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Practice Areas > Environmental Law
What Is Environmental Law?
Environmental law governs activities that affect air, water, land, natural resources, and public health. It includes requirements for controlling pollution, managing hazardous materials, and addressing contamination. Depending on the circumstances, environmental harm may lead to government enforcement, cleanup obligations, or private legal claims.
California environmental matters can involve overlapping local, state, and federal requirements. The available legal approach depends on the source of the problem, the responsible parties, the alleged harm, and the law governing the particular activity.
Examples of Potential Environmental Legal Concerns
- Air pollution: Industrial emissions, dust, fumes, or other releases that may violate applicable requirements or interfere with nearby properties.
- Water contamination: Suspected unlawful discharges or chemical releases affecting groundwater, drinking water sources, rivers, or coastal waters.
- Improper hazardous waste handling: Unsafe storage, transportation, or disposal of materials that may contaminate soil or water.
- Chemical exposure: Potential exposure to substances such as PFAS, PCBs, or pesticides that requires investigation of the source, timing, and alleged effects.
- Property and community impacts: Contamination or recurring pollution that allegedly damages property, disrupts its use, or affects a surrounding community.
When Might an Environmental Concern Warrant Legal Review?
If you believe pollution or contamination has affected you, consider these questions:
- What substance, release, or activity is involved, and where did it occur?
- When did the issue begin, and is it continuing?
- Is there information identifying a possible source or responsible business?
- What harm or interference have you experienced, and what records document it?
- Are there test results, agency notices, photographs, or similar reports from others?
Exposure, proximity to a facility, or a health condition alone does not establish a legal claim. Depending on the claim, a review may need to address unlawful conduct, responsibility, causation, legally recognized harm, and filing deadlines.
How Are Environmental Problems Addressed?
Some concerns are handled through reports to environmental agencies and regulatory enforcement. Others may support private claims seeking compensation, cleanup, or orders addressing ongoing conduct. A regulatory violation does not automatically give every affected person a right to sue.
When multiple people experience related harm, attorneys may evaluate individual claims, coordinated litigation, or a potential class action. The appropriate approach depends on the evidence and applicable legal requirements.
Preserve relevant records you can lawfully obtain, including agency correspondence, test reports, property records, and a timeline of events. Matern Law Group can review the circumstances and explain potential legal options.
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If you are concerned about pollution, contamination, or environmental harm, contact Matern Law Group to discuss your situation and potential claims.
Types of Environmental Legal Concerns
Explore the topics below to learn about air and water pollution, hazardous waste, chemical exposure, and related environmental issues.
Environmental law encompasses the following damages and exposures:
Air Pollution
You have a right to breathe clean air and to know that your and your children’s futures are not in jeopardy due to illness from exposure to air pollutants or the harmful impacts of climate change. The federal Clean Air Act and the state’s Mulford-Carrell and Global Warming Solutions Acts are designed to protect citizens and the environment from the detrimental effects of air pollution and climate change.
Unfortunately, many polluting industries are concentrated where residents with limited resources live. We work with clients pursuing environmental justice cases against those businesses and industries that take advantage of disadvantaged communities and individuals to engage in harmful discharge practices that pose a danger to health and well-being.
Carcinogen Pollution
Some cancer-causing carcinogen exposures, such as tobacco smoke and the sun’s rays can be avoided. But other carcinogens are harder to avoid, especially if they are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, or the materials we use to do our jobs.
If you’ve been harmed by any type of carcinogenic pollution or contamination, have had your health or well-being damaged, or have witnessed illegal carcinogen violations, you may have a legal claim. If you would like to speak with a reputable environmental lawyer to discuss your legal options, please reach out to us to find out more about environmental laws and your rights.
Forever Chemicals
“Forever chemicals” is a colloquial term often used to refer to a group of synthetic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These chemicals are called “forever chemicals” because they are extremely persistent in the environment and do not break down easily, leading to long-lasting contamination.
Forever chemicals have been used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products for decades due to their unique properties, such as water and grease resistance, making them useful in applications like non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, firefighting foams, and more.
Hazardous Waste Pollution
Oil, chemicals and industrial waste pose significant risks to environmental and human health. When companies and individuals improperly handle, transport or dispose of these materials, it often results in soil, freshwater, ocean and air contamination, leading to loss of plant and animal life, natural resources and human health hazards. Matern Law Group is committed to fighting those practicing unsafe hazardous materials handling and dumping to hold them responsible for the damages they cause.
Matern Law Group is the firm you need to represent your environmental protection or hazards exposure case because we believe right matters. Contact us and tell us about the issue or incident.
PCB Pollution
PCB pollution refers to the contamination of the environment, particularly air, water, and soil, by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs are a group of synthetic organic chemicals that were widely used in various industrial and commercial applications from the 1930s to the late 1970s.
They were primarily used as insulating fluids in electrical equipment, such as transformers and capacitors, as well as in hydraulic systems, lubricants, and various other industrial applications.
Pesticide Pollution
California urban and agricultural storm water and irrigation run-off can carry pesticides into surface waters, which results in toxic pulses of pesticides – a direct violation of the Clean Water Act.
These toxic pesticides create lethal conditions for the small aquatic organisms that fish eat as well as for human drinking water.
PFAS Pollution
“PFAS” stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. PFAS include a group of man-made chemicals that have been used in many different products since the 1950s.
They can frequently be found in things like food packaging, firefighting foam, cookware, and even clothing. Over time, these chemicals can also find their way into the soil, water, and air.
Solid Waste Pollution
Solid wastes are categorized as municipal waste, industrial waste, and hazardous wastes. Solid waste can pollute air, water and soil, and leave various environmental impacts, and cause health hazard, due to improper handling and transportation.
Solid waste disposal is done most commonly through a sanitary landfill or through incineration.
Toxic Waste Pollution
A hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it dangerous or capable of having a harmful effect on human health or the environment. Hazardous waste is generated from many sources, ranging from industrial manufacturing process wastes to batteries and may come in many forms, including liquids, solids gases, and sludges.
Toxic waste products are divided into three general categories: chemical wastes, radioactive wastes, and medical wastes.
Water Pollution
California’s surface and groundwater sources are essential to the health and survival of the state’s ecosystems and citizens. Water pollution and contamination sources include agricultural runoff, industrial waste dumping and disposal, road runoff, groundwater injections, and pumping, underground waste storage leaching, and chemical and oil spills.
Contamination can lead to hazardous environmental conditions for plant and animal survival. When people drink water with unsafe levels of toxins such as arsenic, benzene, chromium and cadmium, it can have serious health implications.
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