Practice Area Overview

Environmental Law

Before launching his own practice nearly eight years ago, Kevin Betz served as chief counsel and deputy commissioner for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). This background served him well in developing the Betz & Associates environmental law practice area. While at IDEM, Kevin:

• Represented the State of Indiana in consent decree negotiations with Westinghouse/General Electric, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Bloomington Office of the Mayor involving PCB contamination in Bloomington.
• Served as Chief Counsel at IDEM during final settlement of a major negotiation with a large corporate polluter in northwest Indiana - approximately $100 million in fines and penalties were agreed to.
• Personally represented IDEM in an action before the State Employee Appeals Commission, prevailing in defending the commissioner's decision to terminate the employment of an Administrative Law Judge.

Betz & Associates has handled environmental tort cases in which property owners have been damaged by a polluter, one case resulting in a more than half-million-dollar award for our client in a dispute against two major oil companies. Indicative of our environmental law experience and reputation, our firm also serves corporate clients with environmental concerns. For example, Betz & Associates provides Verizon Wireless legal counsel in assessing contamination risks and liability potential regarding land acquisition decisions for Verizon's tower sites.