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

Tel: (813) 909-7400
Fax:  (877) 576-6101

Frank Hearne has practiced environmental law for over 25 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 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, brown fields, environmental insurance, underground tanks and many other areas.

Frank is active in the American Bar Association, Section on Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law. In the past, he has served as Chair of the Special Committee on Communications Technology, Vice Chair of the Special Committee on Emerging Environmental Technologies and Section Representative to the ABA Technology Council. Frank was also recently listed as one of only six environmental lawyers in Florida selected for listing in the International Who's Who of Business Lawyers. He has been repeatedly named to several independently judged lists of outstanding environmental lawyers in Florida including 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 and a master's degree in zoology with a focus on marine biology. 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 disciplines. Prior to his legal career he was an environmental consultant for a number of years.

Mr. Hearne has been married for over 35 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.