"The team at Baker Botts L.L.P.…offers clients coast-to-coast expertise, handling a spread of environmental challenges such as incident response, energy transition, contaminated sites, as well as air and water quality and supply. "
The Legal 500 U.S. 2024
With recognized leaders in the Clean Air Act, our team works on the forefront of emerging air quality issues relating to both stationary and mobile sources, helping clients strategically plan for regulatory change and resolving disputes involving novel legal theories.
We work with clients across all major provisions of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) for both stationary and mobile sources, as well as regulatory programs implemented by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and other state and local governments.
We advise clients on matters involving Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards/National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), New Source Review (NSR), New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), existing source performance standards, Regional Haze, Ozone Depleting Substances, and Greenhouse Gas Reporting, as well as air reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), the Toxic Release Inventory, and EPA’s Air Emissions Reporting Requirements.
Our capabilities include:
- Enforcement and Litigation. We represent clients in CAA civil enforcement actions, CAA criminal prosecutions, challenges to federal and state CAA-related rulemakings, and air emissions reporting requirements under EPCRA and the Toxic Release Inventory.
- Compliance. We help clients navigate complex air regulatory environments, from providing advice on discrete issues to the development of compliance programs and the management of environmental audits.
- Permitting. We work to advance and protect our clients’ interests in air permit proceedings before federal and state administrative agencies. Our substantive knowledge of the complex environmental regulations to which our clients are subject help our clients avoid typical traps in the permitting process.
- Climate Change and Sustainability. Learn more about how we help clients tackle complex climate change issues.
- Rulemaking. We help clients engage with federal and state agencies on rulemakings. We work with our clients’ legal and technical staff, as well as outside consultants, to draft comments on proposed actions, and meet with regulators to communicate the impacts of proposed actions and to provide concrete and constructive suggestions for improving the final agency action.
- Reporting. We assist clients with monitoring and reporting procedures under various CAA programs and in responding to claims of potential violations of those requirements.
- Emission Credit Strategies for Nonattainment Areas. We are at the forefront of emission credit strategies to meet Nonattainment New Source Review offset requirements and we advise clients on emission credit transactions.
- Fuels. We advise clients on fuels regulations involving a variety of fuel types including diesel, gasoline, ethanol blends, liquified and compressed natural gas, and aviation fuel.
- Risk Management Program. We assist clients with risk management plans and engagement with the EPA, helping companies understand the reasons behind EPA actions and factors the EPA considers in determining whether to pursue RMP inspections and enforcement.
- Mobile Source Regulations. We advise clients on state and federal regulations involving mobile emissions sources, including challenges to related rulemakings, along with complex matters involving diesel engine emission standards, TPEM, and CARB
