Brown McCarroll Attorneys at Law

No other area of law deals more directly with two of the basic needs of life – air and water – than environmental law, making it one of the most important and challenging areas of law: important because we depend on the purity of these elements for life and challenging because of the number of interested parties and difficulty in balancing competing public, private, and commercial interests.

Our attorneys understand the high stakes in environmental matters, and not just the public stakes, but your stakes. From the cost of permitting delays, to complete stoppage of your project, to the risk of enforcement or prosecution, you have a lot at stake. We can help you anticipate issues before they are evident, help you resolve issues when they are unavoidable, or challenge the opposition when it is in your best interest.

The average number of years of experience of our environmental attorneys is over two decades, which means they have seen, challenged, and negotiated a myriad of environmental issues. Chances are they have seen an issue similar to yours and can leverage what they have learned to efficiently advise you on your options.

As tribute to our success, nearly every member of our environmental group (Jackson Battle, Keith Hopson, Rod Johnson and Danny Worrell) was selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America, and our team was ranked as one of the leading environmental law practice groups in Texas by Chambers and Partners USA in 2010 and 2011.

Insight

Effective environmental legal representation requires a combination of legal experience, knowledge, and understanding of the public policy relating to environmental issues.

Our team acquired its insight in these areas through:

• Previous positions in key governing bodies such as the EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ("TCEQ") (formerly the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission ("TNRCC"))
• Longtime working relationships with policy makers
• Playing a leading role in shaping Texas environmental law
• Contacts at regulatory agencies and witness to many decisions by them
• Advocacy on behalf of our clients at contested hearings that have interpreted and tested the boundaries of the law
• Education in geology, geophysics, engineering, and public affairs

Our clients appreciate the strength of our insight and the high quality representation they receive as a result.

Efficiency

Because of the significant experience level our attorneys have in almost all areas of environmental law, we are capable of providing effective counseling quickly, without having to become educated on those issues at your expense. With Brown McCarroll you get a senior attorney at a cost-effective rate.

Comprehensive Representation

From strategic planning, to compliance questions, to contested hearings, we have the resources and depth of counseling and litigation skills to represent you throughout the course of your projects.

For companies without in-house counsel, we can counsel you on virtually any environmental issue at any stage, eliminating the need to hire multiple law firms to address your needs. For companies with in-house counsel, we can round out your legal team with our experience and insight into relevant Texas statutes and rules, as well as political considerations that may impact your company or project.

Our insight makes us effective advocates for our clients before the EPA, the TCEQ, the Texas Department of State Health Services, the Railroad Commission of Texas, and other state and federal regulatory agencies.

We have a comprehensive grasp of all relevant Texas environmental laws (and their federal counterparts), including the following statutes and rules implementing them:

• Texas Clean Air Act
• Texas Injection Well Act
• Texas Water Quality Control Act
• Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act (including the State Superfund program)
• Texas Environmental, Health, and Safety Audit Privilege Act

One of our strengths is our accumulation of knowledge on how these laws and statutes have been interpreted and which arguments and negotiations have been successful and which have not.

We represent a range of clients, including:

• Energy and chemical companies
• Manufacturing companies
• Municipalities
• State and regional mobility authorities ("RMAs") and transportation departments
• Waste management facilities
• Utilities / Districts
• Real estate developers

We also have a cross-practice team of attorneys focused on Climate Change and Renewable Resources.