill gas to energy projects.

Prior to joining the firm in 2003, Ms. Vélez-Vélez was an associate in the Corporate Department of O'Neill & Borges, San Juan, Puerto Rico. In addition, from 2005 to 2006, Ms. Vélez-Vélez served as the Clerk of the Court for the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals, where she worked prior to re-joining the firm in August 2006.

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

Ms. Vélez-Vélez has been involved in several complex environmental cases, including cases under the OPA, CERCLA and the Underground Storage Tank Regulation of the Environmental Quality Board. She has represented clients in cases dealing with spills, soil and groundwater contamination, permit challenges and regulatory violations, among others.