These projects routinely involve innovative technologies, low impact techniques, LEED certification, and other characteristics with which regulators may not be familiar. Our attorneys worked in science, in the field, at EPA, at the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, and in large private practice law firms before joining the BCM legal team. This unique background, combined with our legal success, gives our lawyers an exceptional foundation from which to clarify for regulators the details of innovative strategies that our developer clients employ.
Some permit applications are simple and do not require the assistance of a lawyer. Other permit applications are more complex. We have experience helping clients obtain permits from agencies such as the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is usually a wise idea to begin the permit process several months before you plan to begin construction or operation.
We have the know-how, the experience, the people and a successful track record to guide great development. We are equipped to obtain for our developer clients all of the necessary permits and approvals.
State Alteration of Terrain Permit: RSA 485-A:17
State Wetlands Permit: RSA 482-A
State Shoreland Permit: RSA 483-B
State Subdivision Permit: RSA 485-A:29 to 44
Brownfields No Further Action
Federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) (the most common kinds are the Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) or a Construction General Permit (CGP), and we also work on individualized NPDES permits.
Permitting of a membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment facility (MBR) at a major commercial retailer. This particular technology had never been permitted in the state at the time. One of our attorneys worked with the governmental decision-makers, including a group visit to similar facilities in a neighboring state. Collaborating with the technical experts, the lawyers assuaged the decision-makers of their concerns such that they approved the required permits. The MBR went well above what was required by the applicable laws for wastewater treatment. However, the developer recognized that the requirements of the applicable laws were outmoded in relation to the intense commercial use of the property.
Permitting of a recovery residence in a downtown neighborhood. A recovery residence, also known as a sober house, is a home where peers begin to reintegrate with society. Working with the attorneys for the municipality, the legal team leveraged the constitutional underpinnings of federal law to obtain the required approvals.
Redevelopment of North Country industrially-contaminated property. One of our attorneys worked with a large group of companies, other attorneys, and state and federal regulators to secure this complex transaction. The client was a governmental entity acquiring the brownfields site. Included in this transaction was securing assurance from the government that liability for the existing contamination would not pass to the new owner of the property.
