Environmental and Natural Resources
There are several drivers concerning the
regulation of environmental and natural resource matters:
- Legacy liabilities - The
tightening of regulatory regimes governing historic site condition,
the financial reporting requirements on companies to make provision
for contingent environmental liabilities, and the pressure on
companies to utilize redundant assets are trends that drive
companies to understand and pro-actively manage responsibility for
legacy site conditions.
- Pollution risk management and
response - The worldwide impact of the Deepwater Horizon
spill will be felt in legislation, administrative action and
litigation.
- Climate change - The
increased public awareness of the impacts of greenhouse gases
coupled with the regulatory mechanisms now coming into place from
the UN to the EU and the UK, as well as in the US in states such as
California, will drive business decisions. A push for
decarbonization will be part of that future.
- Product life-cycle analysis
- Increasingly regulatory mechanisms will require the manufacturer
to assume responsibility for its products from production to
ultimate disposal.
- Natural resource extraction and
harvesting - As natural resources are used – whether oil
and gas or mining or timber or fisheries – there will be ongoing
tensions with respect to environmental impacts accompanied by
ever-more-stringent laws and an increasingly aware public.
- Environmental impact
assessment - Now most nations, from the US to the UK and
the EU generally, to countries throughout the world, require EIAs
as part of major project approvals. This year the
International Court of Justice declared EIA to be part of the law
of nations. Navigating the EIA process is an SNR Denton
specialty.
Whatever a client’s environmental or natural
resource issue, SNR Denton stands ready to assist.
Areas of Focus
- Obtaining operational consents and permits
and defending them in court
- Navigating the environmental impact
assessment process
- Shaping regulatory frameworks
- Interpreting regulatory obligations,
negotiating with regulators in respect to enforcement positions and
pursuing legal challenges where necessary
- Resisting, defending and challenging
enforcement action
- Liability analysis and dispute
resolution
- Strategic management following major
incidents
- Strategic sector based law and policy
interpretation
- Advice on regulatory barriers and/or
incentive and encouragement mechanisms