William W. Toole Named Catawba Lands Conservancy’s ‘Volunteer of the Year’

William W. Toole, an attorney with Robinson Bradshaw, was named the 2011 Eugene O. Daniels Volunteer of the Year by the Catawba Lands Conservancy at the environmental advocacy group’s recent annual meeting.

Toole focuses his practice at Robinson Bradshaw on environmental compliance law and litigation. His areas of concentration include site development using Brownfield mechanisms, federal and local wastewater discharge issues, wetlands permitting, hazardous waste compliance, pre-acquisition due diligence, and Superfund cleanup and cost recovery actions.

Catawba Lands Conservancy is a land trust that works to permanently conserve land for public benefit in a six-county area in the North Carolina Piedmont, including Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg and Union counties. The group has permanently conserved nearly 12,500 acres, with a goal of growing the conservancy to 50,000 acres by 2030. Land and conservation easements are acquired through grants, donations, and public and private funding.

Officials with the nonprofit group praised Toole for dedicating his time and legal expertise by addressing environmental property issues associated with certain conservation projects. The Catawba Lands Conservancy recently conserved 175 acres along Long Creek, a Catawba River tributary near the U.S. National Whitewater Center and ReVenture Park. The Long Creek Conservation Area provides a key leg of the Carolina Thread Trail and makes an important connection to the trails and amenities of the U.S. National Whitewater Center. ReVenture Park is a Brownfield redevelopment site.

Toole received his undergraduate degree from Haverford College and earned his law degree and a master of business administration from Wake Forest University. Toole was elected to the Belmont City Council in 2010 and is a member of the Community Foundation of Gaston County’s board of directors.

Robinson Bradshaw is one of several Charlotte law firms credited by the Catawba Lands Conservancy with donating more than $200,000 of billable hours of legal services in 2011.