Forestry and Agriculture
Overview
For years, Robinson & McElwee has served as regular counsel to forestry and agriculture clients and has extensive experience providing a full complement of legal services to the industry.
Through our years of practice, we have acquired a comprehensive understanding of the industry and its specific business and legal issues. We represent our clients on an array of corporate, environmental, regulatory and dispute resolution matters.
Our members have been actively involved in trade organizations, with one member having served as a former board member of the West Virginia Forestry Association and another as a chairman of the Association’s Legal Committee. We are regularly involved in legislative and rulemaking activities related to silvicultural and agricultural matters.
For more information regarding our Forestry and Agriculture Industry services, please contact:
Richard W. Gallagher
Forestry activities are regulated through best management practices for loggers and multi-sector storm water permitting for log yards and sawmills. Robinson & McElwee attorneys are familiar with these requirements and have worked with the industry in their implementation. Though historically regulated only by the Department of Agriculture, farms are increasingly regulated by the Department of Environmental Protection. Scrutiny of agricultural interests will increase as state farmers are identified as sources of pollution reductions in order to improve conditions in the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay. We have provided advice to concentrated animal feeding operations and other livestock operations to help develop a reasonable balance between the demand of regulators and the interests of the agricultural community.
Robinson & McElwee has litigated a variety of issues, from responding to citations for overweight logging trucks to defense of a major timber operator in a large mass tort action alleging natural resource extraction had caused wide-spread flooding. We have also filed a declaratory judgment action to defend animal feeding operations from notices of violation issued for failure to obtain NPDES permits. Our attorneys’ knowledge of farming and forestry puts us in an excellent position to understand our clients’ needs and the defenses that will serve them best.
Land companies, timber operators, mineral extractors and a wide range of other entities regularly convey land and timber, as well as the minerals below them. Our attorneys are well-versed in the intricacies of property transfers and timber contracts and all attendant tax and business considerations. Severance taxes and property taxes are additional considerations for those owning or selling land and timber rights. Wood Products Being out of the woods does not mean that wood manufacturers have clear sailing. West Virginia’s value-added wood products companies, which range from saw yards to oriented strand board manufacturers to furniture makers, are subject to numerous government programs and regulations. Whenever labor issues, workers compensation claims, tax or other business issues arise, Robinson & McElwee attorneys likely have handled the same matter previously for a wood products manufacturer, and would be pleased to bring their expertise to bear on your behalf. For assistance in connecting to the right attorney or practice area for your situation, please contact Richard W. Gallagher at 304-326-5319 or via e-mail to rwg@ramlaw.com
Being out of the woods does not mean that wood manufacturers have clear sailing. West Virginia’s value-added wood products companies, which range from saw yards to oriented strand board manufacturers to furniture makers, are subject to numerous government programs and regulations. Whenever labor issues, workers compensation claims, tax or other business issues arise, Robinson & McElwee attorneys likely have handled the same matter previously for a wood products manufacturer, and would be pleased to bring their expertise to bear on your behalf.