Los Angeles Environmental Law Lawyer Wickwire Gavin Home

The following client work illustrates the depth and breadth of our representation of municipalities in the environmental arena.

City of Black River Falls, Wisconsin

We were retained by the City of Black River Falls in connection with its two closed landfills then subject to DNR monitoring and remedial orders due to the presence of VOCs in downgradient private wells. The City's consulting engineers had conducted an initial phase of monitoring and proposed that the City consider various remediation alternatives including a $1 million cap for the older dump. The City retained us to review the consultants' approach and to work with DNR toward a more cost-effective alternative. As a result of our involvement, the consultant reversed his opinion on the need for a cap at the time and developed a proposal for continued monitoring and a "projected" remedy of considerably less magnitude. We successfully presented this proposal to the DNR, and the City now faces a projected remedial cost likely in the range of $100,000.

City of Eau Claire, Wisconsin

The City of Eau Claire retained us to defend an action initiated by a property owner for recovery of damages due to contamination of his private well and land purportedly caused by the migration of pollutants from the City's landfill. Our representation, however, has not been limited to that lawsuit. Because this landfill has been nominated to be placed on the Superfund's National Priority List, we have also been engaged to represent and protect the interests of the City in all matters related to cleanup and negotiations with the involved regulatory agencies and potentially responsible parties.

Village of Westfield, Wisconsin

Because of the contamination of the Village's groundwater (and, thus, several private wells in the Village) by a local industry, the DNR threatened to order the Village to install a public water system, at substantial cost to the Village. We were originally retained by the Village to counsel it on this matter. Our representation expanded to include negotiations with the industry and any necessary ensuing actions. The industry agreed to pursue an extensive program for the remediation of the groundwater, and we successfully persuaded the DNR to withdraw its demand for a public water system.

City of Beloit, Wisconsin

The City of Beloit retained our Firm to provide it with legal assistance in its dispute with a local industry. The City and this industry had entered into a pretreatment facility agreement for a term of 12 years. In exchange for the industry's construction of a pretreatment facility, the City had agreed to operate and maintain that facility and pretreat that industry's and other industries' wastewater. A gamut of issues was raised ranging from the requirements under the Wisconsin Fund grant program to basic contract and municipal law principles.

Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Authority Department, Florida

We represented Miami-Dade in various issues relating to its federal and state wastewater discharge permits. One controversy involved ocean dumping monitoring requirements in the permits and an enforceable acute toxicity effluent limitation in the permit based on, but not identical to, the State of Florida's acute toxicity biomonitoring methodology. Legal issues included whether the Florida biomonitoring methodology was an effluent limitation necessary to meet applicable water quality standards. Factual issues included the applicability of the whole effluent toxicity methodology to open ocean discharges, as well as the propriety of the methodology as adapted for this permit. We obtained a favorable decision relating to these issues from the Environmental Appeals Board in Washington, D.C.

Hollywood, Florida

Our Firm represented Hollywood, Florida, in a series of ongoing and interrelated discharge permit disputes and appeals before the permitting agencies. These disputes focused on percent removal requirements for conventional organic pollutants (BOD and TSS) and on proposed requirements for biotoxicity testing and penalties. Other contested permit and treatment issues included fecal coliform levels, minimization of chlorine residuals, narrowing of the permissible pH discharge range, and expansion of the capacity of the City's facility.

National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund Site

We assisted a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) to persuade EPA to revise the Record of Decision (ROD) which could have required an expensive site excavation.

Maple Shade, New Jersey

The Firm represented a large retail store chain in a law suit against a major oil company to recover clean-up costs for gasoline contamination of property and has continued to perform similar work on other sites in various states for the same client.

Hazardous Waste Site in Iowa

We represented a corporation that was a PRP on a hazardous waste (coal tar) site in its dealings with the state agency, in negotiating an agreement with the other PRPs, and finally with the clean-up contractors.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Compliance

The Firm advised and consulted with several corporations concerning the requirements of RCRA compliance.

Engineering Consultants

Wickwire Gavin represented several engineering consulting firms with respect to issues relating to design liability, construction claims and environmental issues.