D. Lee Decker

Lee practices environmental law involving water quality, water rights, environmental compliance auditing, solid and hazardous waste, mining and mined land reclamation and remediation, toxic substances and Superfund matters. With more than 30 years of experience, Lee maintains a nationally-recognized water quality practice and works closely with his clients at the federal, state and local levels to develop workable strategies that promote development and expansion of both industrial and mining operations. In working with major industrial, mining, construction and development clients, Lee has honed his keen expertise in the field of environmental law, which is further supported by his unwavering commitment to professionalism and favorable results

Lee is one of the lead mining and industrial experts in the Southwest on state and federal-based water quality and mine reclamation and closure programs. His broad and deep experience includes groundwater protection permit programs (such as Arizona’s aquifer protection permit program), point source discharge permit programs (including NPDES and 404 dredged and fill material permits), impaired water determinations and listings, development and implementation of total maximum daily load requirements, mined land reclamation and closure, development of surface and groundwater water quality standards, and state certification of federal water quality permits/approvals.

With decades of honed practice and hard-earned experience, Lee has proven he is able and willing to take on even the most complex matters and controversy by focusing on resolution rather than conflict. His expertise lies with analyzing, reconciling, and streamlining the legal and scientific issues inherent in such matters. His fluency in consultant reports and environmental studies have allowed him to make persuasive arguments to agency professionals so clients can obtain permits and progress on their projects.

Competence in and a multi-dimensional knowledge of the law, reconciliation of the science, and actionable solutions for his clients are what make Lee a stellar attorney. Clients turn to him because he delivers the highest quality advice and service. A testament to his decades of first-rate work, Lee’s clients have confidence in him and consistently rely upon his advice to ensure their viability today and into the future.

An active member of the Arizona Mining Association, Lee lobbies federal and state governmental agencies on water quality statutory, regulatory and policy-based issues to the benefit of the mining industry in Arizona. He serves as the co-chair of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry Water Quality Subcommittee (formerly the Arizona Association of Industries Water Quality Subcommittee), a position he has filled since 2001 and which allows him to continue to shape the law and industry.