Environmental Due Diligence and Transactions

Our attorneys possess decades of experience in land use, natural resources, and environmental law, including prior work for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on issues related to business and real estate sales and acquisitions. Since laws and regulations in these areas can be complicated and involved, it's important for businesses and developers to understand their environmental compliance obligations in order to avoid legal and financial liability.

Avoid future legal complications by taking steps today to protect your company from unwanted liability. Contact environmental due diligence lawyer Tim Henderson at Rich and Henderson today for a consultation in our Annapolis or Easton, Maryland offices to discuss your needs.

At Rich and Henderson, our attorneys undertake a legal audit of requirements, licenses, certifications, inspections, and other issues in order to ensure your company is in compliance with state, federal, and even international law. And, since laws in these areas often change, we're particularly attentive to alerting clients to new environmental laws and land use regulations that could impact how they conduct business.

Real Estate - Commercial and Business Transactions

We have performed or supervised environmental due diligence reviews for the following:

• Industrial and commercial real estate purchases and sales
• Corporate acquisitions and sales
• Loans
• Power generation and waste co-generation projects
• Joint ventures and initial public offerings (IPOs)

In states such as New Jersey, Connecticut or Illinois, where transactions cannot be completed until environmental compliance has been established, we take part in the environmental review process in order to expedite transaction closings.

When Purchasing or Transferring Property

Our environmental law attorneys provide insights on the business and legal communities' approach to the transfer of property with known or potential environmental contamination. Understanding how to avoid unwanted environmental problems can also come into play in mergers and acquisitions as well. We utilize the expanded coverage of CERCLA's exemption for owners of security interests in contaminated property, Brownfield's initiatives, and environmental insurance tools relative to the financing of the acquisition of contaminated property. Our attorneys are fully versed in the ASTM standards for Phase I Environmental Assessments and the All Appropriate Inquiries rules.

Resolving Problems and Risks - Undertaking Environmental Due Diligence

We use our knowledge and experience to develop creative and effective solutions, tailor-made for the environmental risks posed by each transaction. We oversee the correction, remediation and cleanup of identified environmental problems and risks and prepare the disclosures required by the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and annual reporting regulations. Many of our attorneys have backgrounds in the sciences, environmental planning, engineering and geology and have developed close working relationships with a number of leading environmental consultants and engineering firms.

Contact Rich and Henderson, P.C. to arrange an initial consultation in our Annapolis or Easton, Maryland office.

The firm enjoys professional relationships in a number of Mid-Atlantic States (i.e. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.) and in Massachusetts, Tennessee and Wisconsin. In Maryland, we serve our clients in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, St. Mary's, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester counties.