Energy & Environment

Taylor Porter’s energy and environmental lawyers have the legal, technical, and practical experience to service the energy and environmental needs of business and industry in all facets (regulatory, remediation, litigation, property transactions, contracts and root cause investigations) and in all stages of the process (legislative, regulatory, administrative and litigation). We do so in an effective, creative and efficient manner with the highest quality of scholarship, advocacy, ethics and professionalism.

Having varied and in-depth experience in all areas of permitting, members of our practice group obtain authorizations needed by facilities for construction, operation, change and expansion. Our team’s experience covers a broad range of clients across many industrial sectors including petro-chemical (fuels, plastics, fertilizers, chemicals, etc.), LNG, mid-stream, solid and hazardous waste transportation, treatment, disposal, recycling and reclamation, and exploration and production, among others. We have assisted major global, national and regional companies and joint ventures in complex permitting actions for start-up and expansion as well as in acquisitions/transfers. To obtain the best results for our clients, we leverage our strong relationships with Louisiana and federal administrators and regulators that we have developed and established over decades of practice. We utilize our extensive experience to navigate and tackle the regulatory, political and public relations hurdles that arise in contested projects.

We handle significant litigation arising out of the issuance or denial of environmental operating permits including solid and hazardous waste, air, water and radiation permits as well as permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and others.  We have vast experience with contested permits and are particularly poised to establish complete and effective administrative records in favor of our clients – from the beginning of the permitting process through the appeal process. 

We also defend clients in enforcement actions brought by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Louisiana State Police, the U.S. Corps of Engineers, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR), and other regulatory agencies both in administrative and judicial settings. We have handled numerous contested administrative hearings and have achieved successful results that have been upheld by the district and appellate courts.  When appropriate, we have successfully negotiated consent decrees and/or cooperative agreements to resolve disputes with agencies.

Members of our group also defend citizen suits, class action and multi-party litigation for existing and prospective owners and operators of chemical manufacturing plants, solid waste landfills, hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities and others. Defense of these lawsuits includes not only the defense of claims for personal injury and property damage, but also the defense of assertions of violations of environmental law and regulations and demands for remediation. We interface with regulatory agencies, including the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (including the Office of Conservation) and the Louisiana Department of Health, as appropriate, during the course of litigation to provide needed advocacy to ensure an effective defense on all fronts and to address related regulatory issues. 

We represent industrial and commercial clients in litigation involving contaminated property and resources. This type of litigation often involves a combination of tort, contract, redhibition, CERCLA and Louisiana Hazardous Substances Remediation law issues. Whether we are representing plaintiffs or defendants in these suits, our combination of experience in energy and environmental regulatory law and all aspects of litigation allow us to service our clients at the highest levels of competency and efficiency. For many of our clients, we advise with respect to contracts having environmental implications, and we have been involved in litigation involving contract interpretation and other contract disputes, including major contracts subject to multi-million-dollar claims.

We actively monitor state and federal environmental legislation and regulatory developments and become involved in this process to represent the best interests of our clients. Our lawyers participate actively with the Environmental Council of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) and are networked with all major environmental professional groups in the state.

Representative Experience:

• Obtaining operating permit for Louisiana’s largest commercial hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility on behalf of a publicly traded, multinational corporation.
• Representing the corporation that is remediating one of the nation’s largest Superfund sites.
• Counseling in complex air permitting matters and defending major enforcement actions brought under the Clean Air Act and Louisiana Air Control Law.
• Handling large industrial project developments, including site acquisition and due diligence, and regulatory and permitting.
• Defended zoning challenges to industrial operations and exploration and production activities.
• Handling permits, contracts and regulatory compliance issues for the nation’s largest commercial collector and transporter of solid waste and operator of solid waste landfills.
• Advising chemical manufacturers, recyclers and businesses in regulatory compliance and permitting in all areas including air quality, hazardous waste, solid waste, water quality and radiation protection.
• Representing clients in challenges to agency actions, including mandamus and injunction actions against the LDEQ.
• Securing authorizations from the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources/Office of Conservation to conduct pipeline operations in Louisiana.
• Defending clients in private environmental litigation.
• Representing lenders and borrowers in real estate transactions involving environmental issues.
• Counseling multinational industrial clients in regulatory and permitting issues involved in partial and total facility sales/acquisitions.