Environment and building law & environmental law

The departmenEnvironment and building law & environmental law consists of Liesbeth Driest and Pia Schmelzer. Together they cover all the legal aspects of the physical environment. Liesbeth and Pia have been working in this field since 2002 and 2000 respectively. Liesbeth, with her administrative expertise, has supervised many projects in the construction and industrial sectors. Pia has handled a number of high-profile environmental criminal cases. Together they have extensive experience in complex environmental (enforcement) issues.

Among the clients of the department are project initiators in the construction and (renewable) energy sectors, the waste sector, port sector, infrastructure and (heavy) industry. Governments and public interest organisations also form a substantial part of the client base.

The lines of communication within the team are short. Pia and Liesbeth like to closely cooperate with each other. When appropriate, they also involve external technical advisors in their work, such as environmental consultancy firms. Conversely, consultants invite them to become members of their core team. Their collaboration is especially strong where it concerns (potential) monitoring and/or enforcement issues. This is because in the run up it is often not clear whether an issue will be charged under criminal or administrative law. It goes without saying that the approach and filling-in is tailored to the wishes of the client.

Issues covered

• Permits (construction, demolition, interiors, etc.)
• Zoning plans
• Environmental impact reports
• Soil pollution
• Asbestos
• Decree on Risks of Serious Accidents (Besluit risico’s zware ongevallen (BRZO)) and external safety
• Water management
• Fire safety
• Nature conservation
• Notifications in the event of changes
• European Waste Shipment Regulation (Europese Verordening Overbrenging Afvalstoffen (EVOA))
• Waste products
• Subsidies
• Employment conditions
• Expropriation and pre-emption
• Public Administration (Probity in Decision-making) Act (Wet bevordering integriteitsbeoordelingen door het openbaar bestuur (BIBOB))
• Reporting problems for unusual incidents
• Penalty law

Administrative environmental law

Liesbeth extends advice on getting (environmental) licences and other orders, such as exemptions and/or approval orders and defends these – if necessary in court by expressing views, raising objections and appealing in higher courts.

Within this field Liesbeth has specialist knowledge about the underlying legislation, such as the environmental code, the Planning Act, Environmental Protection Act, the Nature Conservation Act, the Soil Protection Act and the relevant regulations for the implementation and financing thereof (including sufferance rights, subsidies, expropriation and planning blight). The European legislation which underpins Dutch law in this field is also within the scope of her expertise.

In addition to obtaining government permissions, Liesbeth has extensive experience in the drafting of guarantees and the formulation of suspensory conditions where there is a need to protect against perceived substantial environmental or regulatory risks. In addition to environmental law, Liesbeth has extensive experience with other resources that are available under administrative law, such as enforcement processes, including defence against the use of the Public Administration (Probity in Decision-making) Act (Wet bevordering integriteitsbeoordelingen door het openbaar bestuur (BIBOB)). She also has extensive experience with institutional laws such as the Municipal Act and the Government Information (Public Access) Act.

Contact

Please find our partners that are specialised in landscape and environment below: