May 2013: Mark C. Hammond of LAW will be among the speakers at the invitation-only SCS Engineers Fifth Annual Pennsylvania Landfill and Solid Waste Seminar June 12 in Harrisburg.

Hammond will speak on “Current and Emerging Issues in the Regulation of Landfill Air Emissions,” along with co-presenter SCS engineer Josh Roth.

The half-day seminar is designed to provide updates on the latest regulatory, policy, and technological developments
in the landfill and landfill gas industries to solid waste management professionals, landfill managers, supervisors,
and operators.

SCS Engineers has 800 employees at 65 offices throughout the United States and specializes in solid waste, landfill, and environmental services.

April 2013: LAW environmental litigator and regulatory compliance lawyer Winifred M. Branton spoke April 11 at the Environmental Law Forum sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute at the Harrisburg Hilton & Towers, Harrisburg.

Branton’s presentation was geared to new legal practitioners and discussed the basics of commencing and litigating appeals before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board. The PBI Environmental Law Forum brings together attorneys, consultants, engineers, professors and government officials to share legal and other developments in the environmental field.

April 2013: LAW’s Mark C. Hammond was a speaker before more than 200 food and beverage industry environmental representatives at the 43rd Annual Food and Beverage Environmental Conference April 7-11 at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge, Md.

Hammond presented an air regulatory update entitled “It Couldn’t Happen to a Nicer Industry” during a session on air compliance strategies.

He focused on implementation issues under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE) and maximum achievable control technology (MACT) for industrial boilers.

He also discussed what the impact might be on the future regulation of greenhouse gases with the expected U.S. Senate confirmation of Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Air and Radiation Office, as the top administrator of the entire agency.

The Food and Beverage Environmental Conference is considered the premier environmental event for the food and beverage industry. It brings together senior environmental managers from food and beverage companies to share their experiences with sustainable practices, environmental compliance, and new technologies and approaches.

February 2013: Land Air Water Legal Solutions LLC (LAW) helped lay the groundwork for an innovative green energy project that began construction in Wilmington, Delaware, at the end of last year.

“We were pleased to serve as special counsel to the City of Wilmington, helping the city negotiate the purchase of landfill gas that eventually will power the city’s Hay Road Wastewater Treatment Plant,” LAW attorney Mark C. Hammond said.

The city broke ground in December on a “Renewable Energy Biosolids Facility” that will use landfill gas—along with digester gas from the city’s wastewater treatment plant itself—to generate electricity and produce process heat.

• The gas-generated electricity will be used to run the treatment plant at a significant cost savings. Burning the gas is expected to generate 4.4 megawatts of electricity, enough to fully satisfy the treatment plant’s electrical requirements.
• Heat produced from the project will be used to both augment the wastewater treatment plant’s digesters as well as drying the treated sewage sludge, thereby reducing sludge volume by an estimated 75 percent and slashing disposal costs.

“In a way, this was the perfect assignment for us,” Hammond explained. “It was a challenging blend of legal and technical issues, which is exactly the type of project we are both very adept at and greatly enjoy. We employed not only our legal knowledge and experience with environmental matters, but also our technical background in engineering.” Like most of LAW’s attorneys, Hammond has a bachelor of science undergraduate degree (mechanical engineering) and real-world experience as a consultant, in addition to his law degree.

LAW helped Wilmington negotiate with Cummins Power Generation, which owns the rights to the gas produced by the Delaware Solid Waste Authority’s Cherry Island Landfill. LAW also helped negotiate an easement for siting the gas-processing equipment at the Renewable Energy Biosolids Facility. This processing facility, part of an effort by Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker to promote green energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is scheduled to be finished in early 2014.

“Business savvy, legal knowhow, and exceptional service are at the core of the services we provide,” Hammond said, “but we also use the diversity of our broad experience and technical backgrounds—as a firm and as individual lawyers—in order to give our clients the fullest benefit possible.”

LAW attorney Winifred M. Branton has been named board vice president of the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC), the state’s oldest citizen action environmental organization.

Branton said she was looking forward to supporting the group’s mission of promoting a litter-free environment and participating in its ongoing efforts to collaborate with business, government, citizens, and a variety of interest groups.

