Air

Air Quality Practice

The firm's air quality experience is extensive, broad-based and international in scope. Our representation includes air quality permitting and compliance advice, defending companies against enforcement actions by state/federal environmental agencies and citizens groups, providing comments on proposed regulations, lobbying activities on both the state and federal level, and many other facets of air quality law.
We advise small companies and multinational corporations alike in resolving complex air quality issues. The air quality practice has significant experience representing clients from a wide variety of industrial sectors, business organizations and municipalities, including:

  • Utilities
  • Textile and Carpet Manufacturers
  • National, State, and Local Industry Coalitions
  • Pulp and Paper Producers
  • Chemical Products Manufacturers
  • Railroads
  • Trucking Companies
  • Mining Operations
  • Petroleum Refineries
  • Lenders
  • Major Airlines/Airports
  • Landfill Owners/Operators
  • Semi-Conductor Manufacturers
  • A Host of Other Industrial Operations

We have particular expertise in issues confronting energy companies, including independent power producers seeking to permit new or expanded facilities.

The Troutman Sanders air quality practice is proactive, working with clients to reduce potential liabilities, avoid permitting delays, develop good relationships with regulators, negotiate practical, long-term settlement of enforcement actions, and to understand and comply with applicable air quality laws. Our work includes substantive, on-going air quality representation for clients in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Texas, and Utah, and extensive experience with EPA regions across the country. We have also advised clients on air issues in Canada, China, Croatia, Ireland, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands, and Trinidad-Tobago.

Effective Air Quality Permitting

Sound air quality permitting advice is critical to ensure that proposed construction projects move forward without undue delay and that facilities are issued permits that allow them to operate effectively, with maximum flexibility. The firm's air quality attorneys have years of experience in helping clients with all aspects of air quality permitting, including Title IV-Acid Rain permitting and compliance issues; Title V permits (including modeling requirements and reviewing permits prior to submission to state agencies); synthetic minor operating permits; federal prevention of significant deterioration (PSD)/New Source Review (NSR) permits; and state preconstruction permits. Our specific experience includes:

  • Successfully managing the NSR permitting process for a major mid-Atlantic utility for construction of several new and modified sources, including dual-fuel simple cycle combustion turbines, dual-fuel combined cycle combustion turbines and various modifications to existing coal-, oil-, and gas-fired steam electric generating units;
  • Providing day-to-day air quality permitting and compliance advice to power-generating facilities across the country;
  • Representing a broad coalition of manufacturing and energy companies in federal and state rulemakings to address regional transport of ground-level ozone and ozone nonattainment, including EPA's Nitrogen Oxide Emissions State Implementation Plan (NOx SIP) SIP Call rulemaking, the Section 126 petition rulemaking, and state rulemakings to implement the NOx SIP Call;
  • Developing Title V permitting strategies for complex, diverse operations at a major U.S. airline;
  • Providing advice to energy companies regarding greenhouse gas emission reduction and emissions crediting strategies;
  • Developing a multi-state NOx Averaging Plan that enabled a major utility to comply successfully with NOx Reasonable Available Control Technology (RACT) requirements;
  • Coordinating the transfer of air permits for multiple facilities throughout the United States as part of business acquisitions;
  • Successfully lobbying for curtailment of the Area of Influence and emission control strategy in the Georgia Nonattainment State Implementation Plan;
  • Assisting the Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce in developing an emissions credit banking and trading program which was adopted and implemented by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division; and
  • Successfully representing numerous clients before administrative agencies and courts in connection with unjustified delay and/or refusal to issue permits to which clients were entitled.

Enforcement Action Response

The firm's air quality practice has extensive experience in responding to federal, state and local enforcement actions. Experienced environmental litigators, combined with the firm's air quality specialists, provide practical, effective, and results-oriented advice to companies facing fines, injunctions, or even criminal violations associated with alleged violations of air quality laws. Our sample representation includes:

  • Representing one of the largest electric utilities in the United States in the context of a nation-wide federal NSR enforcement initiative against the electric utility industry. The representation has included:
  • Assisting the Company in responding to extensive information requests under Section 114 of the Clean Air Act;
  • Preparing for and participating in plant inspections conducted by EPA;
  • Representing the Company in a civil enforcement action in federal district court; and
  • Representing the Company in an appeal to the 11th Circuit;
  • Representing an international wood products company in settling a state agency enforcement action involving retroactive application of NSR requirements;
  • Defending a major petroleum refinery in administrative litigation brought by EPA Region 4 for alleged violations of the Benzene Waste Operations Natural Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP);
  • Challenging a State administrative civil penalty for alleged violations of monitoring requirements, resulting in a substantial reduction in the company's penalty.

Transportation Conformity: The growing importance of effective transportation in today's marketplace has created significant issues in the area of air quality. Airport and highway expansion projects are coming under increased scrutiny from environmental agencies and citizen's groups, especially under the "transportation conformity" provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Our attorneys have a great deal of experience in navigating these complex regulations. Our experience includes:

  • Representing industrial developers at Miami International Airport and at JFK Airport on various aspects of transportation conformity under the CAA, including conducting conformity analysis with a consultant for development of new transportation developments at the Facility;
  • Representing a state Department of Transportation in litigation brought by environmental groups challenging status of grandfathered highway projects;
  • Advising a major rail carrier on CAA conformity requirements associated with construction of a new intermodal facility;
  • Representing a major airline in evaluating conformity issues associated with Hartsfield Atlanta International airport expansion projects; and
  • Representing Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on conformity matters associated with airport projects.

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