Thierry is a member of the Environmental Practice Group. He helps clients resolve air, soil, and groundwater disputes. He has significant experience litigating claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Water Act, and other State and Federal statutes and common law.
Thierry has achieved successful results for his clientsโboth public and private sector entitiesโin a variety of complex environmental, land use, construction, and eminent domain matters. In addition, he assists clients on natural resources issues involving water, oil and gas interests, air and water permitting and violations, including the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and Title V of the Clean Air Act.
Thierry has an active land use practice, where he advises clients on a broad range of permitting, zoning, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) matters, and eminent domain expertise.
Represented a developer of an eight-story condominium project in a โbrownfieldโ area in a CEQA petitionโgetting a dismissal via a motion challenging a writโs substantive claims, targeted aggressive response resolved in a court dismissal a month into the lawsuit.
Defended a metal parts stamping company in a state lawsuit brought by neighboring business alleging PCE/TCE contamination from our site to theirs. Argued the neighboring site was an enormous source of PCE/TCE contamination before the State Regional Water Quality Boardโturning its attention to the neighboring business. Opposing counsel then agreed to toll the state lawsuit.
Represented a public entity seeking to expand their wastewater treatment facility by defeating a challenge brought on by an environmental group alleging that the wastewater treatment facility should heat its reclaimed water discharges into an adjacent stream to protect a protected local fish speciesโ spawning area. The environmental group alleged that the reduced loss of this fish species was because of chilled wastewater releases impacting spawning eggs. Thierry used legal and scientific evidence tying species loss to heron and small mouth bass predation and not his clientโs wastewater discharges.
University of Notre Dame Law School, J.D., 1991
University of California, Riverside, B.A. Political Science, 1982
Association of Business and Trial Lawyersย
Orange County Bar Association, Environmental Law Sectionย
Environmental Liabilities and Penalty Reporter, Editorย
Global Environmental Legacy Foundation, Executive Directorย
Orange County Big Brothers, Big Brotherย
Sustainability Committee, Member
“Is it Really Still Possible to Close Environmental Cases in California?,” Frost Brown Todd and Murex Environmental, Inc. Technical and Legal Seminar, May 2023
Host, Essential Environmental with Thierry Montoya, Audio Podcast Series, 2022-Present
December 27, 2023 | Publications
The metal element chromium is naturally occurring and can be found in rocks, volcanic dust, soil, pl...
December 4, 2023 | Publications
According to the American Chemical Association, the average American consumes up to 121,000 micropla...
November 13, 2023 | Publications
South Coast AQMDโs Rule 2305 In May 2021, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)...
October 16, 2023 | Publications
On October 7, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1633, the Housing Accountability Act: disapprova...
October 11, 2023 | Publications
On September 12, Californiaโs Senate passed Senate Bill 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountabi...
August 8, 2023 | Publications
In City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco) v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2...
June 8, 2023 | Publications
The California Supreme Court is set to decide whether UC Berkeleyโs plans to construct student hou...
March 8, 2023 | Publications
The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that Californiaโs State Water Resources Control Board do...
January 10, 2023 | Publications
On September 7, Californiaโs State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) approved initial requirem...