Randy Tinsley works with business and industry, local governments, and others in achieving their goals in environmental compliance, permitting, management, and litigation. His experience in water quality, water quantity, and wetlands matters is unusually comprehensive.

Randy works with clients to obtain all types of environmental permits and authorizations, and has extensive litigation experience in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies.

Examples of Randy’s work include the following:

• Successful permitting and litigation in support of a phosphate mining and processing operation.
• Negotiation of a Clean Water Act administrative agreement with EPA that prevented the debarment of an agribusiness company.
• Leading the establishment of an environmental management system for an industrial client’s facilities in four states.
• Obtaining environmental permits and exemptions for municipal, industrial, commercial, and agricultural clients, most often for projects that are complex and controversial.
• Successful defense of a variety of permittees in third-party challenges of their 404 permits, 401 water quality certifications, NPDES permits and other environmental permits.
• Environmental counsel for the City of Wilson’s Buckhorn Reservoir project, including 404 permitting and reversal of a Fish and
• Wildlife Service Endangered Species Act jeopardy opinion.
• Expansion of a town’s water intake facilities in the Catawba River basin, including regulatory approvals and successful rejection of withdrawal caps and other forms of control demanded by owner of FERC-licensed reservoir in federal litigation.
• Avoidance of substantial costs of a planned Interbasin Transfer (IBT) certificate process for a city by obtaining an administrative interpretation.
• Successful defense of a city’s right to withdraw water from Yadkin River without paying fees to or accepting other controls by owner of a FERC-licensed reservoir.
• Expedited permitting of a city’s new pumping station and raw water line during drought emergency.

Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP

Our attorneys exhibit intelligence, integrity, leadership, have a demonstrated record of professional excellence, and a commitment to the law not only as a profession, but as a calling. Our attorneys have excelled in some of the nation’s leading law schools, including Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, University of Chicago, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Virginia, University of Texas, Wake Forest, Emory, Washington and Lee, William and Mary, and Yale.

This allows our firm to be responsive to the professional needs of our clients. Our atmosphere is collaborative and collegial. Our attorneys work closely with one another to exchange ideas and strategy in order to address the complex legal issues our clients bring to us. The Brooks Pierce team approach maximizes the scope and quality of the service we provide to our clients.

Only lawyers with a demonstrated record of professional excellence and the highest standards of personal integrity become part of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP.