Mackie Shea O'Brien, PC.: Firm Profile

FIRM PROFILE

Mackie Shea O'Brien, PC is a boutique environmental law firm. We concentrate our practice on environmental and land use law and related litigation. Our firm has been a leader in this field for twenty-five years, allowing us to provide our clients focused and timely legal representation.

We have been recognized for our expertise in Best Lawyers in America, the definitive referral guide for the legal profession, and by Chambers USA, publishers of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, published by Martindale-Hubbell, has also recognized us for achieving the highest level of legal ability and adherence to the professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability and diligence. We use our professional experience and industry knowledge to provide high quality, efficient service to each of our clients.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Mackie Shea O’Brien, PC represents the leaders in the environmental industries and real estate development community. We develop personalized approaches to meet our clients’ needs. Our shareholders average more than 20 years of experience in solving complex environmental and land use problems and our depth and concentration of experience helps clients achieve business success.

Chambers USA, publishers of America's Leading Lawyers for Business, refers to the firm as a "respected boutique" and "firm of choice" for getting things done at the local level. In addition to our successes in local project permitting, we assist clients with regulatory compliance and enforcement defense. We represent a wide range of clients—from individuals to national companies—in environmental and land use litigation, and provide services in business and real estate transactions.

We are pleased to provide the following representative matters:

Development

Solid Waste Siting: Obtained site assignment for solid waste transfer station and recycling facility that had been previously denied by local board of health.

Water Supply: Negotiated an Administrative Consent Order with MassDEP for a public water supplier to provide a temporary source of potable water and install new deep bedrock wells.

Residential Subdivision: Litigation, negotiation and permitting for a national builder of a 200-lot hotly-contested high end subdivision, involving wetlands, planning board, conservation restriction, and historic preservation issues.

Environmental Review: Spearheaded the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for a New England Village Community incorporating a mix of retail, commercial, and residential development with complex wetlands, endangered species, and Smart Growth issues.

Remediation: Represented City in oversight of power company’s remediation, capping, closure, and construction of soccer fields on City-owned former coal ash landfill that had eroded into a public surface water supply.

Marinas: Obtained all local, state and federal permits to expand an existing private marina in Marshfield, and to build a new 54-slip marina in Plymouth.

Waterfront: Secured land and water permits for launching ramps and a maintenance garage for a popular Boston amphibious tour company.

Chapter 40B Housing: Successfully negotiated through multi-party mediation a settlement of appeals from approvals under the wetlands protection and ffordable housing laws for a project with single family homes and condominiums.

Wetlands: Secured local, state and federal wetland approvals for new college athletic fields on a 33-acre former farm, and established a nationwide precedent for the transformation of prior converted croplands under the federal Clean Water Act.

Wildlife: Obtained Conservation and Management Permits under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act for residential subdivision and Chapter 40B projects.

Conservation Restrictions: Negotiated complex conservation restrictions with local and state agencies to protect in perpetuity endangered species habitat, drinking water supplies, wetlands, archeological and historical resources, and open space.

Zoning and Land Use

Zoning: Obtained zoning special permits from Cities of Cambridge and Somerville for two separate recycling facilities.

Special Permits: Secured special permits from planning board and zoning board of appeals for landfill closure project involving flood plain alteration and fill placement.

Zoning: Successfully defended against citizen group’s request for local zoning enforcement seeking to close City-owned solid waste landfill.

Renewable Energy and Recycling

Biomass: Representing developer in state permitting of 35 MW biomass power plant to be fueled by recycled construction and demolition debris wood.

Landfill Gas: Negotiated agreements on behalf of landfill owners for conversion of landfill gas into energy.

Recycling: Completed all permitting, siting and start up of an innovative award winning Danish recycling company’s inaugural United States facility.

Litigation

Unlawful Local Action: Successful litigation resulting in a $3.2 million judgment after trial against a municipality that unlawfully stopped a coal ash structural fill project.

Solid Waste Permits: Defending in superior court appeal of public regional refuse district’s MassDEP permits for continued development of landfill.

Wetlands Bylaw: Successfully defended in superior court abutter’s appeal of Order of Conditions under local wetlands bylaw.

Cost Recovery: Recovery from the U.S. Department of Defense of 60 percent of the costs to assess contamination of an upland and river system at a site contaminated by mercury and lead from the manufacture of munitions since World War I.

Superfund: Obtained voluntary dismissal by plaintiffs in federal district court of private party superfund and state law cost recovery claims against hazardous waste transporter.

State Wetlands Act: Successfully defended administrative appeal and obtained Final Order of Conditions approving affordable housing condo project in a coastal community.

Oil Spill Cleanup: Defended municipality in cost recovery action involving fuel oil spill at school property, resulting in Appeals Court decision denying attorneys’ fees to plaintiff.

Insurance Recovery: Obtained judgment for recovery of a residential property owner's clean-up costs for an oil spill involving complete basement reconstruction, soil and groundwater remediation.

Citizens Suits: Successfully defended two separate clients against citizen suit claims by national environmental advocacy group alleging violations of EPA’s Stormwater NPDES program under the Clean Water Act.

Transactional

Environmental Due Diligence: Environmental due diligence and hazardous waste facility permit transfer for more than 50 licensed hazardous waste facilities located in 30 states.

Clean Up Contracts: Negotiation of a federal Superfund site clean up contract and transportation and disposal agreements for radioactive waste site in New Jersey.

Bid Protests: Successfully defended against bid protest before Attorney General of municipal award to our client of a $5M remediation contract.

Brownfields: Negotiation of Covenant Not to Sue and Purchase and Sale Agreement for developer’s acquisition of former state hospital brownfields site.

Climate Change: Negotiation of agreement for sale of carbon offsets on Chicago Climate Exchange by public owner of landfill gas destruction facility.

Remediation Agreement: Negotiated on behalf of buyer a purchase and sale agreement and environmental remediation agreement requiring seller of industrial property to perform cleanup in timely manner or risk losing portion of purchase price.

Enforcement Defense

Clean Air Act: Negotiation of a Consent Decree with the US EPA resolving a potential Clean Air Act penalty of tens of millions of dollars, by using a Supplemental Environmental Project through which the client rebuilt and added odor control measures to its inner city waste handling facility.

Wastewater: Negotiated an Administrative Consent Order with MassDEP for the largest private wastewater treatment facility, which services office, retail, restaurant and residential uses, that requires the major overhaul of the collection and treatment system, a multi-year schedule, water conservation measures, and a Supplemental Environmental Project.

Water Supply: Negotiated a Settlement Agreement and Final Judgment with the Attorney General’s Office allowing continued use of a water supply well and eventual replacement with a new well in compliance with the water supply regulations.

Miscellaneous

Hearing Officer: Served as Hearing Officer to local boards of health in site assignment hearings for solid waste landfills, transfer stations, and processing facilities.