Cindy M. Monaco (518) 641-0502 cmonaco@westfirmlaw.com

Cindy Monaco regularly works for industrial, commercial and energy clients on a broad range of environmental matters involving permitting, compliance, civil and administrative litigation, and general regulatory issues.  Her more than ten years’ legal experience includes work for clients involved with oil and gas development, wind power development, cement manufacturing, pesticide application, traditional power generation, gas pipeline siting and regulation, solid waste management, hazardous waste management, mining operations, low-level radioactive waste management, and water regulation (water supplies and water withdrawals).

Cindy also has expertise in the application of a number of general environmental review statutes, including the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act and Coastal Management Program, as well as their federal counterparts.  She likewise has experience in the application of a broad array of other state and federal environmental regulatory programs and frequently assists clients with their submissions to regulatory agencies in the permitting, compliance and enforcement contexts.

Additionally, Cindy has particular expertise in appellate advocacy.  In this capacity, she has worked on a vast array of matters in the environmental arena, including novel statutory interpretation questions respecting New York’ s oil and gas law, as well as jurisdictional issues respecting in-state water withdrawals and suits arising under federal solid waste management statutes.  She has also worked on a variety of other administrative and civil matters for her clients, including labor/prevailing wage issues, contract/lease preparation and enforcement, and arbitration issues.

Representative Matters

• Presently working on projects involving legislative, regulatory and commercial matters affecting oil and gas companies.
• Presently involved in the siting of a major interstate gas pipeline project and the permitting of expansion projects at several landfills.
• Assisting with the permitting of commercial water withdrawals and ancillary facilities relating to snowmaking.
• Assisting clients who have privatized municipal solid waste management systems and are dealing with the New York State Department of Labor over prevailing wage issues.
• Assisted in the successful representation of oil and gas companies pertaining to novel question of statutory interpretation regarding compulsory integration provisions of New York State oil and gas law.
• Assisted in the successful representation of oil and gas client in enforcing the terms of mineral rights lease in an arbitration proceeding. 
• Assisted in the successful representation of a client in a hazardous materials cost recovery action leading to full recovery for the client and attorney's fees, which absolved the client of all liability at the site.
• Assisted in document preparation and review for a wind turbine project, with particular emphasis on avian studies, including development of a new quantitative methodology for assessing avian impacts.