Mary C. Stewart
Of Counsel
305-350-7368
mstewart@bilzin.com
Area of Focus:
Environmental, Land Development & Government Relations
Mary C. Stewart
Of Counsel
305-350-7368
GET TO KNOW
MARY
As Of Counsel in the firm’s Environmental Group, Mary Stewart advises real estate owners and developers across multiple areas of environmental law, with particular focus on waste cleanup issues at contaminated sites undergoing remediation or redevelopment. With more than 25 years of experience in environmental law, Mary is well-versed in negotiating an array of institutional controls, including Declarations of Restrictive Covenant (DRCs) and Non-Recorded Institutional Controls (NRICs, NDICs) from her time as a Senior Attorney with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and in private practice.
Mary is deeply familiar with Florida’s complex environmental regulatory and policy regime. She was instrumental in the continuous development and revision of FDEP’s Institutional Controls Procedures Guidance, and her deep knowledge of Florida’s Risk-Based Corrective Action cleanup process, which provides for a variety of options and tools to manage risk at contaminated sites, has been carefully honed as FDEP’s lead DRC counsel. Through her career at the agency and in private practice, Mary worked with technical and program staff and with consultants to successfully negotiate hundreds of DRCs with private developers, business owners, local governments, lenders, other state agencies, and the federal government – experience that she now leverages to inform her environmental counsel to clients pursuing development and redevelopment projects.
Mary is deeply familiar with Florida’s complex environmental regulatory and policy regime. She was instrumental in the continuous development and revision of FDEP’s Institutional Controls Procedures Guidance, and her deep knowledge of Florida’s Risk-Based Corrective Action cleanup process, which provides for a variety of options and tools to manage risk at contaminated sites, has been carefully honed as FDEP’s lead DRC counsel. Through her career at the agency and in private practice, Mary worked with technical and program staff and with consultants to successfully negotiate hundreds of DRCs with private developers, business owners, local governments, lenders, other state agencies, and the federal government – experience that she now leverages to inform her environmental counsel to clients pursuing development and redevelopment projects.
Q & A
How has Florida’s legal and regulatory environment created opportunities for redevelopment in the state?
Over the past several years, Florida’s legislature has expanded tax incentives connected to environmental remediation. At the same time, the redevelopment and remediation community has been successful in negotiating responsible expansion of institutional controls use that in turn have facilitated the closure of contaminated properties and the redevelopment of infill properties that would otherwise have remained blights on affected communities. With guidance from skilled counsel, owners and developers can take advantage of such incentives for their projects while creating environmental benefits for the wider community.
How does your involvement with industry organizations inform your environmental practice?
Throughout my career, I have been involved with the Florida Brownfields Association (FBA), which is an organization of engineers, geologists, redevelopers, Florida Department of Environmental Protection personnel, and environmental attorneys that work together to address the legislative, regulatory, and practical issues that arise out of the Florida Brownfields Program. My continued engagement with the FBA keeps me abreast of the most important developments and trends that affect developers as they seek to redevelop these complicated and environmentally sensitive sites.
CREDENTIALS
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Florida State University, J.D., 1993Florida Atlantic University, M.S., 1991Palm Beach Atlantic University, B.S., 1985
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FloridaColorado
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PRACTICES