When a developer encountered underground storage tanks while preparing a property for a mixed commercial and residential project, Hatchett & Hauck was able to recover the remediation costs from the owner of the service station formerly at the site.
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Regulatory Compliance
When a materials recycling facility was accused of multiple hazardous waste violations and assessed one of the largest proposed fines in that state in a decade, Hatchett & Hauck was able to cut the civil penalty in half and eliminate long-term compliance and corrective action obligations while assisting the facility in converting to a process that prevented hazardous waste from being generated.
During a routine permitting action, a state permitting agency made a new determination that a federal standard regulating coating of plastic parts should apply to an automotive parts producer that has operated for years under the belief that the standard did not apply. This decision would have seriously impacted future operations at the facility and opened up enforcement exposure for past operations. Hatchett & Hauck worked closely with the client to demonstrate to both the state agency and U.S. EPA that the new interpretation was in error and that the federal standard did not apply, thereby avoiding both enforcement exposure and significant future compliance costs.
On behalf of a multi-state manufacturer, Hatchett & Hauck LLP worked with the applicable permitting agencies to identify and change often-used NPDES permit terms that did not actually reflect the underlying legal authority.
When a residential developer wanted to build on a former heavy industrial property, we helped the developer enter Indiana’s Voluntary Remediation Program and obtain VRP Work Plan approval in under six months (one of the quickest approvals on record).
As he was planning to turn over the family-owned dry cleaning business to his son, the long-time owner discovered chlorinated solvent contamination under its facility. We helped the dry cleaner obtain millions in insurance proceeds to clean up the property.
Hatchett & Hauck LLP successfully defended a concentrated animal feeding operation against challenges filed by nearby landowners claiming the facility’s permit was flawed.
We assisted several convenience store operators in complying with multiple changes made by IDEM to its underground storage tank registration and financial assurance requirements.
After reviewing the air permitting history of an automotive parts coating facility facing new source review enforcement, we discovered that the company had mistakenly characterized some of the facility’s historical changes. We worked with the agency to restructure the air permit to allow for more flexible operations going forward and reached an agreement that the longstanding enforcement allegations should be resolved without any penalty.
A large metal manufacturer suffered an unfortunate and unavoidable chemical leak. When U.S. EPA brought enforcement seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars, we worked closely with an air dispersion expert to establish that the air release did not actually leave the site, thus dramatically lowering the civil penalty.
Hatchett & Hauck LLP oversaw a client’s audit and follow up self-disclosure of an unpermitted wastewater discharge. That process resulted in no enforcement and the discovery of a process change saving the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in water costs.