Robert Melvin

Practice Areas

Environmental Compliance and Permitting, Environmental Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Sustainability, Water, Crisis Planning and Management, Transactions and Due Diligence, Health and Safety, Renewable and Alternative Energy, Green Finance, Corporate Sustainability, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Clean-Tech Ventures, Brownfields and Redevelopment, Site Investigation and Remediation

Career

Bob Melvin has more than 20 years of experience counseling clients on environmental, health, and safety compliance, sustainability, emergency response efforts, site remediation, and development projects. He also represents companies and organizations in related real estate and corporate transactions, and in proceedings before agencies and courts. A wide range of clients benefit from his services, including aerospace and other manufacturers, stone and aggregate producers, metal finishers, municipalities, educational institutions, and water and wastewater utilities. Bob’s broad Environmental, Health and Safety (EH+S) experience helps manufacturers and other businesses, institutions, and utilities address the range of regulatory demands they face, such as the following federal programs and their state counterparts:

Worker safety standards enforced under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Mine Safety and Health Act

Clean Water Act permitting of wastewater and stormwater discharges

Clean Air Act emissions regulation

Hazardous waste management and underground storage tank requirements under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Spill and chemical reporting and release prevention under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, Oil Pollution Act, and Clean Water Act

Regulation of chemical manufacturing and distribution under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

Environmental disclosures under Regulation S-K of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and corporate reporting of environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters to the public and interested investors

His studies in chemical engineering and prior experience as an environmental engineer at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) help him appreciate the mix of legal and technical issues affecting his clients' matters. Recognizing the growing and evolving scope of EH+S concerns, Bob helped create and now co-chairs the firm’s Sustainability Group. This interdisciplinary team provides the firm and our clients with the coordination and experience required to successfully identify and implement sustainable strategies for minimizing the impacts of their operations and products. Bob has also held positions on the University of Connecticut’s Environmental Policy Advisory Council and a DEEP “lean” task force formed to help the agency streamline its adjudication process.

Bob helps clients and their technical consultants navigate through the obstacles that can delay or burden site cleanups and restorations, brownfield redevelopment efforts, infrastructure and other construction projects, solar/wind energy generation installations, and water supply and distribution projects. His guidance and representation allows clients and their project teams overcome the inevitable mix of legal, technical and financial challenges they face, such as:

Securing financial and technical assistance available to owners and their communities seeking to redevelop brownfield properties or complete clean energy and conservation projects

Establishing cleanup criteria, institutional controls, financial assurance mechanisms, and other measures required under CERCLA and RCRA

Developing strategies to meet TSCA remediation and disposal standards for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and authorization to use encapsulation and similar abatement methods for PCBs, asbestos, and other building materials

Completing the analysis and application proceedings required for projects’ regulatory requirements, including wetlands and other EH+S permitting

Scoping and completing impact assessments and reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act

Completing surveys and identifying mitigation plans addressing Endangered Species Act concerns

He has served on several business-government partnerships to develop better environmental policies and standards. He worked on the Connecticut task force that reviewed the state's first rules for site remediation. Bob continues to work closely with business, agency, and elected officials on brownfield redevelopment and conservation projects.

Professional Memberships

Environmental Business Council of New England: Member, Leadership Team, Connecticut Chapter; Member, Leadership Team, Water Resources Committee

Connecticut Bar Association, Environmental Law Section, Member

Publications

“Supreme Court Rules for the Sacketts: The ‘Significant Nexus’ Test is Dead – Long Live ‘Adjacent Wetlands,’” Environmental Law + blog, June 14, 2023

“EPA and Army Corps Stand Up to the Supreme Court and Revise ‘Waters’ Definition (Again) in the Face of Court’s Looming Decision in Sackett,” Robinson+Cole Legal Update and Environmental Law + blog, January 13, 2023

“No Love for the Dirty Water: EPA Proposing Expanded Stormwater Permitting in Boston,” Environmental Law + blog, September 29, 2022

"Catching Up on the 2021 Clean Water Act Releases," Environmental Law Plus blog, September 21, 2022

"Binge-Watching the Clean Water Act Cases and Rules," May 11, 2021

"PFAS Background and Updates for the Water Industry," co-authored with Megan E. Baroni and Emilee Mooney Scott, published in InFlow-Line magazine, the quarterly publication of the Connecticut Section of the America Water Works (CTAWWA) and the Connecticut Water Works Associations (CWWA) (Winter 2019/2020)

“Brownfields Law and Practice, Connecticut Chapter,” co-authored and updated biannually