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Dan Thompson is Board Certified by The Florida Bar as an expert in State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice.  He assists clients with governmental regulatory matters, with a particular emphasis on environmental and land use issues.  His experience includes licensing, permitting, enforcement, policy development, government contracts, bid disputes and assistance in the transfer and development of environmentally-distressed property.  This can involve negotiation, administrative and civil litigation, rulemaking, regulatory due diligence, appearances before legislative and administrative bodies, and such other activities as are necessary to resolve client problems. Dan’s practice also includes general civil and appellate litigation.

Representative Experience

  • 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 facilies 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
  • 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)

Professional & Community Involvement

  • Member, The Florida Bar's Chief Justice’s Advisory Committee for the 2012 Tobias Simon Pro Bono Awards
  • Member, Board of Trustees of the Apalachee Land Conservancy
  • President, Board of Directors of Florida Legal Services, Inc
  • Member of the Board of Directors of The Florida Bar Foundation
  • Member, Board of Directors of the Bobbin Brook Homeowners’ Association
  • Tallahassee Area Director of the Yale Alumni Schools Committee
  • Former Co-chair, Refuge House Capital Campaign
  • Former President, Legal Aid Foundation of the Tallahassee Bar Association
  • Formerly a member of the Executive Council of the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of The Florida Bar

Awards & Recognition

  • Board Certified, State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice
  • Chambers & Partners USA, America's Leading Business Lawyers, Environment (2007-2011)
  • Florida's Super Lawyers (2006-2011)
  • The Best Lawyers in America (Since 2006)
  • Florida Trend Magazine's "Legal Elite" (2007-2008)
  • AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Articles & Presentations

Articles

  • "Environmental Bills in 2012 Session Focused on Streamlining Processes," Florida Specifier, April 2012
  • Treatise on Florida Environmental and Land Use Law (The Florida Bar, 2011), Chapter 9 (Wetlands and Surface Waters) and Chapter 11 (Groundwater).

Presentations

  • "Federal APA: Judicial Review of Agency Action (Scope and Availability of Judicial Review)," The Florida Bar, State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice (SFGAP) Certification Review Course II - Federal (April 2012)
  • Spoken at numerous seminars offered by The Florida Bar, the American Bar Association, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and various other professional, trade and other organizations. 

Prior Affiliations

  • Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and directed its regulatory divisions and district offices, supervising approximately 1300 employeesFrom (1993-1995). 
  • Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (“DER”), as Deputy General Counsel for Enforcement, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary (1982- 1993). 
  • Adjunct Professor of Law at the Florida State University College of Law and was previously employed at Florida Legal Services, Inc. and Legal Services of North Florida, Inc.