EMAIL:
PHONE: 404-333-0746
Office Address: 1200 Peachtree Street, N.E., Suite 600, Atlanta, GA 30309
Emory University School of Law
(J.D., with distinction, 1996)
UCLA
(B.A., cum laude, 1993)
Georgia
Past Chair. State Bar of Georgia’s Environmental Law Section
Georgia Trend Magazine, "Legal Elite" (2016–Present)
Chambers USA, "Leading Business Lawyers – Environment"
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Environmental Law and Environmental Litigation (2016–Present)
Peyton Nunez advises corporations of all sizes on a broad range of environmental transactional, regulatory compliance, and litigation matters. She has substantial experience with federal environmental laws, including CERCLA/Superfund, the Clean Water Act, RCRA, and the Clean Air Act, as well as their state counterparts. A significant part of her practice involves remediation of contaminated sites under various hazardous sites, brownfields, and voluntary remediation programs.
Peyton works closely with real estate and corporate clients to oversee environmental due diligence, manage risk, and negotiate favorable contract terms and conditions. She also counsels clients on environmental compliance issues impacting every facet of their business, including permitting, spill reporting, waste disposal, underground storage tank management, facility audits, agency inspections, and emerging contaminants, including PFAS.
In addition to her transactional and compliance work, Peyton has litigated a broad range of environmental matters in Georgia and throughout the nation at the state, federal, and administrative levels, and has substantial experience defending clients in private party cost recovery actions, citizen suits, and government enforcement actions. She is a former chair of the State Bar of Georgia’s Environmental Law Section and currently co-chairs the Georgia Brownfield Association’s Legislative Committee.
Prior to joining KMCL, Peyton was the sole environmental attorney at Hartman Simons & Wood LLP, an Atlanta-based commercial real estate firm. She was previously a member of the environmental practice groups at Alston & Bird LLP and Taylor English Duma LLP.
Past Chair, State Bar of Georgia’s Environmental Law Section
Georgia Trend Magazine, "Legal Elite" (2016–Present)
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Environmental Law and Environmental Litigation (2016–Present)
Chambers USA, "Leading Business Lawyers - Environment"
"Don’t Take it Personally: Fiduciary Liability Under CERCLA, ABA Trust & Investments," January 2002.
"Is GEPA a Sword for Citizens or a Shield for the State? Recent Developments Under the Georgia."
"Environmental Policy Act," Georgia State Bar Environmental Law Section Newsletter, 2000.
"Cleaning Up the Confusion: Long Beach, Grand Trunk, and the Scope of Easement Holder Liability Under CERCLA," Emory Law Journal 805, 1996.
National environmental counsel for multi-facility pesticide manufacturer. Matters include facility air compliance assessments and permitting counseling, successful Clean Water Act citizen suit defense, multi-media compliance counseling, local and EPA-driven risk management and process safety management program requirements, and pesticide manufacturing and distribution requirements.
Represent a national homebuilder on environmental due diligence and related transactional matters throughout the U.S.
On behalf of multiple manufacturing clients with complex facility operations, provide ongoing compliance support on federal and state/local air emission, solid and hazardous waste, and wastewater discharge requirements.
Part of the KMCL team that successfully arbitrated a complex CERCLA cost allocation matter on behalf of a Fortune 500 company, resulting in a multi¬million dollar reduction in the client’s share of future site remediation expenses.
Successfully represented numerous large, publicly traded corporations in CERCLA cost recovery actions in federal courts throughout the United States, including California, Texas, and New York
Successfully represented a developer in a multi-million-dollar litigation matter concerning the presence of methane under a residential complex in Atlanta
Served as outside counsel responsible for the day-to-day management of an international package delivery company’s environmental compliance and litigation matters
Advised former corporate shareholders post-merger in connection with the investigation and remediation of environmentally impacted properties, resulting in a significant financial return to clients
Successfully represented Gwinnett County in administrative action filed by private environmental advocacy group challenging county’s NPDES permit authorizing the discharge of highly treated wastewater to Lake Lanier.