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Charles R. Schaller

Of Counsel

Charles R. Schaller focuses primarily on environmental and natural resource law involving land development, hazardous waste, water pollution, stormwater management, endangered species, wetlands, and critical area issues affecting the Chesapeake Bay region. His diverse practice includes regulatory guidance, litigation, counseling, and transactional assistance.

Professional Biography


Charles is an assertive advocate who provides clients with sound, practical counseling and approaches matters with a thorough understanding of the scientific, economic, and governmental implications. He counsels clients of all sizes in the agri-business, mining, industrial, maritime, development, and energy industries on matters involving business and project development in Maryland and Delaware. He interacts frequently with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Maryland Department of Environment; Department of Natural Resources; Board of Public Works; Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Queen Anne's, Charles, Cecil, and Harford counties; and Annapolis city government, and is deeply familiar with the laws and regulations related to the environment, natural resources, and land use around the Chesapeake Bay region.

As a skilled litigator, Charles represents clients in federal and state courts, and handles permitting matters and enforcement actions before federal, state, and local administrative agencies in areas such as hazardous waste, water pollution, and land development. He also has extensive experience in securing regulatory authorizations for projects involving energy development, air emissions, wastewater discharges, solid waste, hazardous waste, air, endangered species, and tidal and non-tidal wetlands.

Charles also advises real estate and business clients on regulatory compliance and environmental matters regarding issues such as land use and zoning, shifting abatement responsibilities and transactional due diligence. He maintains a deep and up-to-date knowledge of wetland-related and natural resource laws, and handles the interplay between local, state, and federal jurisdictions. In addition, Charles counsels clients on the development of electric power generating stations, including approvals related to air permitting, certificates of public convenience and necessity, water discharge, and oil and hazardous waste.

  • Provided large national homebuilder with critical advocacy, counseling, and representation on nearly every aspect, including securing federal, state, and local regulatory approvals for its Villages at Swan Point in Charles County, a 900-acre planned unit development.

  • Provided regional residential developer with advocacy before state courts and federal and state regulatory agencies to advance and secure federal and state permits for Four Seasons at Kent Island, LLC, a 1,200-residential planned unit development project in Queen Anne's County, fronting on the Chesapeake Bay.

  • Provided a national energy resource company with advice, counseling, and representation before local, state, and federal agencies in securing the necessary regulatory approvals for a 745 MW combined-cycle gas-fired facility in Charles County, Maryland.

  • Provided a mid-Atlantic poultry integrator with legal counsel on all aspects of the transaction relating to environmental, natural resource, and real estate matters, including assistance in transferring permits and conducting due diligence on 88 acres in Linkwood, Maryland. Under a complex asset purchase agreement, the company assets were transferred to Valley Proteins in 2014 for $37.5 million.

  • Provided a large national supplier of pesticides counseling and representation in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FIFRA enforcement action.

  • Provided regional aggregate company with advice and representation before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Maryland Department of Environment, and local government concerning regulation approvals for a sand and gravel facility in Queen Anne's County, Maryland.

  • Provided large agri-business company with counsel and representation before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency involving wastewater discharge permit violations and civil penalties.

  • Secured non-tidal wetlands and surface mining permits on behalf of a stone and gravel mining facility, despite local citizenry opposition.

  • Assisted a building products manufacturer in rezoning a large tract of land from residential to heavy industrial.

  • Named the Best Lawyers® 2023 Environmental Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Baltimore
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Environmental Law (2021 – 2025); Litigation - Environmental (2022 – 2025); Real Estate Law (2025)
  • Maryland State Bar Association
  • Anne Arundel Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce
  • Marine Trades Association of Maryland
  • DelMarva Poultry Industry
  • "Does Everyone Deserve a Seat at the Table," A presentation on Maryland's laws relating to organizational and individual standing in real estate development and regulatory agency permitting, Maryland State Bar Association Annual Meeting (June 2017)
  • "Riparian Rights and Permitting Issues at The Maryland Shoreline," Maryland Society of Surveyors (1998)

Industries

Education

  • Vermont Law School, J.D., 1990
  • University of New Hampshire, B.S. in Environmental Conservation; Concentration in Environmental Policy and Resource Economics, 1985

Admissions

  • Maryland
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Maryland

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