Environmental law involves a whole spectrum of activities, including political debate on social and economic issues, regulatory activities by governmental (and quasi-governmental) entities, and the ever-popular litigation involving property damage and personal injury.

My experience with environmental issues is mainly in the litigation of contamination and pollution cases, including property damage and personal injury ("toxic tort") litigation. I also handle violation disputes with regulatory entities. These are essentially “after-the-fact” matters, that is, an incident has occurred (allegedly), and someone – a governmental entity, a business, or an individual – has claimed that this incident is a violation of the law.

Other attorneys in my office are more familiar with lobbying and compliance issues, or the “front side” areas of environmental law, such as drafting statutes and regulations and permitting procedures. Often, however the litigation of environmental disputes requires analysis of statutes, regulations, permits, and other areas of the law, so I have seen my share of statutes, regulations, and legislative histories.

Although there are numerous statutes and regulations related to environmental protection, many lawsuits still involve “common law” claims such as negligence, nuisance, trespass, battery, strict liability, inverse condemnation, riparian rights (rivers, streams & other waterways), fraud, breach of contract, and others.

Some environmental litigation claims can be quite simple, but most are notoriously complex and often require experts. Experts commonly seen in environmental cases include engineers, geologists, hydrologists, chemists, and toxicologists, epidemiologists, and other medical professionals, as well as contractors in property damage cases. On the regulatory side (permits and compliance issues), most state and federal environmental programs are administered through the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC), although there can be overlapping jurisdiction with other agencies such as the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (LLR) (administers OSHA programs) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) (fishing & hunting permits and violations).

My goal with this blog is to raise awareness of environmental issues which concern everyone. Obviously most entries will deal with specific issues of environmental law and litigation, but I will also discuss current environmental topics and provide a forum for comments and discussion. I have no specific agenda or viewpoint to promote; I am neither “pro-plaintiff” nor “pro-defense” (and I do not think there are such neat categories in the environmental area). I do admit, however, that my goal is to leave a better world for future generations.