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850-354-7605Share profile
Band 3
Provided by Susan Stephens
Susan Stephens has 30 years of experience practicing environmental & natural resource and administrative law, including rulemaking practice and procedure and administrative litigation. Her practice focuses on balancing property and resource use with competing private, governmental and citizen interests.
She represents clients before various federal, state, regional, and local environmental agencies in connection with the obtainment, interpretation, compliance and enforcement of environmental permits for regulated industrial, commercial, and development activities. This representation includes matters related to resource extraction, wetlands and agriculture/mitigation banks, agritourism, wastewater, submerged lands, and state and federal listed wildlife. This has included significant experience working to obtain wetland permits at the state and federal level. She also has experience with compliance and enforcement matters involving unanticipated bypasses, “Act of God” emergency authorizations, spills, unpermitted wetland or species impacts, and similar compliance and enforcement issues.
Susan has extensive experience assisting in the development of policy and regulatory initiatives, which has included the development of Florida’s major regulatory projects such as its State 404 Permit Program, Title V Air Operating Permit Program, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Wastewater Permitting Program, and state listed species permitting guidelines. She also has experience with complex administrative and judicial challenges to proposed and final permits in both the state and federal arenas, including appeals.
Additionally, Susan has assisted clients in conducting internal self-audits for environmental compliance and environmental due diligence reviews for real estate transactions and in access management cases involving the Department of Transportation.
Susan is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in State & Federal Government and Administrative Practice. Prior to joining the Firm, Susan was a Shareholder in a boutique law firm and, before that, a Partner at an international law firm, both in Tallahassee, Florida.
American Bar Association, Administrative and Regulatory Law Section; American Bar Association, Environment, Energy and Resources Section (SEER); Florida Bar, Environmental and Land Use Law Section (ELULS); American Bar Foundation (ABF); Tallahassee Women Lawyers
Provided by Chambers
Susan Stephens is noted for her expertise in a range of environmental matters, with a particular focus on waste management, permitting and regulatory navigation.
Provided by Chambers
Susan is very responsive, knowledgeable and engaging.
She has a passion for her work and is immersed in the regulatory details. She works hard to distill complex issues down to ensure her clients can grasp the concepts and gain a clear understanding.
She has extensive knowledge of wildlife assessment and permitting issues, is well connected to a network of technical experts, and is extremely responsive.
Susan is very responsive, knowledgeable and engaging.
She has a passion for her work and is immersed in the regulatory details. She works hard to distill complex issues down to ensure her clients can grasp the concepts and gain a clear understanding.
She has extensive knowledge of wildlife assessment and permitting issues, is well connected to a network of technical experts, and is extremely responsive.