Mackenzie Hughes adds to environmental practice

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Jul 23, 2004 by Dickinson, Casey J

SYRACUSE - New enforcement initiatives have prompted Mackenzie Hughes to increase the firm's emphasis on environmental matters. Former Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) attorney, Jeffrey D. Brown, now a partner at Mackenzie Hughes and a state assemblyman, says the firm has added an experienced attorney to help with an anticipated increase in environmental work. Mackenzie Hughes is preparing for a new law that allows private developers to participate in the state's Brownfield's Cleanup Program.

Last year, the legislature passed a new law to help clean up the state's brownfields, which are contaminated, former industrial properties. The new law provides a $135 million annual appropriation to the state Superfund, tax incentives for private developers, and limited liability for developers who take on cleanup projects. The DEC, says Brown, is completing the regulations that will govern the program and will soon issue proposed regulations for public comment. The firm anticipates that the development will spur private investors to weigh the state's brownfields when considering development, he adds. New cooperation between state and federal environmental agencies has streamlined the cleanup process, says Brown. The One Cleanup program is a federal initiative designed to help coordinate remediation programs.

Prior to joining Mackenzie Hughes, Brown served five years as the DEC's attorney in Central New York, where he developed enforcement policies. Before going to work for the DEC, Brown was an associate at Howrey, Simon, Arnold and White, LP in Washington, D.C. as well as a judicial clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Howard Munson in Syracuse.

In addition to making funds available for brownfields cleanup, the state has received funding to enforce clean-water regulations for new development larger than one acre, says Brown. The regulations cover stormwater runoff which could contaminate nearby waters.

"The state used to regulate development of five acres or more," he explains. "Now they've reduced that to one acre."

This increased enforcement effort could raise the number of projects that could run afoul of the DEC's regulations.

"The DEC has dedicated staff to enforcing these regulations," says Brown, "so they will be actively enforcing these new regulations."

Mackenzie Hughes is making clients aware of the increased enforcement so they can take corrective measures. The firm also offers defense for clients facing violation actions, he adds.

To help out with the anticipated increase in business, Mackenzie Hughes has added W. Bradley Hunt as a litigation attorney. Hunt comes to Mackenzie Hughes from the Chicago office of Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw. A graduate of Williams College in Massachusetts, and the University of Chicago Law School. Hunt's wife is a Syracuse native and the family recently moved to be closer to relatives in upstate New York.

"We've always liked the area," says Hunt.

Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Hunt served as law clerk to U.S. Circuit Court Judge Pasco Bowman at the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in Kanasas City.