Since 1970, America has been talking about achieving independence from foreign oil by increasing reliance on renewable enrgy sources such as wind, hydro, biomass, and solar. Beaver Ridge Wind, LLC, a Portland, Maine-based energy provider, did more than just talk.

Setting the bar high

In 2007, Beaver Ridge Wind, LLC and Preti Flaherty became active in drafting and helping to pass legislation setting high targets for wind production in Maine, including making small local wind projects known as "community wind" possible. What better place to develop Maine's first community wind project than on Beaver Ridge in the small but blustery town of Freedom, Maine.

Taking on the obstacles

We helped Beaver Ridge Wind bring its proposal - a three turbine, 4.5 megawatt wind project - to life, which meant navigating nearly every imaginable obstacle.

Three municipal referenda, including the adoption and repeal of a zoning ordinance, multiple abutter lawsuits, and land access issues, stalled our efforts to begin delivering enough oil-free electricity to serve 2,000 homes.

More than just talk

Through a combination of legal persistence and the widespread feeling that renewable energy is an idea whose time has come, we helped Beaver Ridge Wind turn talk about renewable energy into reality. Construction was completed last fall, and 400-foot turbines are up and running, making Beaver Ridge Wind a leader in the effort to achieve Maine's green energy goals.

Concern about toxic leakage uncovers a larger issue

When a citizens' group on Rhode Island's Conanicut Island learned of the town's faulty plan for dealing with the island's former town dump, they turned to our Environmental team for help. The contaminated site was never property closed and was leaching toxic chemicals. The town, however, was proposing merely to cap a portion of the dump and to build a town garage on the rest of the parcel. Our client was understandably concerned about continued leakage into the island's aquifer - its only source of drinking water.

To help ensure that the site would be cleaned up correctly, we applied to the U.S. EPA for a rarely used Sole Source Aquifer (SSA) designation, one of fewer than 100 granted by the EPA in the entire country over the past four decades.

Bringing in the EPA

Our experience with the little-known EPA Sole Source Aquifer designation - created in the 1970s by the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect drinking water in areas with no alternative sources - led to our strategy. Once an SSA designation is made, the EPA must review any project that receives federal funding to ensure it doesn't endanger the water source. Among other things, moving forward with such an application brought the EPA into the mix and forced the town to reconsider its plans for the landfill closure and town garage.

The real issue becomes apparent

Once we set the SSA petition in motion, the nature of the debate took a markedly different path. In its investigation, the EPA found that the municipal water supply was supported by a limited and vulnerable bedrock aquifer system. Clearly, ther real issue wasn't just the landfill, but the long-term protection of the island's entire water supply. A new, larger citizens' group was formed to press for the SSA designation.

A win for everyone

From start to finish, our lawyers worked closely with the engineers and the citizens' groups to press town officials on both the landfill closure and the SSA designation. We prepared the extensive SSA application, which required us to analyze conditions on the island, review numerous historical background documents, and interpret technical water supply reports. We carefully reviewed a myriad of regulations and penned a convincing narrative. In the end, following lots of hard work by the citizens' groups and the Preti team, town officials agreed to support the application.

The EPA was impressed. They granted the Town of Jamestown and Conanicut Island its SSA designation, one of only 16 in all of New England. The landfill is now being addressed correctly. The town garage is being built in a more appropriate location. And the SSA designation will help ensure that the island's drinking water is protected, now and in the future.

Many states, including Maine, have strict requirements to run for office: aspiring independent candidates for the U.S. Senate must collect 4,000 signatures, witness each one personally, and swear on oath that every signature was made in their presence. These rules are easy to follow and ensure that candidates demonstrate their commitment to honestly qualifying for a place on the ballot. So when the Democratic Party saw the rules being eroded, they called on us.

Three oath violations

The party was concerned about the validity of independent candidate Herbert Hoffman's nominating petitions. We conducted a thorough review of the law and the petitions, which uncovered numerous errors in the validation process - duplicate signatures, unregistered voters, and, most disconcerting, oath violations. There were signatures on three different petiton sheets that were not made in Mr. Hoffman's presence. The law is clear that the entire petition sheet should be voided yet the Deputy Secretary of State had invalidated only three signatures.

Appeals under time pressure

This set the stage for a flurry of actions. We asked the Maine Secretary of State to reverse the decision of his deputy. And while he did invalidate a number of the signatures, enough remained to put Hoffman on the ballot.

With the deadline for printing ballots fast approaching, we filed an immediate appeal in Maine Superior Court. It too ruled against the Party, leaving the Maine Law Court as the next recourse. The Maine Law Court reversed the Superior Court and ruled in the Party's favor, invalidating all three petition sheets. But the fight wasn't over.

The sanctity of the process

Over the next 30 days, Hoffman filed a motion for a stay in the Law Court, a motion for a stay in the U.S. Supreme Court, and then an independent lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, seeking, among other things, an injunction placing Hoffman's name on the ballot. Each action required our research teams to work on an emergency basis to defend the sanctity of Maine's ballot process. The petition-gathering rules were clear, and allowing the violations would have undermined that process. Maine voters can now be confident that all candidates are justly on the ballot.

