TRADE ASSOCIATE MEMBER UPDATE – LEWIS, LONGMAN & WALKER, P.A.

Chris Johns comes from a long line of Florida farmers. His father, Frank Johns, was a former chairman of FFVA. Chris uses his background in agriculture to advantage when working for his clients. We talked with him about the law firm Lewis, Longman & Walker, and the various ways he and his colleagues serve the Florida agriculture industry.

What areas of your practice most apply to agricultural producers?

Our firm’s practice focuses on environmental, land-use and government law. We can handle virtually any legal issue that involves regulation of the environment, regulation of natural resources, or the use and ownership of land. These areas frequently intersect with issues agricultural producers encounter. We have extensive experience with both federal and state environmental law, including Clean Water Act issues involving Waters of the U.S., dredge-and-fill permitting, and other wetlands issues. In addition, we do extensive work involving special districts, such as drainage districts, and local governments. We regularly handle environmental permitting matters, including consumptive use permits and environmental resource permits. We handle land transactions and issues involving land use, zoning approvals and easements such as drainage or conservation easements.

Under what sort of circumstances would someone in agriculture be looking to use your services?

There are many situations where an agricultural firm might use our services. We handle permitting and compliance issues involving agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the water management districts. We are well-suited to handle any kind of wetland issue at the state and the federal levels. We can also represent the agricultural community in dealing with pesticide and other types of chemical regulation and cleanup. We can negotiate and draft conservation easements. We can negotiate use agreements or other kinds of agreements or leases with special districts, local governments or regulatory agencies. We can acquire land use or zoning approvals for packing facilities, processing plants or distribution centers, and we have extensive experience in land use and zoning throughout Florida.

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