Law Office of Jonathan S. Sales

We assist businesses, municipalities, and developers with compliance under federal, state, and local environmental regulations. Our practice includes obtaining and maintaining permits under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Massachusetts environmental statutes (MEPA, Wetlands Protection Act, Chapter 21E). We help clients navigate complex regulatory requirements, prepare permit applications, respond to agency inquiries, and develop compliance programs to minimize environmental liability and avoid enforcement actions.

We provide strategic environmental counsel for business transactions, real estate acquisitions, and corporate planning. Our services include environmental site assessments (Phase I and II ESAs), risk analysis, regulatory compliance audits, and environmental liability review. We help clients identify and manage environmental risks in mergers, acquisitions, financing, and property transfers, ensuring informed decision-making and protection against future liability.

Our water practice addresses the full range of issues affecting surface water, groundwater, and drinking water resources. We handle matters involving the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, and state water quality standards. We assist with NPDES permits, stormwater management, wetland delineation and permitting, water rights disputes, and regulatory compliance for discharges and withdrawals.

We assist property owners, developers, and businesses with brownfields redevelopment, contaminated site cleanup, and hazardous waste management. Our practice includes compliance with CERCLA (Superfund), RCRA, and Massachusetts Chapter 21E, negotiating cleanup agreements with EPA and MassDEP, securing liability protections, and resolving cost recovery and contribution disputes. We guide clients through the remediation process from assessment to closure.

We advise manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and property owners on compliance with federal and state chemical safety laws, including the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA), Right-to-Know laws, and hazardous materials regulations. Our services include chemical inventory reporting, toxics use reduction planning, product safety compliance, hazardous materials management, regulatory audits, and responding to enforcement actions. We help clients navigate evolving chemical safety requirements while minimizing liability and maintaining operational compliance.

We advocate for communities and individuals disproportionately affected by environmental pollution and inadequate environmental protection. Our practice addresses cumulative environmental impacts, discriminatory siting of polluting facilities, access to clean air and water, and enforcement of environmental laws in overburdened communities. We work to ensure meaningful community participation in environmental decision-making, challenge environmental permits that threaten vulnerable populations, and pursue remedies for environmental harms. We advocate for equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens and hold polluters accountable to environmental justice principles.

We handle matters at the intersection of environmental enforcement, coastal property law, and climate-related litigation, an area that has grown significantly as regulatory scrutiny intensifies and sea level rise reshapes Massachusetts coastlines.

Environmental Enforcement Defense: We assist individuals, businesses, property owners, and municipalities facing civil and criminal enforcement actions initiated by MassDEP, EPA, and the Massachusetts Attorney General. Our practice covers defense of administrative enforcement orders, civil penalty proceedings, and criminal prosecutions brought under G.L. c. 131, § 40 (Wetlands Protection Act), G.L. c. 21E (Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention Act), and G.L. c. 21A. We advise clients on parallel state and federal enforcement exposure under the Clean Water Act, RCRA, and CERCLA, and coordinate defense strategy across administrative, civil, and criminal proceedings.

Coastal Trespass, Access & Mean High Water Line Disputes: We handle coastal property disputes involving trespass, beach access, and the determination of property boundaries under Massachusetts common law and the Colonial Ordinance of 1647. Our practice includes mean high water line (MHWL) determinations, public trust doctrine challenges, disputes over private ownership of intertidal zones down to the mean low water line, shoreline erosion boundary shifts, and enforcement of coastal access rights. We handle matters involving the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, Chapter 91 Waterways Licensing Program, Coastal Zone Management Act, and the Public Waterfront Act.

Climate Activism Defense & Environmental Necessity: We advise individuals and organizations facing criminal charges, including trespass, malicious destruction, and civil disobedience-related offenses, arising from climate activism and direct action. Massachusetts courts have recognized the common law necessity defense in this context, and our practice includes evaluating necessity defense strategies, preparing expert testimony on climate science and the absence of legal alternatives, and navigating the intersection of First Amendment protections and environmental criminal liability. We approach these matters with a thorough understanding of both the legal framework and the evolving science underlying climate necessity claims.