Education

Boston College Law School, J.D.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, M.A., Graduate School of Urban Studies and Planning

University of California, Santa Cruz, B.A., Economics and Politics/Legal Studies

Bar Admissions

California

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Nicholas William Targ

Partner
San Francisco
t: 415-743-6926

Nicholas Targ has 18 years experience assisting clients in the public and private sectors achieve their land use, environmental and policy goals. His practice focuses on complex redevelopment projects, environmental compliance and government advocacy. Representative work includes strategic legal advice on Brownfields redevelopment, Superfund compliance, and State and Federal grant and policy advocacy. Mr. Targ has successfully advocated for infill funding and policy initiatives on behalf of public, private and nonprofit coalition clients.

Before joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Targ served in leadership positions with the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance, including Counsel and Associate Director to the Office of Environmental Justice in Washington, D.C. In these capacities, he helped bring to a successful resolution highly visible environmental permitting and compliance matters and provided strategic advice on legislation, regulatory initiatives and public participation issues to congressional offices, the President’s Council on Environmental Quality, and federal, state and tribal agencies. On a regular basis he convened and addressed trade associations, government bodies and others.

Mr. Targ also served in the Solicitor’s Office of the Department of the Interior, representing the Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Land Management on a wide range of natural resources and hazardous materials issues. While at Interior, he helped establish the Department's first Alternative Dispute Resolution Program and the Department-wide hazardous materials office, provided legal and strategic counsel on environmental aspects of large-scale land transfers, and handled precedent cases. He joined the Department through the Honors Attorney Program in 1993.

Committed to service, Mr. Targ co-founded the Howard University School of Law Environmental Law and Sustainability Program and taught environmental law and environmental justice as an adjunct professor. Presently, he is an adjunct professor at UC Hastings School of Law, teaching land use law. Mr. Targ also serves as Chair of the American Bar Association's Taskforce on Diversity and Environmental Justice.

Professional Honors & Awards

  • American Bar Foundation
  • Outstanding Leadership Award, Howard University School of Law, 2007
  • Bronze Medal for Outstanding Leadership, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Six-Time Recipient, 2000-2006
  • Secretarial Letter of Commendation, Hon. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, 1999
  • Star Achievement Award, Two-Time Recipient, 1997, 1998
  • Director’s Letter of Commendation for Drafting the First Dispute Resolution Policy for the Department of the Interior, Office of Hearings and Appeals, 1994
  • O'Keefe Family Scholarship, Boston College School of Law
  • Technology Award and Scholarship, Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Graduate School of Urban Studies and Planning

Memberships

  • Rosie-the-Riveter Trust, Board Member
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, Executive Committee
  • American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Chair, Diversity Environmental Fellowship Program
  • American Bar Association, Human Rights magazine, Editorial Board, 2003-2007
  • Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s Environmental Law Section, past Director

Speaking Engagements

  • "Environment Impact Assessments for Prosperity and Community Health," EPA-Government of China, Ministry of Environment Conference on Environmental Governance, Beijing, China, November 2011
  • "New Directions in Environmental Law and Policy," League of Women Voters, September 2011
  • "Federal Land Re-use Incentives," Law Seminars International, September 2011
  • "Sustainable Property Transactions in a Down Market," San Francisco, CA, May 2011
  • "Greening Brownfields: Legal Considerations When Remediating Contaminated Property Through Sustainable Development," Strafford Teleconference, May 2010
  • "Partnerships for Excellence and Diversity in Environmental Law," Spelman College, January 2009
  • "Managing Environmental Risk in Redevelopment Projects," Practicing Law Institute, November 2008
  • Plenary Panelist, "The Intersection between Environmental Justice and Land Use Planning," American Planning Association, Annual Meeting, April 2007

Published Articles & Books