Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell has developed a nationwide practice in the environmental review process. We represent clients ranging from proponents to affected parties to opponents of the kinds of transportation, development, and infrastructure projects that trigger preparation of federal environmental studies or similar reviews under counterpart state laws.
We address impacts to the complete range of environmental, historic, and social resources in settings from dense urban areas to wilderness. We have substantive expertise regarding the environmental issues that arise in all of these areas and how they affect the review process, including air quality, noise, environmental justice, wetlands, historic resources, endangered species, water quality, communities, and coastal resources.
Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell is different from most law firms in that we regularly represent both project proponents and project opponents. As a result, our attorneys bring special expertise to our work on the environmental review process.
For project proponents, our experience representing opponents translates into an ability to anticipate litigation issues opponents may raise; to work with clients to develop solutions to opponents’ concerns; to understand their potential legal arguments; and most importantly, to structure the environmental review process in a way to reduce the chance of a successful legal challenge. When representing project opponents, we are able to understand what hurdles represent mere inconveniences for a project and what hurdles could give project opponents substantial leverage over approval of the ultimate project.
We are frequently called upon to assist in the earliest stages of a project, to aid in defining and narrowing the scope of environmental review (in the case of project proponents), or to help ensure the broadest and most comprehensive environmental review (in the case of project opponents).
Rags Over the Ark. River, Inc. v. BLM, No. 12-cv-0265-WJM, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 324 (D. Colo. Jan. 2, 2015) (defended the environmental review process for a client’s permit for temporary installation of a public work of art on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land)
River Runners for Wilderness v. Martin, 2007 Westlaw 4200677 (D. Ariz. 2007), aff'd, 574 F.3d 723 (9th Cir. 2009) (successfully defended agency’s environmental study regarding allocation of permits and management prescriptions for Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park)
Colorado Environmental Coalition v. Lujan, 803 F. Supp. 364, 1992 WL 231020, 22 ELR 21,542 (D. Colo. 1992) (represented citizens’ organization in successful challenge to BLM’s environmental review for the wilderness designation process in three western states)