Contact Information

555 Capitol Mall 9th Floor

Sacramento CA 95814

916.325.5879

eriley@mhalaw.com

Practice Focus

Real Estate Transactions

Environmental Law

Enforcement Defense

Regulatory Compliance

Environmental
Due Diligence

Site Investigation/
Remediation

Erin Riley | Attorney

Professional Experience

Erin is a member of McDonough Holland & Allen’s Real Estate Group where she represents public and private clients in all types of real estate transactions, including negotiation and documentation of real estate acquisitions and sales, commercial leases, and loans.

Within the Real Estate Group, Erin’s practice focuses on providing assistance to clients regarding environmental and hazardous waste issues. For example, Erin advises clients regarding potential environmental liability implications in purchase and sale agreements and leases and the appropriate scope of environmental due diligence to be conducted in property transactions. Erin also represents clients in negotiations with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, State Water Resources Control Board, Regional Water Quality Control Boards, and other state and local agencies in all aspects of site investigation and remediation.

Erin’s environmental practice has primarily focused on CERCLA (“Superfund”), Underground Storage Tank laws and regulations, Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act, Hazardous Substances Account Act, Hazardous Waste Control Act, and Asbestos laws and regulations.

Prior to joining MHA, Erin served as an intern at the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region, Sacramento, California, where she researched groundwater regulations, reviewed and provided comments on Groundwater Monitoring Reports from dischargers, researched and developed factual findings for Cleanup and Abatement Orders, drafted Notices of Violation, participated in public board meetings and supported oral presentations by staff.

Prior to her legal work, Erin was a Hydrology Research Assistant at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina, where she studied flow patterns and conditions of local groundwater tables and presented several methods for remediation to the faculty.

Presentations/Publications

Contributor, “Environmental Quality” chapter, 2006 League of California Cities Municipal Law Handbook

Author, "EPA's New Rule on All Appropriate Inquiries Effective November 2006 - Don't Lose Your Chance to Assert Key Defenses," MHA Real Estate Bulletin, September 2006

Contributor, “Environmental Quality” chapter, 2004 League of California Cities Municipal Law Handbook

Leadership Positions/Affiliations

Member, State Bar of California – Environmental Law Section

Member, American Bar Association – Environment, Energy and Resources Section

Member, Sacramento County Bar Association – Environmental Law Section

Member, California Association of Sanitation Agencies

Committee Member, Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO)

Clerkships

Law Clerk. Office of the California Attorney General, Natural Resources Law Section, Sacramento, California. Participated in complex environmental litigation based on the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. Conducted legal research, prepared research memoranda, drafted pleadings, appeared before the California Superior Court.

Honors/Awards

Outstanding Student Writing Award, University of California San Diego, 1995

MHALaw Search

Admitted to Practice

State Bar of California, 2003

United States District Court, Central and Eastern Districts of California

Education

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law

J.D., 2002

Vice-President, Environmental Law Forum, 2001-2002

University of the Pacific

B.A., Environmental Studies, 1998

Biology and Geology Concentrations

Languages

Spanish