The attorneys at Lieberman Blecher & Sinkevich have a long history of representing government entities, specifically with regard to their environmental law and related needs. Oftentimes, municipalities and other government entities retain our firm as Special Environmental Counsel in order to provide guidance to the governing body on significant environmental and land use issues, including brownfields, landfills, alternative energy, smart growth, hazardous site cleanup, redevelopment and complex litigation in these areas.
Governing bodies often face issues and must make decisions concerning blighted properties that remain on their tax rolls. When investigating these properties, it is not rare to find environmental impacts to the soil, surface water, groundwater or air. Our attorneys are uniquely suited to assist municipalities and other governing bodies in pursuing the remediation and redevelopment of these brownfields and returning them to profitable use for the benefit of their communities and their taxpayers.
Our government entity clients are also concerned with protecting their residents from environmental externalities, including the risks posed by airports and other infrastructure that may have environmental impacts on their host communities. For example, Lieberman Blecher & Sinkevich has served as counsel to a coalition of nearly a dozen municipalities in Bergen County, New Jersey who have sought to preserve, protect and improve the air quality in their communities from degradation by air traffic. These types of issues often require a multi-faceted approach, coupling litigation and political solutions to achieve the best results for the governing bodies and their constituents.
In addition, governing bodies can themselves be parties to environmental litigation, including claims that arise under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA” or “Superfund”), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) and state statutes, including New Jersey’s Spill Compensation and Control Act (“Spill Act”) and Solid Waste Management Act, among many others. The experienced environmental litigators at Lieberman Blecher & Sinkevich have represented the interests of governing bodies before the courts and have become known for their cost-effective approach to litigation, an approach that leverages talent and technology to achieve lasting results for our clients. This platform enables us to realize numerous efficiencies and offer reasonable rates for our legal services, which is a primary concern to all of our clients, but especially to governing bodies faced with ever shrinking budgets.