Contacts
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Joshua B. Frank
Partner
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Aileen M. Hooks
Senior Counsel
Our environmental lawyers are actively involved in advising and representing corporate clients, trade associations, professional organizations and other entities on a wide variety of federal, international, state and local legislative and regulatory matters. The firm has a proven track record as an effective advocate in shaping the development of legislation, rules and government policies affecting these regulatory matters.
Federal Issues:
At the federal level, Baker Botts provides counsel in key federal legislative initiatives and in rule-making and policy-making activities before all of the relevant federal regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the Departments of the Interior, Energy and State; the Army Corps of Engineers; and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
We have an active regulatory practice that interacts with environmental, safety and health matters under all federal environmental statutes, including:
- Clean Air Act
- Clean Water Act
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
- Toxic Substances Control Act
- Safe Drinking Water Act
- Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
- Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
- Endangered Species Act
- National Environmental Policy Act
- Occupational Safety and Health Act
- Oil Pollution Act
Baker Botts lawyers have been heavily involved in numerous legislative initiatives and rulemakings in the environmental, health and safety arena. Our efforts cover all facets of actions before congressional committees and federal administrative agencies. Given our long-standing client representation in environmental and health and safety matters, Baker Botts lawyers know the full gamut of technical issues arising under these federal statutes and related regulations. We also can partner with our Government Relations practice when advocating our client’s interests.
State Issues:
At the state level, we have played a prominent role in many key environmental and health and safety policy initiatives. For example, in many states across the country we have advocated for the promulgation of balanced and scientifically sound legislation and regulation of shale gas development and hydraulic fracturing. We also played a leading role in effecting revisions to the clean air plan for the Houston-Galveston ozone nonattainment area. These revisions occurred as the outcome of a case on behalf of the BCCA Appeal Group, a coalition of companies that included petroleum refiners, chemical manufacturers, electric utilities and other large industrial sources of air emissions.