EKPC currently operates 5 power plants in Kentucky as well as several landfill gas to energy facilities. We handle air and water permitting and compliance matters at all the facilities and have provided guidance on compliance with various reporting requirements including EPCRA reporting. We have assisted EKPC in renewing its Title V air permits and obtaining permit modifications to authorize construction of new units under the Clean Air Act PSD program. We have assisted with renewal of KPDES wastewater discharge permits and advised on implementation of new effluent guidelines for electric generating facilities and the interplay of the guidelines with the new coal combustion residual (CCR) rule. Other work includes strategic planning, auditing, defending enforcement actions, reporting oversight, and risk management planning.

LG&E & KU Energy LLC (LKE) operates coal and gas fired electric power plants across Kentucky. We represent the company on environmental permitting matters, including air emission, wastewater discharge, coal combustion residual landfill and CWA Section 404 permitting issues. In addition to negotiating the terms of such permits, we have defended LKE in administrative challenges to such permits in administrative proceedings. We also represent LKE in citizen suits in federal courts alleging violations of RCRA, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act.

We advise TMMK on air emission permitting, waste and wastewater compliance and permitting issues at its Georgetown, KY automobile manufacturing plant. As automobile model changes and plant expansions are common at Toyota’s largest U.S. manufacturing facility, it is not uncommon for the plant to apply for and receive four or more air emission permits a year.

NorthStar operates an electric furnace steel making, slab casting and hot rolling flat rolled mini-mill. We advise the company on its environmental, health and safety programs.

We defended the company in a USEPA enforcement action regarding alleged failure to comply with risk management planning requirements. We also oversaw a confidential audit of the plant’s compliance with Clean Air Act risk management requirements and OSHA process safety management requirements.  These programs became applicable due to the plant’s ammonia refrigeration system.

We represent Whitewave (a national dairy products company) with respect to its environmental compliance programs and contracting with outside vendors to recycle byproduct, operate wastewater treatment plants and other tasks.

Shamrock has a unique recycling process for scrap PTFE (aka Teflon). We have assisted Shamrock with multiple air permitting actions, which have required modeling of emissions of certain hazardous air pollutants. We assist the company with reporting and have also assisted with wastewater management projects.

We represent Philips with respect to ongoing remediation projects at two former manufacturing sites. One site is being handled under the Kentucky Voluntary Remediation Program.  The other site is being handled under the RCRA Corrective Action Program.  Both sites are addressing groundwater contamination due to chlorinated organics, including off-site impacts in karst geology.

Campbell has a plant in Leitchfield, Kentucky where it manufactures compressors.  Groundwater contamination associated with past releases from former hazardous waste management units has occurred at the site and Campbell is subject to a RCRA Order issued by U.S. EPA.  We assist Campbell with compliance with the Order, review consultant work product, and have negotiated with the adjacent landowner regarding its impacts on groundwater at the site.   We also assist the company with compliance with RCRA financial assurance requirements and hazardous waste generator compliance issues that arise from ongoing operations.

The Link-Belt Construction Equipment Company designs, manufactures, and sells telescopic and lattice boom cranes from its 500,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Lexington, Kentucky. The LBX Company is located in Lexington, Kentucky and makes earthmoving, forestry, demolition and material handling equipment. We have assisted Link-Belt and LBX with numerous engine compliance issues under U.S. EPA’s non-road engine regulations. These issues have included import/export issues, transition program compliance issues, and pursuing a successful application for technical hardship with U.S. EPA.

Bluegrass Cellular is a large regional cell service provider.  We assist Bluegrass with its environmental issues, including EPCRA reporting, storm water matters, and registration issues relating to fixed generators.

We represent this national print company in Superfund matters as well as enforcement actions.  We also provide assistance with in-depth due diligence for the company’s merger and acquisition activities.

Ticona Polymers is a plastics compounding facility. We assisted Ticona with an internal environmental audit to evaluate air permit compliance and voluntary disclosure of violations pursuant to the Kentucky environmental audit statute.

We represent a number of municipalities in Kentucky on Clean Water Act issues related to sanitary sewer treatment and collection systems and municipal storm water systems. Clients include, among others, Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern KY and the city of Lexington. The work includes negotiating and defending NPDES permits issued for treatment plants and negotiating Consent Decrees and control plans to resolve wet weather sewer overflow claims. We also advise municipal clients on related Clean Water Act permitting and compliance issues.

We represent IRG, a nationally known real estate developer of contaminated properties, in Superfund matters as well as assisting with due diligence and enforcement matters.

Currently, we are representing a group of potentially responsible parties (PRPs) tasked by EPA with the investigation and remediation of an NPL Superfund site known as the Valleycrest Landfill. We acted as trial counsel for the PRP group, filing a Superfund cost recovery action against over 100 defendants for their share of the cost of investigating and remediating the site. After extensive discovery and Court-approved mediation, we were able to reach settlements with all of the viable defendants except one.

We represent this rubber manufacturer in connection with a Superfund Alternatives project in Dayton, Ohio involving allegations of contamination of the surrounding neighborhood. We have been involved in all aspects of the matter, from the initial investigation to the negotiation of the Administrative Order on Consent for Removal Action to the performance of the remedy.

