Experience

Lee Smith is a partner of this firm. His practice includes land and natural resource regulation and development, environmental compliance, water law and litigation. He is experienced in federal and state water quality, air quality and hazardous materials compliance issues, including environmental due diligence projects for mining and energy projects. He has handled cases before the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, the San Joaquin Unified Air Pollution Control District, and local environmental agencies. He has drafted and negotiated environmental provisions for complex agreements and assisted clients on due diligence issues. He has also been involved in state court litigation concerning pesticide contamination, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and Prop. 65 litigation, as well as federal litigation involving pesticide registration and the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).

Representative Work

• Assisted Calgren Renewable Fuels, LLC in land use permitting of ethanol plant.
• City of Fresno v. N.L. Industries - The City of Fresno brought this action against the alleged generators of hazardous waste to the City's landfill. Represented one of the alleged generators, Welch's Overall Cleaning Company, and was able to reach a settlement whereby his client paid only nominal damages.
• City of Fresno v. Shell Oil; Tulare County Water Company v. Shell Oil; City of Dinuba v. Shell Oil; City of Lodi v. Shell Oil; City of Modesto v. Shell Oil; City of Reedley v. Shell Oil - These cases involved actions filed by municipalities because of contamination of their groundwater supplies by DBCP, a nematocide used extensively in the San Joaquin Valley. Represented several agricultural chemical distributors who, along with the primary manufacturers of DBCP (i.e., Shell, Occidental and DuPont), had been named as defendants. A tender of defense was negotiated with the primary chemical manufacturers, by which the agricultural chemical distributors were indemnified by the chemical manufacturers.
• Represented Altamont Power LLC in the CEQA process and in obtaining Conditional Use Permits for repowering wind turbines in the Altamont Wind Farm. The case raised novel issues concerning the repowering of wind turbines and avian take issues.
• Assisted a prospective purchaser of a wind farm in environmental due diligence efforts in the Tehachapi area of Central California. Reviewed all of the environmental entitlements necessary to operate the wind farm.
• Assisted an alliance of dairy interests in CEQA process in the Central Valley of California, assisting in obtaining the first permits issued in Tulare County for dairies in several years.
• AmeriPride v. Valley Industrial Services, Inc. - Represent industrial laundry in large CERCLA cost recovery matter and associated administrative actions.
• Represented foreign buyer of tungsten mine and mill in Bishop, California in due diligence activities.
• Represent several property owners in suits involving PCE contamination.
• Represented ethanol plant in receiving entitlements in Tulare County.

Professional Honors & Activities

• American Bar Association–Natural Resources and Environmental Law Sections
• California State Bar Association–Environmental Law Section Chair
• Fresno Chamber of Commerce Environmental Issues Committee Counsel
• Citizen's Advisory Committee to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (member since 2000, chair 2002-2004)

Presentations

• Speaker, Imperial Valley Renewable Energy Summit, Winterhaven, California, Mar. 16-18, 2010
• Speaker, "The Resurgence in Biomass Facilities: What You Need to Know to Develop, Permit and Finance Your Project," Tulare, California, Feb. 9, 2010

Education

• University of Utah College of Law, J.D., 1988
  William S. Leary Scholar, 1985-1986
  Utah Law Review, 1986-1988
• Brown University, A.B. environmental studies, 1981

Admissions

• California
• U.S. District Court, Eastern and Northern Districts of California

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