Danielle “Paige” Laborde is a litigator with deep regulatory knowledge who knows her way around a facility. She litigates civil and criminal environmental cases, responds to industrial accidents, and conducts internal investigations and workplace culture assessments. Her technical approach to matters is informed by her background in environmental biology. Her litigation experience includes preparing a complex environmental criminal matter for trial and presenting opening arguments in a mock jury exercise.
Paige has extensive experience representing clients in matters under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Process Safety Management (PSM) and Clean Air Act Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations. These matters frequently arise after a significant accident, where a company is dealing with a multi-agency inquiry and trying to maintain its business continuity. Paige’s experience in this area includes administrative enforcement investigation, civil and criminal defense, negotiation of a consent decree, responses to information requests, and negotiation of individual site penalty demands and administrative orders.
Aside from OSHA, Paige has represented clients in response to investigations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), and state and local regulatory agencies and public service commissions.
Paige has led multiple client advocacy groups, promoting revisions to the PSM/RMP regulations under the OSH Act and Clean Air Act. She works to influence reforms relevant to the regulated community through meetings with regulators, written comments, and other strategies.
Before joining Baker Botts, Paige responded to the Deepwater Horizon incident as a natural resource advisor. She supported operations regarding best management practices and compliance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
Related Experience
- Represent Fortune 50 chemical manufacturer in investigations by the CSB, OSHA, the EPA and other agencies into a four-fatality accident resulting from the release of toxic chemicals. Also, counsel on subsequent enforcement.
- Defend and advise clients during Chemical Safety Board (CSB) investigations, successfully managing the investigation to ensure an accurate portrayal of the incident and the company's processes. As a result, prevented unnecessary liability exposure and mitigated potential reputational harm.
- Represent global energy company in explosion at refining facility that resulted in federal and state regulatory agency investigations.
- Represent multinational automotive manufacturer in enterprise-wide compliance assurance and safety review.
- Represent global energy company in connection explosion at refining facility that resulted in federal and state regulatory agency investigations.
- Led a comprehensive multi-media inspection at a petrochemical facility conducted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
- Defend client against OSHA citations involving a crane accident and related civil litigation.
- Engaged by clients to advocate for rulemaking changes during EPA's RMP regulation and Washington State's PSM regulation.
- Represented a multinational oil and gas services company in a DOJ investigation into an offshore incident involving multiple fatalities.
- Represent supermajor in multi-agency investigation following a refinery fire.
- Represent national utility company in implementation of process safety management program.
News
Thought Leadership
Ethical Minefields to Avoid When Managing an HSE Crisis
External Article69 Nat. Resources & Energy L. Inst. 27-1 (2023)
DOJ Issues Country-Wide Corporate Self Disclosure Policy
Client UpdatesTexas Industry Project
2022 Energy Litigation Outlook
Client UpdatesEnergy Litigation Update
EPA Agrees to Review Chemical Industry Standards
Client UpdatesTexas Industry Project
EPA Rule Requires Natural Gas Processing Facilities to Report to TRI
Client UpdatesTexas Industry Project
D.C. Circuit Holds 2019 RMP Reconsideration Rule Challenges in Abeyance
Client UpdatesTexas Industry Project
OSHA Revises Enforcement Guidance for Recording COVID-19 Cases
Client UpdatesTexas Industry Project