Practice Areas & Industries: Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Bracewell’s air quality team works with key business leaders, environmental regulators, and federal and state policymakers in virtually every aspect of air quality issues.  Our prominent air practice includes a number of senior attorneys with top-level environmental experience gained in private practice, public relations and in senior government positions. Jeffrey R. Holmstead, who leads the firm’s Environmental Strategies Group, was the longest-serving Assistant Administrator for air and radiation at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). One of the nation’s preeminent air-quality lawyers, he was a key architect of several major national environmental initiatives, including the Clean Air Interstate Rule, the Clean Air Diesel Rule, the mercury rule for power plants, reforms to the New Source Review (NSR) program and the Clear Skies Legislation of President George W. Bush.

Our air team also includes:

• Richard Alonso, the former Chief of the Stationary Enforcement Branch at EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance where he managed and negotiated Clean Air Act enforcement cases involving issues of national significance representing billions of dollars in injunctive relief, including the New Source Review coal-fired power plant enforcement initiative.
• Rebecca Rentz, the former Houston Air Quality Director and Counsel to the Executive Director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality where she had significant responsibilities to air toxics, ozone and other air quality issues affecting Texas and its Gulf Coast region.

Bracewell’s environmental practice and attorneys have been recognized by clients and organizations in the United States and abroad, including Chambers and Practical Law Company, for the high quality of their client work.

Services Available

The Bracewell air quality practice offers expertise in:

Air Compliance Counseling and Strategy. Bracewell has an unmatched reputation with federal and state environmental regulatory agencies and at the White House. We help senior corporate leaders shape complex policy, develop strategic initiatives, and address the practical and political issues relating to air-quality compliance.

Permitting and Project Development.  We help clients evaluate, negotiate and obtain required permits and authorizations for discharges or emissions resulting from manufacturing or industrial processes.
 
Enforcement Defense. Bracewell has deep experience with air quality enforcement actions.  We are able to provide a rapid, coordinated response when clients become the target of an enforcement action, a demand for information, or litigation.

Emissions Allowances Trading. Bracewell attorneys have taken the lead in the development of effective emissions-trading programs within a broad range of federal and state schemes, including EPA’s Acid Rain program, the Texas Mass Emissions Cap & Trade program, and the Texas Senate Bill 7 emissions trading program, among others.

New Source Review. Bracewell provides comprehensive guidance on NSR issues such as permits, construction compliance, volatile organic compound and sulfur dioxide emissions credits trading and negotiations, and complaints related to acid rain.  We regularly represent clients in NSR permitting and enforcement matters under the Clean Air Act.

Acquisitions and Divestitures with Complex Air Considerations. We advise clients on mergers, acquisitions and divestitures that involve complex air-quality issues, including retention of allowances after asset sales, matters relating to co-located sources, and the effects of changes to existing CAIR, CAMR and other rules.

Title V enforcement. Our attorneys help clients prepare for inspections, respond to allegations and notifications of violations, and develop remedial programs related to EPA enforcement actions regarding compliance with Title V operating permits, including Part 70 Part 71 permits for major, minor and area sources. 

Air Quality Audits. Our attorneys work with top technical experts to create and implement comprehensive, practical air compliance audit programs in the U.S. and abroad. When audits identify potential issues or conflicts, we work with key in-house staff and regulatory authorities to resolve problems quickly and effectively.

Climate Change. Bracewell is actively shaping the agenda on climate change — in Congress, in the Executive Branch, in the media, in the courtroom and in the boardroom. Our bench includes sought-after media commentators, leading regulatory strategists, seasoned white-collar defense specialists, and experienced corporate advisors. Bracewell & Giuliani's Climate Change practice was recently ranked nationally for its excellence by Chambers and Partners, one of the most highly regarded industry research publications in the world. (2007)

SIP Litigation and Policy. We represent clients in all areas relating to air-quality State Implementation Plans (SIPs), including working with state and federal regulators to both shape and ensure compliance with federal Clean Air Act, NSPS, NESHAP, PSD, non-attainment NSR and SIP-approved permit requirements.

Strategic Communications. Bracewell’s strong relationships with major media outlets enable us to help clients avoid or navigate public controversy, communicate effectively in the public sphere, and present an effective environmental governance message that generates broad support with the public and in the legislative and regulatory arenas.

Air Emissions Nuisance Matters. We represent clients in matters relating to ambient levels and the accidental release of air pollutants, including developing and implementing rapid-remediation plans and working with local, state and federal authorities to take corrective action while minimizing the potential for litigation. 

SSM Emissions. We represent a range of energy, petroleum, chemical and manufacturing industry clients in the prevention and response to time-limited, discrete startup, shutdown and malfunction-related (SSM) emissions, help ensure compliance with reporting and remediation requirements, and defend enforcement actions and other claims arising from SSM events.