Areas of Practice and Services
Water Law
Our work in this practice area includes the adjudication of conditional and absolute water rights, both surface and underground. Much of our work focuses on the development, adjudication, and administration of plans for augmentation, changes of water rights, and exchange cases. We assist clients with well permitting issues, including resolving disputes between water users and regulatory officials. We also handle transactional matters involving the negotiation and drafting of water rights purchase and sale agreements, title examination of water rights, and related property rights issues governing the use of ditches and other water conveyance facilities. We have handled drainage, seepage, and flooding issues, have assisted water providers in obtaining water project funding, and have also evaluated and drafted proposed legislation dealing with water rights issues before the Colorado General Assembly.
We represent both applicants and objectors in water cases, and have extensive experience from both perspectives. We have directly handled significant litigation involving both trial and appellate work before the Colorado State Engineer, Ground Water Commission, District Courts, Water Courts, the Court of Appeals, and the Colorado Supreme Court.
Water Attorneys:
Environmental Law
The majority of our environmental practice is directed toward obtaining permits and resolving enforcement matters under the Clean Water Act (including point source discharge and wetlands matters), the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (including solid waste and underground storage tank matters), the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), the Clean Air Act (including asbestos matters), the Toxic Substances Control Act (including the regulation of PCBs), and radiation control laws. As a part of our practice, we regularly appear before Colorado's Water Quality Control Commission and, when necessary, appear before Colorado's Hazardous Waste Commission and Air Quality Control Commission.
- We provide environmental litigation services to our clients in such areas as Superfund contribution actions, appeals of permits and water quality standards, and the defense of citizen suit actions.
- We advise clients on environmental auditing and liability issues and we counsel sellers and purchasers, as well as environmental consultants, on due diligence matters.
- We monitor state and federal legislative initiatives through our active participation in the environmental sections of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry.
- We work with clients in evaluating and drafting legislative proposals for state environmental laws.