Seth D. Jaffe

  • Partner
  • Boston
  • 617 832 1203 direct
  • 617 832 7000 fax

Seth Jaffe is recognized by Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America and Massachusetts SuperLawyers as a leading practitioner in environmental compliance and related litigation. He works on a wide range of environmental law issues, representing clients in the permitting/licensing of new facilities and offering ongoing guidance on permitting and enforcement related matters under federal and state Clean Air Acts, Clean Water Acts, RCRA, and TSCA. He also advises on wetlands and waterways regulation. Seth’s clients include electric and telecommunications utilities, companies in the printing and chemical industries, and education and health care institutions.

Seth has extensive experience in hazardous waste matters under federal and state Superfund laws. He has defended multiple clients in administrative or litigation proceedings brought by the government and/or private parties. He has also counseled plaintiffs seeking recovery from private parties of response costs incurred at Superfund sites. In addition to dispute resolution in these issues, Seth helps clients comply with MEPA regulations for large development projects, reflecting his considerable involvement in developing the state’s Brownfields legislation.

Seth has served as a mediator with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Wetlands Program. Before joining Foley Hoag he clerked for United States District Judge Walter Jay Skinner.

Bars and Court Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit

Representative Experience

The following is a brief summary of Seth's experience and accomplishments:

  • Represented several printers in compliance with Massachusetts Environmental Results Program
  • Represented a large wastewater treatment facility in defense of a citizen suit under the federal Clean Water Act
  • Represented a European chemical manufacturer in a potential acquisition of an American specialty chemical manufacturer
  • Represents Boston University and Boston Medical Center in opposing federal and state challenges to environmental impact reports prepared for the development of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories in Boston, Massachusetts
  • Serves as the Generator representative to the Coakley Landfill Executive Committee, which is implementing the cleanup of this federal Superfund Site, where costs are currently expected to be less than those originally projected by the EPA
  • Provided assistance to a RCRA Part B Permit holder in obtaining and modifying its permit
  • Defended New England Telephone (now, Verizon, Inc.) in a private contribution action under CERCLA and obtained precedent-setting decision holding that private plaintiffs must prove that a defendant’s waste caused the incurrence of response costs in order to prevail under CERCLA. Acushnet v. Coaters, 937 F. Supp. 988 (1996), aff’d, Acushnet v. Mohasco 191 F. 3d 69 (1st Cir. 1999)
  • Represents electric power generation companies in connection with various compliance and regulatory matters
  • Represented RCRA TSDF in forestalling a potential criminal prosecution resulting from a fatal accident at the facility
  • Represents commercial property owners in litigation seeking property damage resulting from migration of contamination from upgradient Superfund site

professional / civic involvement

  • Boston Bar Association Environmental Section, Chair, 1999-2002
  • Boston Bar Association Environmental Section, Hazardous Waste Committee, Chair, 1995-1997
  • Chemical Waste Litigation Reporter, Board of Advisors
  • Boston Bar Journal, Board of Editors, 1998-2000
  • Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Wetlands Program, Volunteer Mediator, 1993-1995; Trained mediator
  • Environmental League of Massachusetts, Board Member
  • NAIOP Massachusetts Chapter, Co-Chair, Environmental Committee, Member, Chapter 21E Committee
  • Massachusetts Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, Board Member
  • New Ecology, Inc., Board Member
  • Massachusetts Environmental Justice Network, Steering Committee Member (1994 - 2003)

SPEECHES AND CONFERENCES

  • Co-Chair, Law Seminars International Advanced Workshop, "MEPA and NEPA - New developments in implementation, litigation and legislation," June 2008
  • Presentation on “Environmental Due Diligence and Risk Allocation,” at Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education seminar, “Environmental Law Basics,” September 2007
  • Presentation on “Environmental Due Diligence and Risk Allocation,” at Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education seminar, “Environmental Law Basics,” September 2006
  • Presentation on “Brownfields Development: Critical Legal Issues,” at Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education seminar, “Brownfields: Legal and Practical Tips To Get A Good Deal Done,” September 2006
  • Presentation on “Cooper v. Aviall: Does Superfund Ever Make Sense,” at Boston Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Seminar, “Chapter 21E Litigation: Latest Developments,” December 2005
  • Presentation on “Environmental Due Diligence and Risk Allocation” at Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education seminar, “Environmental Basics Plus,” September 2005
  • Panel member for NAIOP seminar, “Turning Brown Into Green: A "How To" Guide on Brownfields Redevelopment in Massachusetts,” November 2004
  • Panel member for the Environmental Expo, “EHS Management Integration: EPA, OSHA, and Resource Constraints,” May 2004
  • Panel member for the Boston Bar Association CLE seminar, “Chapter 21E Litigation: What’s New,” December 2003
  • Co-Chair, Boston Bar Association CLE seminar, “Federal Brownfields Legislation, Issues and Solutions,” April 2002
  • Panel member for the Massachusetts Bar seminar, “Environmental Law Basics for the New Lawyer or General Practitioner,” August 2001
  • Speaker at “Chapter 21E Litigation: The Latest Developments under the Massachusetts Superfund Statute” seminar, June 2001
  • Villanova Environmental Law Journal, Twelfth Annual Symposium, “Allocation- Litigating Response Cost Contribution Claims Under the Federal Superfund Act,” November 2000

publications

  • A new legal weapon to use against local land-use regs, 24 BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL: REAL ESTATE QUARTERLY (July 2001)
  • Stephanie Goldenhersh and Seth Jaffe, The Supreme Court Constitutionalizes Local Permit Disputes, 44 BOSTON BAR JOURNAL, NO. 4
  • Regulation After American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. EPA: What Other Environmental Statutes Are Vulnerable?, 13 EPA ADMINISTRATIVE LAW REPORTER, NO. 6
  • CERCLA Retroactivity Revisited: Does the Supreme Court Decision in Apfel Mean the District Court Decision in Olin was at Least Half Right?, 36 CHEMICAL WASTE LITIGATION REPORTER, NO. 4
  • Acushnet v. Coaters: What Role Now for Causation?, 38 CHEMICAL WASTE LITIGATION REPORTER
  • Massachusetts Brownfields Legislation: A Description and Analysis, 42 BOSTON BAR JOURNAL, NO. 5
  • Winning a Causation Case under CERCLA: An Analysis of Acushnet v. Coaters, 11 TOXICS LAW REPORTER, NO. 18
  • The Market's Response To Environmental Inequity: We Have the Solution; What's the Problem, 14 VA.ENVTL.L.J., NO. 3
  • Seth Jaffe and Robert Sanoff, Navigating the Massachusetts Contingency Plan, 7 BEST OF MCLE JOURNAL, NO. 2
  • Cummings v. Executive Office of Environmental Affairs: The SJC Restricts Access to the Courts in Environmental Cases, 33 BOSTON BAR JOURNAL, NO. 3