Our Environmental Law Group advises clients on compliance with the full range of federal, provincial and local environmental regulations and programs. We also represent clients in environmental hearings and defend against prosecutions for infractions of relevant legislation. We frequently assist clients with meeting emission standards and obtaining permits, due diligence, officers' and directors' liabilities, and spills and spill reporting. Working closely with our corporate and banking groups, we advise clients on environmental liabilities and property investigations in the context of mergers and acquisitions and financings. We negotiate agreements with private parties and governmental authorities involving the transfer or allocation of environmental risks, contaminated site remediations, compliance with regulatory requirements and Brownfields sales and purchases.

	Representative Transactions/Cases
			Defence: Defending a client accused of infractions arising from the export of materials for recycling, which are categorized as hazardous and fall under the Export and Import of Hazardous Waste Regulations enacted under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
			Waste Management Company: Represented a consortium of lenders advancing credits of $100 million to a management team buying the Canadian operations of a large US-based waste management company. We participated in the environmental due diligence involving Phase I and Phase II environmental site investigations of over 20 landfill or waste transfer stations situated across the country.
			Contaminated Site and Insolvency: Represented a court-appointed receiver of A.R. Clarke Limited, a leather manufacturing business with a large mothballed manufacturing facility in downtown Toronto. The associated land and groundwater were significantly contaminated by spills of degreasing chemicals that had been used in the tannery operation for decades. The highly contentious matter involving both the Ministry of the Environment and prospective purchasers was further complicated by a major fire that destroyed a significant part of the above ground structures during the course of the receivership.
			Acquisition of Explosives Business: Acted on behalf of the purchasers of a large explosives manufacturing business with facilities in both Canada and the U.S., which included major manufacturing facilities in Ontario and Alberta and storage and mixing facilities in a number of other provinces. The building block of many explosives is a nitrogen-based chemical and contamination of groundwater and surface water from the nitrogen chemicals is of particular concern in dealing with these products.
			Mining and Mine Closure: Represented the owner of a mothballed precious metal refinery in Northern Ontario, purchased by a US-based metal refiner interested in refining certain precious metal slags and byproducts that are becoming available from US industrial recycling processes.
			Acquisition of Construction and Quarry Business: Represented a party seeking to acquire a construction and quarry business. We undertook environmental due diligence and commission environmental site investigations on over 30 large quarry and aggregate manufacturing sites, and commissioned the Phase I and Phase II environmental site investigations. This transaction also involved environmental insurance.

	Publications / Presentations
	December 2007 Canadian conference focuses on carbon storage Mining Environmental Management, December 2007 / January 2008 Barbara Hendrickson
	October 2007 Managing Environmental Risks Presentation given by Voula Neofotistos at McMillan Binch Mendelsohn seminar on Managing Environmental Risks Voula Neofotistos
	November 2006 Welcome to the Club - Court of Appeal Certifies First Ontario Environmental Class Action Greenmail Newsletter Hilary E. Clarke, Geoff Moysa, Michael M. Peterson
	December 2005 Obstructing Justice? The Duty to Provide Information When Reporting A Spill Under The Environmental Protection Act Environmental Law Bulletin W. Brad Hanna, FCIArb.
	September 2005 Implementing Project Green: The Force of the Kyoto Protocol Energy and Environmental Law Bulletin Nadia V. Colangelo, Michael M. Peterson
	July 2005 Wind Power Financing in Canada And The U.S. North American Windpower, Marketplace: Project Finance, July 2005 Co-authored by David G. Mayer of Patton Boggs LLP (Washington, D.C.) Vern Kakoschke
	June 2005 New Waste Diversion Initiatives Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Greenmail Newsletter Michael M. Peterson
	June 2005 A 300-Year Plan: NWMO Recommends Long-Term Nuclear Waste Storage Deep Below Canadian Shield Energy and Environmental Bulletin Michael M. Peterson
	April 2005 Expert Panel Recommends Essential Changes to Environmental Assessment Framework Energy and Environmental Bulletin Michael M. Peterson
	January 2005 A Happy New Year? The Good News and the Not-So-Good News of 2005 Greenmail Newsletter Michael M. Peterson
	November 2004 Take no Prisoners! Ontario's New Environmental Legislation Greenmail Newsletter Michael M. Peterson
	July 2004 Toxic Mold Litigation and Update on Voluntary Stewards Greenmail Newsletter Michael M. Peterson
	June 2004 Summary of Bill 100 - Electricity Restructuring Act, 2004 Energy Bulletin Chris N. Germanakos, Mike Richmond
	June 15, 2004 Bill 100 - Electricity Restructuring Act, 2004 An Act to amend the Electricity Act, 1998 and the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 and to make consequential amendments to other Acts -1st Session, 38th Legislature, Ontario, 53 Elizabeth II, 2004
	April 2004 Waste Diversion Update - Increased Fees, Voluntary Stewards, and Moving Beyond the Blue Box Greenmail Newsletter Lisa Brost, Michael M. Peterson
	January 2004 Had Enough of Post-Christmas Bills? Meet the Grinch of 2004 Greenmail Newsletter Michael M. Peterson
	November 2003 Unfinished Environmental Business and the 2003 Ontario Election (The Waste Diversion Act, 2002) Greenmail Newsletter Michael M. Peterson
	December 2002 Bill 90, The Waste Diversion Act, 2002 Greenmail Newletter Michael M. Peterson