Practice Areas
As regulatory and permitting programs mature, regulatory agencies have shifted their focus away from promulgating regulations toward enforcement. This change has resulted in an increasing number of judicial and administrative enforcement actions, particularly concerning hazardous waste, seeking criminal or civil penalties for non-compliance and injunctive relief. MTO has defended clients in a number of these cases, including:
- CEQA. We defended a major oil company in a CEQA action brought by a local trade union.
- Clean Air Act. We have represented clients in judicial and administrative enforcement actions seeking penalties and injunctive relief for alleged violations of air permits and regulatory requirements. We have also represented clients in administrative proceedings before California air districts seeking variances from existing air pollution requirements.
- Clean Water Act. We defended a major manufacturing company in a federal suit brought by the EPA for penalties and injunctive relief based on allegations of unlawful wastewater discharges. We also represented a major defense contractor during a three-year federal grand jury investigation concerning allegations by federal and local agencies of illegal discharges of wastewater to a municipal sewage treatment plant. And, on behalf of a major oil company, we negotiated parallel criminal and civil settlements with federal and state authorities regarding an oil pipeline spill, while defending separate wrongful death and personal injury actions arising from spill.
- Hazardous Waste Acts. MTO successfully defended a major corporation in state and federal criminal investigations alleging improper hazardous waste disposal related to the closure of a former manufacturing facility. We represented a major oil company in a statewide hazardous waste enforcement action regarding oil change facilities. MTO attorneys defended a major oil company in UST enforcement actions related to gasoline stations in Southern California.
- RCRA. We represented a major utility with respect to RCRA closure issues at multiple Southern California facilities.
- Medical Waste Act. MTO defended a major institution in a state and federal investigation into allegations of improper disposal of medical waste.
- California Proposition 65. We have defended numerous manufacturers and retailers in citizen suits and public prosecutor actions alleging violations of Proposition 65’s warning requirements.
