|
Wetlands
 The
planning and permitting of projects impacting wetlands has
become one of the most complex and highly regulated areas
in all of environmental law. We bring our knowledge and
experience to this field and strive to find environmentally
sound solutions to the most complicated fact situations.
Our clients include commercial, industrial and residential
owners, and range from individual homeowners to large scale
projects such as golf courses or subdivision developments.
Lawyers in our firm also defend at the administrative, trial
and appellate level, clients accused of violating the myriad
rules and regulations related to wetlands. We have substantial experience with federal and state regulators
and regularly represent clients before these agencies on
issues concerning Section 404 Permits, Section 401 Water
Quality Certifications, "construction in floodway"
permits, "mitigation banks," conservation easements,
and other similar issues. See, firm
wins case concerning IDEM's jurisdiction over wetlands.
Special
Agencies: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Indiana Department
of Environmental
Management, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service.
Firm
Contacts: Stephen
Studer, Curt
DeVoe
Back
to top of page
Floodway
Construction
 We
have successfully represented clients in a number of significant
floodway construction matters. These include obtaining approval
for residential developments on artificial fill, defending
construction of a creosote treated bridge against an appeal
by a citizens' group and moving a trout stream in connection
with building a golf course. Our familiarity with administrative
law and technical issues pertaining to floodway construction
are well suited to assisting clients with respect to these
issues. See, Welch v. Department of Natural Resources,
Cause No. 49D02-9712-MI-1663 (Marion County Superior Court,
June 2, 1999) and Wells v. DNR, Cass County Board of
Commissioners and American Timber Bridge & Culvert,
VII CADDNAR 186 (May 22, 1997).
Firm Contacts: George
Plews, Sue
Shadley, Stephen
Studer, Donna
Marron
Back
to top of page
Mining
and Reclamation
 We
represent surface coal mining operators, clay, shale and
oil shale operators and bonding companies in matters before
the State of Indiana Division of Reclamation and Department
of Natural Resources and Natural Resources Commission related
to all aspects of mining and reclamation. One of our attorneys
previously worked for the Division of Reclamation where
she wrote many of the surface coal mining rules and where
she served as an Administrative Law Judge hearing surface
coal mining cases. We assist in prosecuting the issuance
of permits for companies and individuals before the Natural
Resource Commissions Office of Hearings involving enforcement
related matters and in the processing of bond releases and
the resolution of cessation orders, "notices of violation"
and the assessment of civil penalties. Our firm is a member
of the Indiana Coal Council and participates on that organization's
legal committee.
Firm Contacts: Sue
Shadley and Fred
Emhardt
Back
to top of page
Oil
and Gas
 The
Division of Oil and Gas within the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources is responsible for regulating petroleum
and gas exploration and production in this state. It is
illegal in Indiana to even conduct a geophysical survey
without a DNR permit. The DNR's oil and gas rules are highly
technical and govern the issuance and revocation of permits,
bonding requirements, the drilling, deepening, operating,
plugging and abandonment of gas and oil wells, and protection
of coal, underground petroleum and groundwater resources.
The law authorizes the DNR's oil and gas inspectors to enter
at any reasonable time upon private property where a well
for oil and gas purposes is located to determine if the
operator has committed any violations. We have worked with
coal, oil and gas producers to successfully advance their
interests in these matters since the inception of the firm.
Firm Contacts: Sue
Shadley, Peter
Racher, Curt
DeVoe, Donna
Marron
Back
to top of page
Back
to practice areas
|
