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Environmental, Energy & Land Use Representative Cases and Matters

  • Two consolidated Toxic tort and Nuisance actions filed by residents of communities surrounding a wastewater treatment plant, one of which requests the certification of a class.   Plaintiffs claim over $600 million dollars in damages as a result of alleged noxious odors claimed to be generated by the wastewater treatment plant over a period of many years.  We represent a group of companies that discharge into the wastewater treatment plant.
  • Several appeals from state agency decisions concerning the environmental impact statement and pre-construction permits for a San Juan hotel and resort.  We represented the developer in all of the petitions for judicial review, ultimately resulting in a showdown before the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.
  • Civil action against the operator of a quarry bordering a pharmaceutical facility in connection with illegal dust emissions and a geologically unstable limestone hill caused by quarrying operations at the site.  The plaintiffs obtained an injunction against the quarry operator and seek the stabilization of the limestone hill.  We represent the plaintiffs.
  • Toxic tort action filed by the owners of a property allegedly contaminated by contaminated storm waters and superficial fuel releases originating from a gas station. The litigation also involved a parallel administrative enforcement action initiated by the Environmental Quality Board ("EQB") in connection with alleged violations to the agency's UST regulations. We represented an oil company.
  • Administrative enforcement action initiated by the EQB against a filter membrane manufacturer. The agency sought more than $90 million in administrative fines for alleged mishandling of filter membrane wastes which the EQB considered to be a hazardous waste due to the ignitability characteristic. EQB's action was the direct result of a lawsuit filed by the owner of an incinerator that was destroyed by a fire allegedly caused by the filter membrane wastes. We represented the filter membrane manufacturer in both the administrative enforcement action and in the state court litigation.
  • Civil action initiated by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in connection with an oil spill at a metropolitan area hospital. A United States Coast Guard investigation preceded the litigation. The government demanded $2 million dollars in damages and the restoration of natural resources affected by the spill. We represented the defendant, an oil company.
  • Civil cost recovery and contribution action filed pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act against twenty-seven (27) defendants concerning the $20 million dollar remediation of an old Juncos landfill. The litigation also involved separate administrative proceedings related to two unilateral administrative orders by the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"). Under a common defense agreement, we represented several companies that allegedly disposed of hazardous substances at the old Juncos landfill. We handled both the litigation in federal court and the administrative proceedings before EPA.
  • Citizen suit under the Clean Water Act involving alleged violations to a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. We represented one of the tuna canneries which discharged into the wastewater treatment plant.