Practice Areas
Since the 1980s, when they first started litigating environmental issues, Remy, Thomas, Moose and Manley, LLP’s attorneys have provided litigation, counseling and regulatory services in all areas of environmental law. Our vast experience in all aspects of environmental law will provide your organization with a broad and comprehensive resource to fit your specific needs.
Remy, Thomas, Moose & Manley LLP’s practice is focused primarily on environmental and land use law, with particular emphasis on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and land use planning, although this practice frequently extends to other related fields. We have extensive experience in other areas of natural resources law, including Federal and State endangered species and wetlands laws. We also have considerable experience in matters relating to the review, investigation, acquisition and development of property. Our practice involves representing clients throughout the administrative process and in trial and appellate litigation.
One unusual aspect of the firm’s practice and philosophy is that, while we focus on CEQA and related environmental and land use laws, all of the firm’s lawyers are “generalists” within this defined field. Thus, any of the firm’s lawyers is qualified to provide our clients these services. A given lawyer’s practice may evolve to include certain types of clients. We do not pigeon-hole our attorneys, however, into a particular subset of clients or issues. Nor do we divide our lawyers into litigators and non-litigators.
Of course, as a result of working on specific projects, some lawyers within the firm tend to become particularly acquainted with specific sorts of projects or subsets of environmental law. Thus, our lawyers have extensive knowledge regarding the permitting and approval of new facilities, site acquisition and due diligence, land use initiatives and referenda, redevelopment law, the laws governing historic preservation and cultural resources, the Federal and California Endangered Species Acts, and so forth.
We call upon the specialized expertise within our firm whenever the need arises with respect to a particular project. All of our lawyers, however, are deeply acquainted with CEQA, and it is the backbone of almost everything we do.
Environmental Review
Remy, Thomas, Moose & Manley is one of the leading practitioners of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and has extensive experience as well with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other related environmental review statutes and regulations. A key service the firm provides is review of environmental impacts reports (EIRs), environmental impact statements (EISs), and other planning studies and project approval documents to ensure compliance with CEQA, NEPA, the State Planning and Zoning Law, the Clean Water Act, the Federal and State Endangered Species Acts, the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act, and other relevant land use and environmental statutes.
RTMM’s services encompass the full spectrum of the administrative processes of environmental review, including:
- working with agencies, applicants and consultants at the beginning of a project to develop clearly articulated and defensible project objectives;
- identifying an initial environmental review strategy, including the use of all possible exemptions and other applicable streamlining provisions under the relevant laws;
- assisting in “scoping” the most likely environmental impacts and potentially difficult environmental issues;
- working with team members to develop a realistic schedule for review through the final approvals;
- reviewing and providing key input and revisions to preliminary draft review documents and reports, responses to comments, staff reports, etc.;
- reviewing and commenting on public draft environmental review documents;
- representing parties in key public hearings;
- drafting findings, resolutions, mitigation monitoring and reporting plans, zoning ordinances, plans and amendments, development agreements and other development entitlements; and
- defending or challenging the administrative approvals of projects.
Land Use & Permitting
Remy, Thomas, Moose & Manley, LLP, represents public agencies, private entities and public interest groups on a wide variety of matters related to land use planning and the acquisition of permits and other entitlements. Our many years of experience encompass a broad scope of activities and laws, including:
- assistance with site acquisition and due diligence;
- amendment and adoption of general plans, community plans, specific plans, redevelopment plans and zoning ordinances;
- interpretation and application of the State Planning & Zoning Law, the Subdivision Map Act, the Williamson Act, State and Federal Endangered Species Acts, the Coastal Act, and other related land use statutes;
- advising and representing clients in Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) proceedings;
- advising school districts with respect to special rules that apply to the acquisition of school sites and other school-related activities and projects;
- drafting development agreements, finance plans, easements, memoranda of understanding, AQ-15 plans, and other development-related documents and entitlements.
Wildlife, Wetlands & Natural Resources Law
Remy, Thomas, Moose and Manley, LLP’s practice in wetlands regulation includes handling all aspects of permitting and mitigation requirements, as well as managing wetlands delineations through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ review and approval process. We have guided various commercial developers through all aspects of the complicated federal and state wetlands permitting process, which typically overlaps with consultation processes required under the Endangered Species Act and the Historic Preservation Act. We have extensive dealings with the applicable state and federal agencies and have a long history of working cooperatively with those agencies to achieve a desirable outcome for our clients.
In recent years it has become increasingly common for federal agencies such as the Corps of Engineers to join forces with cities or counties or state agencies to prepare combined environmental impact statements/environmental impact reports to address projects requiring approvals under both state and federal law. We have extensive experience working on such joint documents, which have to comply with the most stringent provisions of both CEQA and NEPA, respectively. Such joint documents also often involved related consultation processes under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. We are also quite familiar with that federal process.
