TORO & ARSUAGA
A private practice in Environmental Law, provides environmental legal counseling, including matters on environmental compliance and consulting for the manufacturing, waste management, real estate development and banking industries, and represents clients before federal and state agencies.
The Principal at Toro & Arsuaga, PSC is attorney Rafael A. Toro Ramírez who received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from Interamerican University in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1988. From 1981 until 1984, worked as an Environmental Engineer at the Schering Plough’s bulk and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in Manatí, Puerto Rico. He then became the Supervisor of Environmental Services for all of Schering Plough’s plants until late 1985.
In 1985 Rafael Toro obtained his license as a Professional Engineer and joined the firm of UNIPRO Architects Engineers and Planners, where he worked as an Environmental Consultant in areas such as air, water, solid wastes and hazardous wastes management. In addition, he handled compliance matters for clients and preparation of Environmental Impact Statements, Environmental Compliance Audits, Compliance Plans, Operating Procedures, Waste Management Plans, Emergency Response Plans, Real Estate Environmental Assessments and Training Programs, among others.
In 1988, Rafael Toro completed his Juris Doctor degree and became a licensed attorney, when he established TORO & ARSUAGA PSC, a private practice in Environmental Law. Rafael Toro remains in the private practice where he provides environmental legal counseling, including matters on environmental compliance and consulting for the manufacturing, waste management, real estate development and banking industries, and represents clients before federal and state agencies and Courts. He also provides assistance to other law offices in environmental matters.
Rafael Toro is a member of the Puerto Rico College of Engineers and Surveyors, a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E. License No. 8737), a licensed attorney (License No. 9171) and a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association. He is accepted to the State and Federal Courts and is a licensed Public Notary for Puerto Rico.
Among his professional trainings for the most recent years, Rafael Toro has taken seminars on matters such as Administrative Law and Jurisprudence, Extraordinary Legal Procedures, New Rules of Civil Procedures and New Trends in Protecting Electronic Information, among others. He has been a Speaker, in Seminars on Environmental Compliance, Environmental Aspects of Construction Projects, Environmental Audits and Real Estate Environmental Assessments, among others.
Among some of the clients and cases that Rafael Toro has handled, he has provided consulting services on environmental matters to most of the financial institutions in Puerto Rico, including major banks. In addition, he has represented land developers in cases before the Environmental Protection Agency, the Environmental Quality Board of PR, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other government agencies that have juridiction on environmental matters. Rafael Toro has represented clients before the Court of Appeals in Puerto Rico in matters regarding administrative decisions on Environmental Impact Statements, Injunctions on project development cases and other environmental. land use and planning. In addition, he has represented clients before the Circuit Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in matters related to claims among potential responsible parties in cases under federal statutes such as CERCLA and RCRA. Finally, among the major cases he has handled include Environmental Torts at the state level, representing plaintiffs.
Although most of his working time is dedicated to environmental legal matters, Rafael Toro also continues to practice some engineering by preparing operational plans and procedures for several clients, all directly related to environmental protection and control. For some clients, he continues to handle environmental permits.