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Environmental Law

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The Davis LLP Environmental Law Practice Group possesses extensive experience in advising clients in all aspects of environmental law. Our involvement with business issues related to corporate social responsibility is ever-increasing as local, national and international stakeholders demand environmental stewardship. To successfully meet these demands, businesses must integrate environmental management into their business strategy and policies. This requires a preventative approach to environmental compliance and liability issues, as well as an understanding of the constantly changing regulatory landscape. Our Group's expertise supports this approach.

We have a strong presence in all areas of environmental law, including environmental litigation, defence of environmental prosecutions, real estate and lender transactions with a particular emphasis on brownfields redevelopment, compliance issues, environmental approvals and assessments, due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, waste management and disposal, recycling, waste diversion and recovery, and transportation of dangerous goods.

Our client base includes companies in the natural resource sector, those operating in the energy and waste management sectors, utilities, provincial energy boards, various levels of government and quasi-governmental agencies and other organizations.

Our comprehensive expertise includes:

• Providing regulatory compliance advice to environmentally-sensitive industries
• Advising the boards of directors and senior officers of environmentally-sensitive industries
• Designing and participating in environmental management systems, environmental audits and other due diligence tools
• Advising on risk-allocation mechanisms, such as insurance, indemnifications or warranty provisions in the context of mergers and acquisitions
• Restructuring a property sale or purchase so as to minimize environmental liabilities
• Advising on the applicability of insurance coverage for environmental liabilities
• Acting as counsel in the review of various projects under environmental assessment legislation
• Negotiations with regulatory officials to define permit requirements
• Conducting appeals under environmental legislation and seeking judicial review before the courts
• Acting as counsel for plaintiffs and defendants engaged in civil litigation and private arbitrations
• Defending clients charged with environmental offences under provincial and federal legislation
• Advising governmental and quasi-governmental entities on policy and legislative developments

Topical Issues

• Pending environmental legislation will increase the demands and scrutiny on businesses that impact the environment.
• Canada's international obligations under various environmental treaties and its commitments under the NAFTA Environmental Cooperation Agreement are forcing businesses to take a rigorous approach to environmental planning and remediation.
• Waste management, waste disposal and recycling are pressing concerns today, and our firm has more experience than any other Canadian firm dealing with these issues.
• Emissions trading, whether provincially, nationally or internationally, will have increasing significance for companies operating in Canada, as will the potential to be involved in green energy initiatives.

Representative Matters

Our Group has acted in the following representative matters. We:

• Were counsel to the Government of Alberta, and in particular, the Ministry of Environment, providing advice and service in all aspects of environmental matters, including administrative protection for discretionary decisions made by the Minister of Environment under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.
• Were counsel to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment with respect to an environmental assessment of the proposal to locate a highway linking Highway 401 and Ottawa.
• Acted for a multi-national auto parts manufacturer engaged in a series of lawsuits and appeals of regulatory orders in relation to allegations of groundwater contamination by industrial solvents.
• Represented the government in Ontario's first major waste management hearing.
• Defended a leading forestry products company in relation to odour and particulate emissions charges and a related dispute pertaining to indemnity provisions arising out of the sale of the emitting facility.
• Represented a federation of northern municipalities in Ontario Energy Board Hearings resulting in the wider availability of natural gas in Northern Ontario.

Currently, we:

• Are involved with all aspects of waste management issues - recycling, product stewardship, waste diversion, alternate waste streams.
• Are counsel to industry: oil and gas, forestry, and stewardship organizations in Alberta and British Columbia.
• Provide advice on environmental industry issues, including remediation, reclamation, environmental liability, permits, licensing, regulatory change and compliance
• Obtain best results for clients using modified forms of alternative dispute resolution (private litigation) for determinations on method, appropriateness and cost of remediation.
• Assist with detailed compromise proposals related to sites to be remediated to encourage practical settlements
• Act for petroleum companies in the defence of environmental claims by neighbouring landowners and appeals of regulatory orders.

Recognition & Activities

Our group discusses topical environmental issues in our blog:

Environmental, Energy, and Natural Resources

Other Related Blogs

Municipal Planning and Environmental Law

Climate Change Blog

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