Environmental and Regulatory Practice Group

Members of Gilbert Harrell’s Environmental and Regulatory Practice Group have a broad range of expertise and unique experience in environmental permitting, regulatory compliance matters, environmental review, enforcement actions, litigation and transaction-related needs. Our group has been involved with complex regulatory issues and regularly works with local, state and federal agencies to resolve issues that impact our clients.

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Since our founding in 1871, our Environmental and Regulatory Practice Group has delivered trusted counsel to clients navigating the evolving landscape of environmental law. The group’s experience encompasses all facets of environmental permitting, regulatory compliance matters, environmental review, enforcement, litigation, and transaction-related concerns.

Our attorneys routinely engage with local, state, and federal agencies—drawing on a proven record of resolving complex regulatory challenges that affect business, institutional, and community interests throughout Southeast Coastal Georgia. Through our strategic, problem-solving approach, we focus on achieving efficient, cost-effective outcomes tailored to our clients’ unique needs, while upholding a tradition of excellence that distinguishes our service.

Gilbert Harrell lawyers have represented clients on environmental matters arising under an array of federal laws and their state equivalents, including, among others, the federal Clean Air Act, Superfund, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Clean Water Act, Georgia Hazardous Sites Response Act, Georgia Brownfield Act and the Georgia Voluntary Remediation Program. Gilbert Harrell lawyers also have unique experience with the laws and regulations governing water rights and environmentally contaminated land.

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Our attorneys  provide trusted guidance to clients navigating environmental matters arising under a comprehensive range of federal statutes and their state counterparts, including the Clean Air Act, Superfund, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Clean Water Act, Georgia Hazardous Sites Response Act, Georgia Brownfield Act, and the Georgia Voluntary Remediation Program. Through decades of service, we have developed particular proficiency with the complex legal frameworks regulating water rights and environmentally impacted properties, ensuring clients benefit from informed counsel grounded in Georgia’s legal tradition and a steadfast commitment to results.

With wide-ranging experience, Gilbert Harrell’s lawyers regularly participate in the negotiation, development and implementation of remedies and corrective action for major commercial and industrial sites. Partners within the firm’s Environmental and Regulatory Practice group have handled a number of issues of first impression in Georgia including those encountered in permitting old rock quarries as raw water storage facilities, ownership of disputed marshlands, and transitioning former RCRA facilities into productive reuse and redevelopment.

Partners in our group have served in the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the Governor’s Office. As former regulators, our attorneys provide valuable perspective on the efficient and practical resolution of complex matters. Our strategic approach to each matter is calculated with the client’s goals in mind.

Our Environmental and Regulatory Practice offers a full range of services and strategies to help guide clients toward solutions.

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Drawing on decades of collective expertise, our attorneys at Gilbert Harrell routinely guide clients through the negotiation, structuring, and deployment of remedial strategies for major commercial and industrial properties. The Environmental and Regulatory Practice is distinguished by its record of addressing precedent-setting legal issues in Georgia, such as permitting legacy quarries for municipal water storage, resolving disputes over marshland ownership, and facilitating the transformation of former RCRA-regulated sites for productive redevelopment.

Our team includes attorneys who have served in leadership positions within the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the Governor’s Office. This governmental experience equips our group with rare insight and a pragmatic approach, enabling efficient, cost-effective solutions for even the most complex regulatory challenges. Each engagement begins with a thorough strategic analysis focused on advancing the client’s objectives with clarity and precision.

The Environmental and Regulatory Practice at Gilbert Harrell delivers comprehensive counsel—merging technical mastery and proven judgment—to help clients achieve sustainable, successful outcomes.

• Environmental Permitting
• Navigation of Sites
  • Navigation and negotiation of sites in RCRA, CERCLA, Brownfields, Hazardous Sites Response Act, and Voluntary Remediation processes.
• Civil and Administrative Governmental Enforcement Actions
• Regulatory Counseling and Agency Advocacy
• Environmental Review
• Risk Assessments
• Cost Recovery and Contribution Actions
• Real Estate and Corporate Transactions
• Litigation and Compliance Matters
• Lobbying
  • Lobbying before Georgia General Assembly regarding environmental matters and relevant Georgia Administrative Agencies
• Matters Involving Coastal Permitting and Development Rights
  • Matters involving the Georgia Coastal Marshlands Protection Act and Shoreline Protection Act, including permitting and disputes over ownership and development rights related to tidal marshlands and shoreline properties
• Water Use Planning and Compliance
  • Georgia’s State Water Plan; Habitat Conservation Planning under the federal Endangered Species Act; Georgia’s Flint River Drought Protection Act and Agricultural Water Use Permitting; and the Georgia Water Stewardship Act with related drought and conservation regulations