Driven by technical and scientific advances as well as societal and political forces, constantly changing environmental regulations present the regulated community with new challenges and increased burdens. The proliferation of environmental regulations and mounting public pressure impacts businesses—often across multiple jurisdictions—as well as project developers, public utilities and local governments. That's why you need an experienced team to help you deal with environmental impact assessment project development, permitting, climate change, product life cycle analysis, due diligence and risk management.

Whatever your industry, you can rely on Dentons’ experienced lawyers, whose regulatory and legislative know-how extends from city councils and state legislatures to federal and state regulatory agencies. Our team boasts the lawyer who drafted the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), so you could say we literally “wrote the book” on environmental legislation in the US.

Whether you are at the early concept stage of a development, want to design and implement an environmental compliance program and associated policies and procedures, evaluate your self-reporting or other voluntary compliance strategies, conduct an internal investigation in response to an agency-initiated inquiry, navigate a mandatory or voluntary cleanup, or need representation before an administrative tribunal or in court, our lawyers will guide you through the process step-by-step.

We can support you in appealing a permit denial or zoning opinion, defending against a challenge to a permit or project approval mounted by an adverse third party or pursuing a legal remedy to set aside or reduce penalties for “minor” environmental violations, having negotiated with a wide range of local, state and federal regulators and litigated before all levels of state and federal courts—including the Supreme Court.

Whether your company is a strictly local concern or operates in multiple jurisdictions, keeping up with the pace and change of an ever-evolving regulatory landscape requires the assistance of lawyers with experience on many issues and across many regions. Dentons delivers on both counts.

Key service areas

• Brownfields site remediation under CERCLA and state voluntary cleanup programs
• California environmental laws, including Proposition 65
• Chemical regulations, including Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
• Clean Air Act
• Clean Water Act
• Cleanup of federal and state Superfund and RCRA sites
• Climate change
• Confined animal feeding operations
• Development of impaired real estate
• Due diligence in corporate and real estate transactions
• Emergency response and crisis management
• Endangered Species Act
• Environmental impact assessments under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
• Environmental insurance coverage
• Facility-siting
• Hazardous materials transportation 
• Hazardous waste management under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
• Historic preservation
• Land use and zoning
• Legislative and regulatory advocacy
• Native American law
• Negotiating settlements with the Department of Justice, USEPA, and state environmental agencies
• Pesticide regulations, including Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
• Project management
• Regulatory compliance counseling
• State laws, including Pennsylvania’s Air Pollution Control Act, Clean Streams Law, Safe Drinking Water Act, Storm Water Management Act, Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act, Oil and Gas Act and Solid Waste Management Act
• State transfer and notice statutes, such as New Jersey’s ISRA and Connecticut’s Property Transfer Act
• Wastewater and stormwater management, including erosion and sediment control
• Workplace requirements administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Recognition

Dentons recognized for ESG initiatives in 2024 edition of The Legal 500 Green Guide

November 30, 2023

Dentons was ranked among US law firms in the 2024 edition of The Legal 500 Green Guide, a global, comprehensive guide to the top law firms advising on issues around climate change, governance and sustainability.

229 Dentons lawyers ranked in Chambers Global 2019

February 15, 2019

Dentons is pleased to announce that 229 of its lawyers have been ranked in the Chambers Global 2019 guide. This is an increase of over 30 percent compared to last year's total of 175. Of these recommended lawyers, 90 are ranked in the highest bands (Bands 1 and 2, Eminent Practitioner, Star, Senior Statespeople).

12 Dentons lawyers named to Georgia Trend 2018 Legal Elite

December 5, 2018

Dentons, the world's largest law firm, boasts 12 lawyers included on Georgia Trend magazine's 2018 Legal Elite. For the past 16 years, Georgia Trend has recognized the state’s top attorneys. Nominations for the annual Legal Elite roundup are submitted through peer nomination.

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Insights

White House Issues Executive Order on Advancing US Leadership in AI Infrastructure

January 15, 2025

United States: On January 14, 2025, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order titled Advancing United States Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure (“AI Executive Order”).

Dentons Smart Cities & Connected Communities Think Tank Virtual Roundtable:
What to Expect with a New Congress and Administration – Navigating the Future of Energy Transition

November 12, 2024

A week after the historic 2024 presidential and congressional elections, our two panels looked at the political and policy-related implications of the election results. Our panels also looked forward, to the 119th Congress, to preview the path forward for must-pass legislation and the most likely priorities of the Administration.

Dentons Global Smart Cities & Connected Communities Think Tank Annual Report 2024

October 24, 2024

The Dentons Global Smart Cities & Connected Communities Think Tank Annual Report 2024 provides valuable insights into today’s most pressing issues related to the modernization of digital, physical, and social infrastructure and also takes a deep dive into topics, such as AI, decarbonization, hydrogen, and smart agriculture.

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News and Events

Recent Press Releases

Dentons Team Represents Genasys in $15 million Two-Year Term Loan Agreement

May 20, 2024

The Firm represented Genasys Inc. in connection with a $15,000,000 senior secured term loan with an institutional investor experienced in government contracts.

Dentons and K&E advise KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners on finalizing US$15 billion acquisition and financing of CyrusOne

March 30, 2022

Global law firm Dentons, working together with Kirkland & Ellis, represented global investment firm KKR and fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners in connection with certain matters related to the closing of the $15 billion acquisition of data center operator CyrusOne, Inc., as well as the financing by a consortium of lenders led by Goldman Sachs. In November 2021, Dentons advised the acquiring consortium on the successful bid.

Maksym Sysoiev elected board member of the UABio

February 11, 2022

Maksym Sysoiev, a partner in Dentons’ Kyiv office, was elected as a board member of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine (UABio).

View all press releases for Environment and Natural Resources in the United States