We represented the company client in connection with the remediation of a Superfund NPL site and subsequently negotiated the environmental provisions of several agreements involving the sale of the property. We negotiated various agreements with U.S. EPA and two Consent Decrees relating to the cleanup which resulted in the property being developed as a recreational site with ice rinks, a driving range and other recreational facilities. Thereafter, we represented the company in connection with the sale of the property (which remains on the NPL) to a local buyer, who desired to further develop the property for educational and recreational activities.

Blackhawk is an expanding coal mining company that operates mining complexes in Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. We assisted Blackhawk with all environmental due diligence and negotiation of transaction documents related to the acquisition of several mining complexes in West Virginia during the Patriot Coal bankruptcy. We also assist the company with compliance and enforcement issues under the Clean Water Act and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), including issues related to implementation of and compliance with Clean Water Act consent decrees. This work involves negotiation with state and federal regulators, including the U.S. EPA and Department of Justice.

We represent Nally & Hamilton, a coal mining company primarily engaged in surface mining in Eastern Kentucky, in enforcement actions under the Clean Water Act and SMCRA. Those actions have included both government actions and citizen suits in federal court and before administrative hearing bodies. We also assist the company in obtaining permits under the Clean Water Act.

We represented three dredging companies in connection with securing permits to dredge for sand and gravel in Ohio and Allegheny Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The dredging companies retained us to obtain renewals of federal and state permits to conduct commercial sand and gravel dredging. As part of this process, we assisted with the preparation of a full Environmental Impact Statement. In addition to obtaining all necessary permits (including the Army Corps of Engineering Permit which required formal consultation between federal agencies under the Endangered Species Act), we successfully defended challenges to the proposed activities by federal agencies, state agencies and citizen groups.

We represented a dredging company in connection with securing new approvals from the State of West Virginia and the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct commercial sand and gravel dredging operations in the Ohio River.  We successfully negotiated all necessary permits and approvals, including a "lease" with the State of West Virginia which enabled the client to be approved to conduct new operations.

We have represented large, small and medium size underground and surface coal and non-coal producers with respect to a wide variety of environmental issues. Specifically, we have represented numerous mining operators in connection with securing the necessary permits (coal mining, non-coal mining, water, air quality, Army Corps 404 approvals, etc.) to open and conduct coal and non-coal mining operations throughout Pennsylvania.

Our representation has included litigation to enforce rights to access surface of property to exercise necessary mining rights.  This work involved filing for preliminary injunctive relief which resulted in successfully obtaining access to properties in accordance with the mining rights.

We were also retained to represent a group of underground coal owners in connection with efforts by local taxing authorities to impose ad valorem real estate tax on coal bed methane gas under Pennsylvania law.  We successfully defended the claims and were also able to secure a refund of previously paid taxes for one client.

We have successfully defended several large underground coal operators which were alleged by property owners of having caused subsidence damage to either their property or water supplies in numerous proceedings before federal and state administrative agencies in Pennsylvania.  These matters involved developing complex expert reports/testimony relating to mine subsidence causation/impacts and sophisticated cross-examination of geo-technical and hydro-geological experts retained by landowners.

We represented Langeloth, a large metals processing company, with respect to its NPDES wastewater discharge permit. The draft permit contained "new" metal limits that were unacceptable. Using toxicological and other experts, we successfully opposed imposition of final permit limits that would have precluded continued operations. We also succeeded in securing approvals to process certain materials as feedstocks rather than wastes.

We have represented a number of companies and individuals in the natural resources, electroplating, rubber manufacturing and other areas with respect to criminal investigations and prosecutions.

In addition to the specific examples above, we have served as common counsel, joint defense and separate company counsel in hundreds of Superfund cost recovery matters over the last 35 years.

In addition to the specific examples provided, our experience in handling mining-related issues is extensive, particularly in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. We have assisted clients in handling post-mining treatment obligations, challenged state rules regarding stream restoration and assisted clients with navigating complex permitting, compliance and enforcement issues.

Government contractors for DOE, wood treatment facilities, tile manufacturers, petroleum refining, glass manufacturing, ferroalloy and acetylene manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, paint and ink manufacturing, food processing facilities, dredging operations, oil and gas drillers, title abstractors.

We are actively involved with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Energy and Environment Policy Council and the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers. We represent the Utility Information Exchange of Kentucky which is comprised of the seven utilities with generation and transmission assets in the Kentucky. We also represent the Kentucky Coal Association which is the trade association representing the vast majority of coal mining companies in Kentucky and approximately 100 associate member companies who provide services to the coal industry. We have represented both KCA and the Kentucky Chamber in different litigation matters in federal and state courts related to challenges to agency action under the Clean Water Act as well as Clean Air Act matters.

In addition, we are members of the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance (the Pennsylvania trade organization representing coal mining companies) and hold a spot on PCA’s Technical Advisory Committee. We have represented the PCA (and many of its member companies) in various litigation matters before federal and state courts and in an advisory capacity. We are also members of the West Virginia Coal Association.