Donald M. Snemis is a lawyer in Ice Miller’s Environmental, Natural Resources and Toxic Tort Group.
Donald M. Snemis concentrates his practice on environmental compliance, environmental litigation and business litigation. Don joined Ice Miller in 1988 and focused his practice on litigation and environmental law. He represented companies, municipalities and citizens in state and federal courts across the country on various business and environmental issues including complex business disputes, the cleanup of historical water and soil contamination, accidental releases of contamination, property transfers, leaking underground storage tanks, cost recovery actions, brownfields redevelopment and toxic torts.
Don entered public service in 2014. He first served as commissioner of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles and then as special counsel for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. He joined the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) as general counsel in June of 2015 and assumed the additional duties of deputy chief of staff a few months later. While at IDEM, Don served as the agency’s chief legal counsel and managed the Office of Legal Counsel, including its 15 staff attorneys. In addition, Don managed the Rules Branch, Office of Criminal Investigations and Office of Records Management.
Don has been recognized in
The Best Lawyers in America® and as an
“Indiana Super Lawyer.” He holds an “AV-Preeminent” peer review rating from
Martindale-Hubbell.
In January of 2017, Don rejoined Ice Miller and continued to develop his practice. Don is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Indiana University McKinney School of Law, where he teaches environmental law. He is a frequent speaker on a wide range of environmental topics and serves as a member of the Indianapolis Bar Association's Environmental Law Section Executive Committee.
Environmental law is a complex system of state and federal statutes, rules, reported decisions, guidance documents and policies. Over the course of his career, Don has developed significant experience in many areas of environmental law, including:
- Brownfields remediation and redevelopment, including issues related to soil contamination, groundwater contamination and vapor intrusion
- Leaking underground storage tanks (LUSTs) and Indiana's Excess Liability Trust Fund (ELTF)
- Cradle-to-grave hazardous waste management and issues arising under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
- Solid waste management, permitting, transportation, recycling, landfilling, legitimate use and other issues arising under state solid waste management plans and RCRA Subtitle D
- U.S. EPA Superfund sites
- Air emissions, permitting, compliance and other Clean Air Act issues
- NPDES permits, storm water, industrial wastewater, wetlands, Waters of the United States, water quality certifications and other Clean Water Act issues
- IDEM's Voluntary Remediation Program
- IDEM's State Cleanup Program
- Indiana Finance Authority's Brownfields Program
- Asbestos exposure, compliance, remediation, handling, removal and contractor licensing
- Violation letters, notices of violation, Agreed Orders and Commissioner's Orders issued by IDEM
- Administrative review by Indiana's Office of Environmental Adjudication (OEA)
- Long-term stewardship, including environmental restrictive covenants and ordinances
- Tools for minimizing future environmental liabilities, including prospective purchase agreements, comfort letters, site status letters and no further action letters
- Self-disclosures and environmental audits
- Environmental inspections
- Construction, permitting and management of combined feeding operations (CFOs) and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)
- Coal combustion residuals, including CCR landfills and impoundments