Ports & Port-Related Business

The Firm has represented port authorities in numerous substantial matters involving complex environmental and litigation matters and has developed a special appreciation of the issues particular to ports and port-related businesses, including managing environmental risks, operational and legal issues raised by contaminated sediments, port tenant audit systems, and environmental litigation.

Through the years, the Firm’s attorneys have developed a substantial body of knowledge regarding the myriad of issues particular to bulk terminals, liquid terminals, pipelines, fueling and transportation areas, seaports and other port-related industries. Representative litigation matters pertaining to ports include cases that addressed complex issues associated with dredging and disposal of contaminated sediments, provided for multi-million indemnification protection for the imposition of future regulatory requirements, resolved mixed plume hydrocarbon contamination from hundreds of active or abandoned pipelines, coordination of extensive pipeline investigations and characterizations of mixed plumes and funding of environmental remediation trusts to cover future costs.

In addition, our ports-related practice group provides legal services pertaining to many other environmental, regulatory, commercial and litigation issues for our port-related clients, including areas such as:

• Local sponsor and cooperation agreements between ports and the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
• Confined Disposal Facilities/Dredge Disposal Areas’ regulatory status, discharge, placement, and construction.
• Contaminated sediments, including the evaluation of such sediments for human health and ecological risk in situ, the effect of hydraulic and specialized environmental dredging techniques, and the characterization of such materials for upland, inland, and open water disposal.
• The development and implementation of sediment management guidelines under the corresponding USACE manuals and regulatory schemes.
• Assessment of wetlands, determining the jurisdictional nature of wetlands and mitigation issues associated with impacted wetlands.
• Section 401 and other federal, state, and local permitting for port operations.
• Co-located facility permitting, co-mingled storm water and emissions calculations, and compliance.
• Spill control and countermeasure plans for ports and terminals.
• Mobile fueling issues, off-loading, and quarantine issues.
• Negotiating and drafting leases, pipeline easements, tariffs and indemnity agreements governing the relationships between ports and their tenants and neighboring operators.
• Development of tenant audit systems and educational programs for port users.
• Environmental insurance placement covering port facilities, including CDFs.
• Wastewater treatment/processing issues.