Environmental & Natural Resources

Baird Holm represents developers, operators and landowners on environmental and natural resource issues that shape projects throughout the Midwest.  We help clients secure approvals, manage regulatory risk and maintain development timelines in a complex and evolving regulatory environment.

Our attorneys understand how environmental regulation intersects with zoning, utility siting, water rights, eminent domain and government relations.  We focus on practical solutions that advance, rather than delay, development.  We approach environmental and natural resource issues as project execution challenges, not abstract compliance exercises.  We seek solutions, not disputes.

Environmental Compliance and Defense

We advise developers, owners and operators on environmental compliance and enforcement matters across the full lifecycle of complex projects.  Our experience spans federal, state and local requirements governing:

• Air and water quality
• Cultural resources
• Endangered species
• Hazardous and solid waste
• Toxic substances
• Underground storage tanks
• Wetlands

Our attorneys work directly with regulators and routinely represent clients during inspections, audits, administrative hearings and enforcement negotiations.  We have resolved high‑stakes environmental matters involving:  

• Manufacturing facilities
• Energy generation and transmission projects
• Pipelines
• Data centers
• Mining operations
• Agricultural operations
• Large‑scale commercial and industrial developments

Through practical compliance strategies, early regulator engagement and focused litigation and enforcement defense, we help clients resolve violations, minimize environmental liability, protect asset value and keep critical projects on track.

Permitting and Project Development

Our attorneys guide developers, utilities and infrastructure sponsors through complex environmental permitting and natural resource approvals that often determine whether a project proceeds.  We advise clients on environmental due diligence, federal and state permitting, water rights acquisition and conflicts between surface estates and subsurface resources, with a focus on aligning regulatory strategy with project schedules and financing requirements.

Our attorneys have litigated water rights disputes before the Nebraska Supreme Court and advised on interstate water matters involving compacts, river basin management and multi‑state coordination.  We regularly help clients navigate regulatory constraints affecting long‑term water supply, wastewater treatment and stormwater management, including matters that directly influence site selection and operational viability.

We advise on water rights, permitting and regulatory risk management when water availability and environmental approval are gating issues:

• Energy facilities,
• Transmission lines,
• Pipelines,
• Mining operations,
• Industrial and manufacturing facilities 
• Large‑scale data centers 

Drawing on our experience with regulators and policymakers, we help clients structure projects, secure approvals, and mitigate permitting risk early—before regulatory issues delay construction or jeopardize investment.

Government and Environmental Litigation

We represent clients in government and environmental litigation that threatens project schedules, capital investment and long‑term operations, defending permits, approvals and entitlement decisions critical to project execution.  We have defended against one of the largest and most consequential CERCLA claims in the United States, involving hundreds of millions of dollars in asserted response costs, complex historical operations spanning decades and expert‑intensive multi‑party allocation litigation.

Our attorneys defend clients against agency enforcement actions and challenges brought by regulators, competitors and third parties.  We appear before administrative agencies, state and federal courts and local regulatory bodies. 

We regularly litigate disputes involving:

• Environmental permits
• Eminent domain
• Rights‑of‑way
• Water rights
• Mineral interests and subsurface use
• Complex environmental claims arising under CERCLA and other federal, state and local environmental statutes

Because of our experience throughout the permitting and entitlement process, we enter litigation with a detailed understanding of the regulatory record and project history.  That perspective allows us to tailor litigation strategy to our client’s business objectives, financing needs and construction timelines.