Thomas A. Mackie

Senior Counsel

overview

Thomas Mackie is one of the preeminent attorneys in the field of environmental law, having spent almost four decades representing clients facing complex environmental issues. His work has focused on permitting, siting, solid waste, recycling, and renewable energy facilities; cleaning up hazardous waste; acquiring brownfields properties; drafting and contracting for private and public environmental projects; recovering costs under CERCLA and M.G.L. c. 21E; pursuing insurance claims for environmental damages; and litigating permit appeals.

Tom helps clients to develop strategies that address regulation and public concerns over the siting or expansion of controversial facilities. Purchasers and developers of renewable energy facilities, such as solar, landfill gas, biomass, anaerobic digestion, and biofuel manufacturers, rely on Tom to advise on required permits and approvals. In addition to handling the state and local permitting required for these and other projects, he assists clients with renewable energy credits, contracting, financing, and public procurement issues.

For national clients, he has led the environmental due diligence in several major environmental industry corporate acquisitions and divestitures. Recently, Tom and colleague Gail Hire, spearheaded due diligence for a client’s acquisition of a tax equity interest in over $100M of solar projects in Massachusetts. Together with Peter Durning and Peter Vetere, Tom assisted a national solid waste client in expansion of its operations through a series of acquisitions here in Massachusetts. Tom also assisted a major client in its evaluation of Superfund liabilities prior to its $1.25 billion acquisition of a national hazardous waste and oil re-refining business. In another transaction, he led his previous firm’s participation in environmental due diligence and permit transfers for more than 50 licensed hazardous waste facilities located in 31 states and Canada.

Many of Tom’s clients are sophisticated national players in their respective industries. In those cases, Tom’s role is to advise the client on the specifics of Massachusetts law and policy and the regulatory agencies with which those clients will interact. He also represents smaller local clients, unfamiliar with the lay of the land in environmental law. Tom begins his client engagements by understanding the client’s legal and business needs. He helps clients understand both the broader dynamics and the more granular details of their situations. Together, Tom and his client will identify a range of options and solutions, timelines, potentialities, and realistic outcomes – including end dates, risks, and costs. After a course has been set, Tom tenaciously pursues his client’s goals.

Tom serves on the Commonwealth’s MassDEP Solid Waste Advisory Committee, the Board of the Environmental Business Council of New England, and the Steering Committee of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Waste and Recycling Association. As part of his pro-bono work, he serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Keep Massachusetts Beautiful. He also has done pro-bono work for Greenwood Memorial United Methodist Church and has won an award for his work on the Boston Marathon Victim Assistance Project.

Prior to joining the firm, Tom was a shareholder and partner of Mackie Shea Durning PC (MSD), a highly regarded environmental law, land use and related litigation law firm. With the addition of MSD to Burns & Levinson, Burns now has one of the largest environmental practices in the region.