Mr. Brown’ s experience spans over 30 years and includes counseling, litigation and administrative proceedings in all areas of environmental, land use and natural resources law. He represents clients before state and federal courts in civil actions involving environmental, land use and zoning actions. He appears before state, municipal and federal administrative agencies, boards and commissions concerning permitting and enforcement matters involving environmental laws, zoning and land use issues, worker health and safety and labor laws. He has extensive experience counseling corporate clients on regulatory compliance programs and audits that cover all aspects of the compliance and enforcement process at the federal, state and local levels of government. He advises clients and works with technical experts performing environmental reviews to obtain state and federal environmental permits, zoning and land use approvals to site or expand industrial facilities, mining operations and commercial uses. Mr. Brown often counsels buyers and sellers in complex corporate transactions including asset purchases, stock purchases, real estate transfers and other transactions. He assists in evaluating and coping with risks inherent in industrial operations, property rights to minerals and other natural resources, land use rights and construction approvals (right to build).
Mr. Brown has extensive experience assisting the mining and construction materials industries, advising on compliance with federal, state and local requirements for mining permits and environmental impact analysis, zoning and land use approvals. He assisted industry members in complying with new regulatory requirements arising from the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and the evolution of permitting and enforcement standards under the federal Clean Water Act. He has served on the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association’s Council of Counsels and Environment Health & Safety committees since 1992.
He has defended numerous cost recovery actions in complex federal court actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. He regularly defends actions brought by government and private parties in state and federal courts and before state and federal administrative tribunals involving wetlands and water quality protection, air quality, petroleum storage and solid waste regulations and zoning laws.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Brown was a Lecturer in Law and a Post-Doctoral Fellow with the Sea Grant Law Program at Buffalo Law School. The Sea Grant Program provided legal research and cooperative extension support to state and local government agencies concerning coastal zone management, waterfront development, environmental regulations and land use controls. In addition, he supervised research on coastal resources management and waterfront development for the New York Department of State Coastal Zone Management Program and Office of General Services, the Long Island Regional Planning Board, and the St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Commission.
Education
J.D., State University of New York at Buffalo Law School
B.A., cum laude, State University of New York at Albany
Admissions
New York
US District Court Northern District of NY
US District Court Southern District of NY
US District Court Eastern District of NY
US District Court Western District of NY
Affiliations
American Bar Association; Sections on Natural Resources & Environment, Labor and Employment Law and Litigation
New York State Bar Association; Environmental Law Section; Municipal Law Section
Other Professional Experience
Colonel (Ret) New York Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force Reserve
Publications
Mr. Brown has authored numerous articles on environmental and real property law and real estate transactions. He co-authored chapters on Coastal Zone Management and Adirondack Park Land Use and Management for the treatise Warren’s Weed New York Real Property Law.