Frank L. Hearne, Shareholder
EDUCATION:
University of Florida, B.S., Engineering Science, 1972; M.S., Zoology, 1977; J.D., with honors, 1981
PRACTICE AREA:
Environmental
Frank Hearne has practiced environmental law for over 40 years. His extensive experience includes representation of development, government, commercial, electric power, manufacturing, industrial, petroleum, agricultural and mining interests. Frank has been involved in numerous projects where contaminated soil and groundwater are at issue and in many cases with federal, state and local wetlands disputes. He is familiar with the State of Florida's cleanup programs, including the Brownfields, dry cleaning solvent and petroleum programs. His experience also includes development, review and negotiation of environmental insurance policies. He has served as environmental counsel on many multiple-site real estate and business transactions on behalf of buyers, sellers and lenders. Mr. Hearne has been involved in over 50 federal Superfund sites, including Times Beach, Missouri, and Seymour, Indiana, which involved significant public and national controversy. He has also been involved in obtaining permits for more than 50 large industrial and electric power generation facilities.
Frank has had considerable experience in connection with air and water discharge issues, which includes permitting, enforcement defense and litigation involving the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, Underground Injection Control and the equivalent state law in many states. These activities included extensive involvement in the development of a number of federal and state environmental rules. Among other things, he has managed extremely complex permit hearings involving major hazardous waste disposal, industrial, development and mining sites including national, state and local political and legal considerations. He has also been involved in criminal defense work in cases involving the defense of clients facing federal and state environmental charges.
He has frequently authored and lectured on numerous environmental topics including seminars and papers on environmental compliance auditing, Clean Water Act permitting, Clean Air Act permits, indoor air quality, wetlands permitting, brownfields, environmental insurance, underground tanks and many other areas.
Frank is active in the Florida Brownfields Association where he is a member of the Board of Directors and Co-Chair of the Technical Committee. He is a member of the Florida Bar Environmental and Land Use Section and the Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section. Frank has been repeatedly listed by independent groups as an outstanding Florida environmental lawyer including, among others, Who's Who Legal: USA, The Best Lawyers in America and Florida "Super Lawyers."
In addition to his legal credentials, Frank holds an undergraduate degree in engineering where he focused on water resources and a master's degree in zoology with a focus on aquatic and marine biology and ecology. Frank's engineering and scientific training provides a background which enables him to comprehend many technical aspects of his work, including geohydrology, hydrology, environmental chemistry, wetlands, protected habitats, endangered species, aquatic and marine ecology and other technical disciplines. Prior to his legal career he was an environmental consultant for a number of years.
Mr. Hearne has been married for over 50 years to Teresa and has fathered two adult sons. He is a certified speaker in the United Methodist Church and plays and sings old time and gospel music.