Until 2008, the State of Maine did not have a "shield law" to protect journalists from being forced to reveal their sources. Without a shield law, journalists were subject to routine subpoenas and the threat that courts would refuse to protect the identities of their confidential sources. As legal counsel to the Maine Press Association, we crafted a bill to prevent compelled disclosure of confidential sources, of information identifying such sources, and of information obtained from them. We then worked with key legislators to secure passage of the bill, resulting in a new and important safeguard that will allow journalists to better collect and report the news.

HCI Solutions, LLC (HCI) was already a leader in sustainable green facilities governance solutions when Cordjia, a Delaware and Maine-based private equity firm, saw a solid business that could grow into something even better. Cordjia acquired a majority interest in HCI, infused new capital into the venture, and rebranded the company as 4Tell Solutions, LLC (4tell^TM). We conducted the due diligence, facilitated the capital infusion, and reviewed and verified 4tell's intellectual property ownership regarding the company's proprietary technology platform, iPlan. ^TM We closed the transaction in four months. 4tell is now off and running, entering new global markets and delivering solutions that optimize the performance of the built environment for governments, institutions and corporations throughout the world.

Kingspan Group, plc a leading supplier of construction products in European markets, sought our help in buying Metecno Inc., a Dutch-owned Florida and California-based maker of composite insulation panels for the construction industry. It was a complex multinational transaction - the seller was Dutch, the buyer was Irish, and four different states were involved - in an agreement governed by another country's law. We handled due diligence and some documentation, and consulted on various issues. With the closing of this $111 million deal, Kingspan now has a strong presence in insulated panels in United States markets.

With a network of 330+ commercial fueling franchises, Pacific Pride was a natural fit for Wright Express to acquire as they looked to grow their distributor channel. Wright Express asked us to assist with the due diligence and acquisition issues related to franchising. In addition, we have been asked to assist the newly acquired franchise with its ongoing national franchise regulatory compliance work, including franchise disclosure document preparation, state franchise registration applications/renewals, and related franchise agreements.

The developers of South Peak Resort - an upscale, amenity-rich second-home resort development at the base of New Hampshire's Loon Mountain - were planning a large development to coincide with a major multiyear ski area expansion. Approximately 650 multifamily dwellings and 155 single-family building lots are planned across 394 acres with an anticipated 8 to 10-year buildout. The Town of Lincoln was supportive because it demonstrated a well thought-out and well-paced plan for development and economic growth while preserving the natural character of the area. To launch the project and obtain necessary federal, state and local approvals, we untangled complicated title work and worked through regulatory issues with the state and local governments. As the first and second phases of development near completion, we remain involved in guiding our client on legal compliance issues particular to New Hampshire.

In 2003, the State of Maine approved a Certificate of Need (CON) for our client, the Cancer Care Center of York County, whose members include the Maine Medical Center, Southern Maine Medical Center, and Goodall Hospital. At the same time, a competing CON application was denied, leading to an appeal by the losing applicants, claiming bias by the state. The Center turned to us to defend them in an exhaustive appeals process that arrived at the Maine Supreme Court for a second time in 2008. We successfully argued the case to lower courts, which ruled that the CON approval "was not the result of bias or prejudice," and the Supreme Court agreed. Meanwhile, the Center had been opened, and has cared for nearly 25,000 patients.

When Plum Creek, the largest private landowner in the U.S., unveiled its plan to develop 420,000 acres in the pristine woods of northern Maine, they turned to us to move the immense project forward. The largest land development project in Maine quickly became the most controversial. Our first challenge was to find the delicate balance between development and environmental conservation. In a grueling process that lasted three and a half years, our attorneys maneuvered through supporters and opponents who tried to tip that balance in one direction or the other, with contentiousness and media attention at every turn.

Using our knowledge of the state's Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) and our insight into the views of all parties involved, we created a multifaceted approach to overcome numerous hurdles.

A historic undertaking

Plum Creek's vision required LURC approval to rezone the entire acreage. Before submitting this ambitious plan to LURC, we carefully researched and drafted a Concept Plan that asked approval to rezone the land, allowing Plum Creek to develop 16,000 acres around two lakes while setting aside 392,000 acres to be permanently preserved as sustainable forest.

When the media first published the Plan's details, public controversy quickly centered around the proposed development of 975 house lots and two resorts. Intense opposition from several environmental groups raised the level of contention, making for a long, occasionally rancorous process. Four weeks of public hearings. 177 witnesses. 18 interveners. All of conducted in the full glare of media coverage.

Long-term benefits

After years of research and fine-tuning, our diligence came full circle when LURC approved the Concept Plan. Hundreds of thousands of acres were to be permanently opened to traditional recreation; 150 miles of trails were to be created; and permanent protection was guaranteed to 213 miles of shoreline, 70 pristine ponds, and huge blocks of wildlife habitat.

Our Real Estate, Land Use, and Environmental attorneys were directly involved in every aspect of the plan, an undertaking both highly technical and extremely sensitive. We worked side-by-side with Plum Creek through all negotiations - with every party, at every hearing, through each plan revision - ultimately winning over every member of LURC.

A delicate balance.

The approved Concept Plan contained benefits both immediate and long-term: employment, housing, sustainable forestry, wildlife habitat, and a natural wonderland that Maine can enjoy forever.