Environmental Policy and Advocacy

The attorneys and lobbyists who comprise Holland & Knight's Environmental Policy and Advocacy Team leverage years of experience across all industries to advise on critical and emerging environmental issues such as waste, electrification transmission and climate change.

The members of our multidisciplinary team have previous experience working in industry groups, trade associations, agencies and leadership positions in federal, state and local governments. We counsel clients on a wide range of issues before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This deep knowledge and experience give our team the prowess to handle the full life cycle of issues involving government engagement. We are adept at understanding and influencing what is happening at the legislative and regulatory levels, guiding our environmental clients in developing and implementing business-oriented solutions, and defending our clients in state and federal courts and before administrative law judges.

Advocacy for Clients Before Federal and State Governments

Our Environmental Policy and Advocacy Team has played a crucial role in shaping high-profile environmental and related legislation, including the Superfund and Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) reauthorizations, the Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and others.

We prepare clients to testify before federal and state legislators, brief elected officials on key matters, draft legislation and report language, assist in navigating areas of emerging regulation, and arrange opportunities for our clients to meet face-to-face with key officials and staff. Additionally, we monitor state, local, federal and international environmental laws for important changes and provide business and regulatory counsel on how our clients can incorporate and plan for these transitions.

These and other activities keep our clients' positions on critical environmental issues front and center before state and federal policymakers. For example, our attorneys and policy advisors have:

• obtained millions of dollars in funding for city and county governments to pay for flood control, port dredging, stormwater and sewage treatment, reclaimed water and environmental research projects
• worked on behalf of the chemical industry to help ensure that federal environmental laws such as the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), CWA and Superfund were balanced, safe and included key industry priorities
• secured millions of dollars for a national research consortium composed of 30 universities and 30 companies that conduct groundbreaking renewable energy and environmental research
• obtained $12 million for the cleanup and redevelopment of an abandoned industrial site
• collaborated with our in-house strategic communications team and corporate and governmental clients on a range of high-profile environmental issues during times of crisis
• worked with an industry trade association to secure millions of dollars to operate an education program that assists communities that rely on wells for the delivery of potable water to practice the same comprehensive safety and operation services traditionally associated with larger water systems