Daniel H Thompson

Practice Areas

Dan Thompson is Board Certified in State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice. His practice includes licensing, permitting, enforcement, environmental due diligence, bid disputes, rulemaking, litigation, and appearances before legislative and administrative bodies. His particular focus is environmental law. Cases include federal court litigation over Clean Water Act permitting regarding water transfers and rock mining, administrative litigation over permits to widen 20 miles of US1 in the Everglades and Florida Keys, rule development and litigation over Everglades water quality standards, and constitutional challenges. Previously, Dan was Deputy Secretary and General Counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Professional Memberships

- Member, Board of Directors, The Florida Bar Foundation

- Member, Budget & Finance Committee, The Florida Bar Foundation

- Member, Board of Directors, Legal Services of North Florida

- Member, Administrative Law Section, The Florida Bar

- Member, Environmental Land Use & Law Section, The Florida Bar

- Mentor, Florida State University Environmental Law Society Mentor Program

- Tallahassee Area Director, Yale Alumni Schools Committee

Work Highlights

- Federal court litigation over the scope of Clean Water Act NPDES permitting requirements associated with the water management activities of the South Florida Water Management District

- Administrative litigation over the issuance of environmental permits to the Florida Department of Transportation to widen 20 miles of U.S. 1 through wetlands in the Everglades and Florida Keys

- An arbitration hearing, as arbitrator, over an application by Tampa Bay Water for environmental permits to construct a 1100 acre, 15 billion gallon reservoir in Hillsborough County

- Rule development activities before the Florida Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") (including rule drafting, public hearing participation and rule challenge litigation) associated with the promulgation of a numeric phosphorus criterion for the Everglades

- Assisting a major oil company resolve a variety of ongoing environmental concerns associated with its operation of oil terminal facilities located in Port Everglades, Tampa and Jacksonville related to state cleanup program eligibility, the remediation of leaking tanks and resolution of stormwater runoff permitting requirements

- Resolving the regulatory and enforcement concerns of state and local agencies in order to enable a developer to obtain the necessary authorizations to construct in a cost-effective manner a major mixed use development on a 20-acre portion of an old municipal landfill located in Tampa

- Assisting a landfill company with obtaining an unprecedented closure agreement from the DEP that enabled the client to use the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy process to freeze the cancellation of its closure insurance, thereby enabling the insurance to be used for reimbursement to the client of its closure costs, and also enabling the client to stay in business and protect its other assets.

- While at DER and DEP, chief litigation and legislative strategist for the State of Florida's response to the so-called "Everglades Lawsuit," and a leader in negotiations that resulted in the 1991 Settlement Agreement and the 1993 Statement of Principles, as well as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Everglades Protection Act (1991) and the Everglades Forever Act (1994)

- Served as counsel to Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Commission on Oil Spill Response, composed of the Chairs of the County Commission of the Northwest Florida counties, along with representatives of various state agencies between 2012-2013

- Served as General Counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation between 1986 and 1993

- Served as attorney for the Department of Environmental Regulation’s Environmental Regulation Commission (gubernatorial-appointed members)

- Served as Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection between 1993 and 1995

- Served as the chief liaison between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Regulation Commission

Expert in these Jurisdictions

- Florida

- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

- U.S. Court of Claims

- U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Florida

Languages Spoken

- English

Education

Awards