“I’m glad I’ll be on the board to help celebrate the council’s 75th anniversary in 2014,” she said. “The PRC has a history of service to the environment that extends back to when Gifford Pinchot, a former Pennsylvania governor and the first head of the U.S. Forest Service, was on the board.”

She recently served as co-chair of the PRC’s 2012 Annual Awards Dinner.

Branton concentrates her practice in environmental litigation and regulatory compliance. She has handled litigation in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies and the state Environmental Hearing Board. Her clients include industrial firms, solid waste management companies, financial institutions, municipalities, and citizens groups.

Before entering private practice, she worked in the Office of Chief Counsel of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Branton holds a law degree from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University and a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a former council member of the Environmental, Mineral and Natural Resources Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public administration from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania.

LAW attorney Winnie Branton is serving as co-chair of the 2012 Annual Awards Dinner of the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC).

LAW is a Silver Sponsor of the event, which is scheduled for Nov. 15 at the Radisson at the Valley Forge Casino Resort.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter will receive the PRC’s Leadership in Sustainable Government Award and serve as the keynote speaker.

Branton is a member of the board of directors of the PRC, which was established in 1939 and is one of the Commonwealth’s oldest citizen-action environmental organizations.

For more information visit http://www.prc.org/2012_dinner.html.

LAW partner Mark Hammond has been elected vice chairman of Pennsylvania’s Climate Change Advisory Committee (CCAC) after having been appointed to a four-year term on the committee by Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi.

The CCAC was created by Pennsylvania Climate Change Act of 2008 (Act 70). The committee advises the state Department of Environmental Protection on the implementation of the provisions of Act 70, including development of a climate change action plan, and other climate-change-related activities.

LAW partner Mark Hammond was one of the planners who put together the upcoming “Power Law 2012– The Evolving Energy Landscape,” the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s third annual conference on developments in renewable energy and the law.

The conference is scheduled for Oct. 23-24 at the bar institute’s headquarters in Mechanicsburg, PA.

Additionally, Mark will be a speaker for a two-part presentation on Oct. 23, “Will Coal Remain King? Impact of New Federal Environmental Rules on Coal Generators” and participate in several of the breakout sessions.

He will also serve as moderator for the Planners’ Roundtable on Oct. 24, a debate on the topic, “A Sustainable Energy Future.”

The conference’s keynote address will focus on differences between Democratic and Republican energy policies, and Christina Simeone, Director of PennFuture’s Energy Center for Enterprise and the Environment, will be speaking.

Registration and conference details are available at http://www.legalspan.com/pbi/catalog.asp?ItemID=20120410-150226-72100.

On September 10^th and 11^th,  over two-hundred-and-fifty professionals working in the solid-waste industry including numerous regulators from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (PA DEP) central and regional offices, will gather in downtown Harrisburg for the 14^th Annual Fall Conference sponsored by the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association (PWIA), the Pennsylvania Keystone Chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), PA DEP, and the Pennsylvania Association of Host Municipal Inspectors (PAHMI). This two-day conference serves as the premier technical and regulatory forum for the solid waste industry in Pennsylvania.

Land Air Water Legal Solutions is the conference’s Silver Sponsor, and will be hosting a breakfast on September 11^th for all attendees with PA DEP Secretary Michael Krancer and PWIA President Timothy O’Donnell as the Keynote Speakers.   In addition, David Buzzell will again serve as the conference moderator and Mark Hammond will present two conference sessions focusing on regulatory updates relating to landfill air emission from landfills.  The conference brochure and registration materials are available at:  http://www.keystoneswana.org/DocumentCenter/View/80

Once again, David Buzzell and John Judge were listed among the top environmental law attorneys in Pennsylvania by Chambers & Partners, a U.K. publishing company whose research-based legal directories are known for their independence and objectivity.   The recently released 2012 version, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2012 proclaimed Mr. Buzzell to be “particularly knowledgeable on solid and hazardous waste, water and remediation issues.“  Mr. Judge, who was described as “a great all-around counselor and adviser” in the 2011 guide, is noted in this year’s guide for his state and federal court acumen.  Chambers USA is a referral guide to leading lawyers in the United States based on the opinions of their peers and clients and by the quality of their work.