Climate Change & Renewable Energy
Climate change has become one of the most difficult global challenges of our times. The consensus that human activities have and are having a dramatic effect on the composition of the earth’s atmosphere through the emission of greenhouse gases has resulted in considerable recent legislation and regulation seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This emerging area of law is driving the public and private sector to seek clean energy and technology solutions and is now a top priority for governmental and private sector participants. Our attorneys have participated actively in proceedings relating to the development by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research of draft revisions to the CEQA Guidelines to address climate change issues, as mandated by Senate Bill 97 from the 2007 legislative session. Our attorneys have also given speeches at conferences and elsewhere regarding how best to address climate change issues in CEQA documents.
Senate Bill 375, authored by Senator pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg and recently adopted into law, builds upon the principles set forth in AB 32 and provides a means for addressing climate change in CEQA documents. SB 375 aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by discouraging urban sprawl and reducing vehicle miles traveled. Among other things, SB 375 will require regional transportation plans to include a “sustainable community strategy” (SCS) to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets set by the California Air Resources Board. To encourage smart growth development, SB 375 provides streamlined review under CEQA for certain projects consistent with the SCS: Transit Priority Projects (projects comprising at least 50% residential use, a residential density of at least 20 units per net acre and located within one half mile of a regional transit corridor) and residential or mixed use projects with a residential component requiring at least 75 percent of the total square footage. Our attorneys are well versed in the nuances of SB 375 and are poised to assist agencies and developers capitalize on the exciting opportunities afforded by this streamlined CEQA review.
Many new energy development companies are somewhat shocked to learn how confusing and difficult the development process can be in California. Our 25 years of experience in assisting development projects all over the State obtain the necessary environmental review and land use permits can be extremely valuable in navigating the obstacle course of CEQA and local land use regulations.
Our attorneys have represented a number of applicants in the renewable energy field, including wind power developers and ethanol producers. For example, we recently assisted a major wind company in navigating the CEQA process to obtain a conditional use permit for a new 102 MW wind power project in Shasta County. Despite vocal opposition, the project was approved and no litigation was filed. We also recently represented an ethanol producer in completing the CEQA and land use entitlement processes for a new ethanol production facility in Hanford, including settlement with the Attorney General and project opponents.
We welcome the opportunity to put our experience to additional work in the green energy field.
Waste Management
Californians generate roughly 93 million tons of waste each year while state and local agencies face increasing challenges relating to the efficient transport, recycling and disposal of waste. Our attorneys advise both public and private entities in the permitting and expansion of municipal solid waste and hazardous waste landfills, transfer stations and material recovery facilities. We have experience assisting lead agencies and project proponents in protecting health, safety and the environment through compliance with CEQA, the Integrated Waste Management Act (AB 939), the Tanner Act and the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act. Our attorneys also have been involved in bioreactor, landfill gas to energy, and other projects proposed to include emerging technologies in response to the problem of climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Water Quality, Water Supplies & Permitting
Over the years, many of our attorneys have become extensively involved in some of the major water supply issues facing California. This work has been done on behalf of water providers, water users, and local agencies responsible for coordinating land use planning and water supply planning. We are intimately familiar with the complex regulatory and environmental issues facing the federally operated Central Valley Project, the state operated State Water Project, the water system operated by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, as well as less physically far-reaching systems operated by water districts, water agencies, and cities throughout California, both inland and in coastal watersheds. We are also very familiar with the 2001 legislation commonly known as Senate Bill 610 and Senate Bill 221, which in some circumstances require the preparation of documents known as “water supply assessments” and “water supply verifications.” Our attorneys have also been directly involved in several controversies resulting in some of the key court decisions laying out the steps proponents of land use plans and water supply projects must do in order to fully comply with CEQA.
Initiatives & Referenda
Our attorneys regularly advise public agencies, private entities and citizen groups regarding local ballot measures, including initiatives and referenda involving land use and development matters. Our services include drafting initiatives and referendum petitions to ensure compliance with applicable state and local laws, assisting in the development of political strategies and public outreach, as well as challenging and defending such measures in litigation.
Litigation
The attorneys of Remy, Thomas, Moose & Manley, LLP, have extensive experience in environmental review and land use litigation, including but not limited to matters arising under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the California Planning and Zoning Law, the Subdivision Map Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the State and Federal Endangered Species Acts, and the Clean Water Act. We represent clients in both state and federal litigation, from the trial court level all the way up through the highest appellate courts. A complete list of the firm’s many reported cases can be found here.
In our view, a client receives the best service if the same team provides representation both during the administrative process and in litigation. During the administrative process, a client benefits by working with lawyers who understand, first hand, how to develop a record that will be defensible in the event of litigation. At the same time, during litigation, the client benefits by being represented by attorneys who understand the project inside and out by virtue of direct involvement during the administrative process. Thus, all of our lawyers know how to work with consultants and staff, and all of our lawyers know how to write legal briefs and argue a case.
We recognize that it is not always desirable or feasible to litigate a dispute all the way to a judicial resolution. Thus, in addition to our trial advocacy skills, our attorneys are also experienced in all forms of alternative dispute resolution.
