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Lee Zimmerman concentrates his practice on environmental, administrative, and local government matters. He has over twenty years experience practicing environmental law as counsel for federal and state governments and private industry. Lee’s environmental practice with the Firm is limited to representing industry and business in regulatory, land use, and health and safety matters. He also has developed his practice to representing health care providers in Certificate of Need cases and business interests in seeking permits under Alcohol Beverage Control laws. Since 2007, Lee has served as Town Attorney for Town of Blythewood. He also is certified as a Circuit Court Mediator by the South Carolina Board of Arbitrator and Mediator Certification.
Since joining the Firm in 2002, Lee has represented clients in environmental enforcement actions before the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the South Carolina and North Carolina Administrative Law Courts. He has defended clients against cost recovery claims by federal and state agencies for environmental remediation and natural resource damages while pursuing recovery for corporate landowners from government and private parties. He advises clients on environmental due diligence in the sale and purchase of businesses and real property assets.
Lee has represented mining and water treatment facilities in complying with water discharge requirements. He successfully challenged DHEC’s arbitrary application of the South Carolina Pollution Control Act to a rendering company in a multiple violation enforcement action before the South Carolina Administrative Law Court and also convinced the Court to reverse a DHEC decision to deny a company’s landfill permit application due to an improper application of a provision in a local solid waste management plan. He also has been successful in defending permits issued to poultry farmers.
Prior to joining the Firm, Lee served as Senior Corporate Environmental Counsel for Safety-Kleen Corp., where he successfully negotiated an agreement with DHEC to close Safety-Kleen’s hazardous waste landfill in Pinewood, South Carolina and transfer the site to a trust for long-term care.
Prior to his tenure with Safety-Kleen, Lee served as Assistant Regional Counsel with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in Buffalo, NY and negotiated the settlement of over 50 environmental enforcement actions brought by that agency.
While on active duty in the United States Air Force, he served as the Air Force’s Environmental Counsel for the Central United States, responsible for providing environmental legal services to over 40 Air Force bases in 21 states and representing the Air Force as a Potentially Responsible Party at 45 Superfund sites. He was responsible for establishing the Air Force’s Environmental Torts Section at Air Force Headquarters, serving as Chief of the Section for two years. While Chief he was appointed as a Special Assistant United States Attorney by the Department of Justice and served on the DOJ Litigation Team defending the Air Force in one of the first toxic tort cases brought against a federal agency under the Federal Tort Claims Act. He also defended the Air Force in cases alleging personal injury from asbestos and radiation exposure and ingestion of contaminated water.
Lee served as an Administrative Law Judge for the New York State Department of Social Services for two years, conducting Fair Hearings throughout western New York State and in New York City.
Lee serves on McNair's Recruitment Committee. | 